This is the fifth volume of Wesley's Journal to appear in the critical edition of The Work of John Wesley. Covering the decade from mid-1765 to the beginning of 1776, it contains four "Extracts" of Wesley's Journal (14-17) that document--in Wesley's own words--a significant period of growth and controversy in the Methodist movement. He describes in some detail the continuing spread of the revival into the farther reaches of the British Isles, the points of contention that threaten to disrupt the progress of the revival, his widening involvement in social issues such as the slave...

This is the sixth volume of Wesley's Journal to appear in the critical edition of The Works of John Wesley. Covering the decade from 1776 to the end of 1786, it contains three full "Extracts" of Wesley's Journal (18-20) and the beginning of his last (21). These materials describe--in Wesley's own words--a crucial period that helps define the shape of Methodist theology and organization. The issues surrounding the manner of John Wesley's leadership and the authority of the Conference within Methodism furnish the framework for this period. Wesley begins working with new leaders such as...

W.R. Ward was one of the most influential historians of modern religion to be found at work in Britain during the twentieth century. Across fifty years his writings provoked a major reconsideration by historians of the significance of religion in society and its importance in the contexts of political, cultural and intellectual life. Ward was, above all, an international scholar who did much to repudiate any settled understanding that religious history existed in merely national categories. In particular, he showed how much British and American religion owed to the insights of Continental...