John Wesley: A Biography [Paperback]

Stephen Tomkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2003

The life and work of John Wesley (1703-1791) have had an enormous influence on modern Christianity, including his role as founding father of the Methodists, now 33 million strong worldwide. In this lively new biography journalist Stephen Tomkins narrates the story of Wesleys colorful and dramatic life for a new generation. Writing with verve and a light, sure touch, Tomkins follows Wesley from his childhood at Epworth rectory through his schooling and university career at Oxford to his mission to Georgia, his conversion in 1738, and finally his life as a religious leader in England. Preaching in numerous villages, towns, and cities, Wesley and his followers faced intense and savage persecution, but their missions were also accompanied by extraordinary phenomena such as convulsions, laughter, and healings. In the course of his compelling narrative Tomkins examines Wesleys relationships with key people in his life, including his powerful and austere mother, Susanna, and his hymn-writing brother, Charles. Tomkins also explores key issues in Wesleys life, such as his renunciation of wealth and his attitude toward women, concluding with an assessment of Wesleys ongoing influence both in his own country and abroad. Superbly crafted, grounded in thorough research, and published in the 300th year of Wesleys birth, this book will appeal to students of Wesley, people from the Methodist tradition, and general readers interested in church history.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The tricentenary of the birth of Methodism's founder could bring no finer introduction to his life and work than Tomkins' synthetic biography. Drawing upon the best previous biographies, Wesley's letters and published journal, and the writings of Wesley's closest associates, Tomkins presents a keenly engaging portrait of a great man full of contradictoriness. Wesley (1703-91) insisted he was loyal to the Church of England yet consented to his followers setting up establishments and engaging in practices that flouted Anglican authority. Perhaps he just didn't see himself as a leader, in which case it is odd that Methodism was legally a sole proprietorship for most of his life; there were frequent general conferences, but Wesley held the purse strings and organizational reins. He was no hypocrite, especially about money; he allowed himself only the meagerest of livings, giving the rest of what became substantial earnings to evangelism and the poor, and preaching to the end against wealth. His steadfastness against riches stands in stark contrast, however, to his stance about marriage, which vacillated between affirming celibacy and approving conjugality. Of course, his relations with women and his late marriage were fraught with ambivalence and misunderstanding. For all of his Janus-like behavior, he altered the face of Christianity in the West by inspiring modern evangelicalism and Pentecostalism. A fascinating figure, fascinatingly limned. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

STEPHEN TOMKINS has a PhD in Church History from London Bible College. He is a freelance writer and a regular contributor to the Ship of Fools website and Christian History Institute in the USA. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802824994
• ISBN-13: 978-0802824998
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #252,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Protestantism > Methodist

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars John Wesley: A Biography & Mockery, June 14, 2005

By 

Jonathan A Blevins (Duluth, MN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John Wesley: A Biography (Paperback)

This is not the type of Christian biography I generally care for. The facts are all there (I hope), but the author's psycho-analytical comments on Wesley's relationships with women and subtle (and often not-so-subtle) mocking of John Wesley's characteristics, beliefs, choices and friends served to undermine the historical narrative rather than to support it. I hesitated in giving this book a 3-star rating, because it is (sadly) the best biography currently available on John Wesley. To that end, if you are primarily interested in his life and the origins of the Methodist church, then you could consider this a 4 1/2-star book instead. However, if you are interested in Christian biography for the sake of strengthening both your understanding and your spiritual fervor, this may not be the book for you. I'd like to comment briefly on the distinctive areas that comprise (in my opinion) a good Christian biography.

1) Historical Accuracy: As far as I can tell, the book sticks to the facts fairly well. If you have read Dallimore's biography of George Whitefield, you will notice that Tomkins' treatment of figures other than Wesley himself is somewhat lacking, but it is not the facts that cause the lack in this book. History-buffs will find what they are looking for here as long as they can distinguish between 21st century commentary and the true historical account. If anything, no one could accuse this biographer of candy-coating Wesley's life.

2) Spiritual Character Development: Do we get to see into Wesley's heart and glimpse the passion for God that drove him forward? At times you almost feel like the writer has accomplished this, but he quickly follows it up with discouraging, mildly-sarcastic statements that tear that feeling away from you. This is particularly true in his insistence on contrasting Wesley's characteristics in early, mid and late life.
The most disturbing point for me was in the discussion of Wesley's later life. A rather depressive segment from a letter written to his brother Charles is quoted and taken as formative for Wesley's outlook through his entire life. Any student of Christian history knows that most (but not all) great evangelists suffer from some form of depression. Luther, Spurgeon, Lloyd-Jones, etc.--all of these men suffered at times from depressed spirits as a result of the great labor they put forth in declaring the word of God. At this point the author makes you feel as though everything he's reported about Wesley's great evangelistic success and powerful preaching has been a fraud. Overall a very disappointing portion of the book.

