Methodism and the Miraculous: John Wesley's Idea of the Supernatural and the Identification of Methodists in the Eighteenth-Century

This study explores the thesis that belief in the supernatural became a significant identifying mark of Methodists living in the eighteenth-century. Not only did John Wesley believe in the reality of angels and demons but he also reflected on witchcraft, visionary experiences, trances, healings, and providential portents in a way that both affirmed his commitment to the theological strictures of primitive Christianity and developed a religious self-awareness for Methodists living in a changing modern world. Additionally, contrary to previous approaches to the place of the Methodists in Enlightenment culture, this book argues that a belief in the supernatural was far from eclipsed in the minds and hearts of people living in the eighteenth-century.