3) Theology: The author brings out Wesley's theology and its development with some degree of accuracy. I get the distinct feeling, however, that the lack of flow between Wesley's earlier convictions and later convictions was due to the authors own lack of theological understanding (or perhaps conviction is a better word). He perpetually seems to be condemning Wesley's doctrine of Christian Perfection and at one point agrees with the conclusion that salvation is by faith AND works while deriding Wesley's views on the matter.

4) The Author: I guess, when it comes down to it, this is really where the book falls short. Tomkins doesn't seem to have a firm grasp on Christian theology, much less Wesley's theology. He takes great delight in applying Freudian psycho-analysis to Wesley's varied female relationships, seems overly skeptical of Wesley's conversion, comments sarcastically on many of Wesley's decisions and repeatedly suggests (according to human wisdom and modern psychology) how Wesley might have better managed his life and doctrine.

Only in the chapter on his death and heritage is Wesley given much credit at all. I would recommend this book to history-minded persons, but could not in good conscience recommend it to sincere evangelicals (particularly those of the Calvinist persuasion). John Wesley is more muddled in my mind after reading this book than he was before. I only hope the truth lies other than where Tomkins would allow it to rest.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars JOHN WESLEY: A BIOGRAPHY, January 14, 2005

By 

K. Jump (Corbin, KY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: John Wesley: A Biography (Paperback)

Stephen Tomkins has written a highly engaging and thoroughly informative book that shines a shimmering spotlight on the man who was the founder of Methodism and one of the greatest religious reformers in Western history. Linear, concise, and lively, Tomkins's book takes the reader from Wesley's fiery near-death as a child through his formulation of a stringent code of self-discipline (which, strict as it was, failed to protect Wesley from a string of unfortunate romances) and tireless days and nights of hard riding and preaching through his death and far-reaching influence. The Wesley who emerges is a fascinating individual, flawed as all men inevitably are but one who answered the unique call God had upon his life with an admirable resolve. Tomkins has a clear command of the facts and his analysis is uniformly logical and not without humor. Highly recommended not only to Methodists but to any student of Christian history.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too much of Tomkins, July 20, 2009

By 

Wale Adeniyi (Laurel, Md) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Wesley: A Biography (Paperback)

I wanted a thorough insight into the doctrines and life of the John Wesley, the great English man, and founder of the Methodist Church. I wanted it presented through a very objective pair of lenses. In choosing to read about Wesley, I recognized that history already passed its judgment on him, I sought only to examine the facts on which this judgment is based.

In selecting a biography, I pointedly tried to avoid biographies from star struck fans of Wesley who could fall into the temptation of purging their subject of the many human foibles that make extra-ordinary lives attractive to me. I definitely wanted to stay away from those hacks who feel a deep duty to cut greatness to size, and dampen the auspicious aura that history casts on the present with their irreverent pen. After carefully reviewing many, I decided that ROY HATTERSLEY's "John Wesley: A brand from the Burning" fell in the later category, and Paul Wesley's "Recapturing the Wesleys' Vision: An Introduction to the Faith of John and Charles Wesley" may fall too far into the later rank. Stephen Tomkin's John Wesley: A Biography was my unfortunate choice.

John Wesley - A Biography comes across more as a critique of Wesley's life than a biography. The book provides a lot of information in its two hundred pages; only, the information is time after time introduced merely as prelude to many scathing psychoanalysis of the man. Mr. Tomkins seems to prod into his subject's mind (centuries after the fact) for the singular purpose of finding reasons to question the motives behind many of the decisions taken by Wesley (see what the writer wrote about Wesley's ability to distinguish between biography and hagiography in Chapter Seven: The Wilderness Georgia, as one example in a book froth with cynical editorializing.) A few times the writer boldly questions the veracity of some of the categorical claims of his subject, only to offer equally unconvincing reasons that Wesley would lie. The effect of this practice on the book is to effectively inject the writer's thoughts into the narrative in a noticeably intrusive manner. Essentially, it became a book about the fundamental soundness of Tomkins as much as it was about Wesley.

This book may appeal to those interested in Wesley in much the same way as a surgeon is interested in his patients. It may appeal to the student of dialectics, but my guess is that few Christians will find the style tasteful. It was neither objective, nor particularly insightful.