The life and times of the Rev. John Wesley, M.A., founder of the Methodists. Vol. 2 (of 3)Tyerman, L. (Luke)
History
The life and times of the Rev. John Wesley, M.A., founder of the Methodists. Vol. 2 (of 3)
Tyerman, L. (Luke)
Methodism; Wesley, John, 1703-1791
In the midst of all this, a terrible onslaught was made upon the
Moravians, and upon Zinzendorf in particular, by Henry Rimius, “Aulic
Counsellor to his late majesty the King of Prussia,” in an octavo
pamphlet of 177 pages, dedicated to the Archbishop of Canterbury,
and entitled, “A Candid Narrative of the Rise and Progress of the
Herrnhuthers, commonly called Moravians, or _Unitas Fratrum_.” In one
place, he charges Zinzendorf with flagrant falsehood. He states, that
in his book, “Natural Reflections,” the count asserts that “he had
been examined by the Theological Faculty at Copenhagen.” Upon inquiry,
this was found to be an absolute untruth, and had been positively
contradicted by a public act of the said faculty, signed with their
corporate seal.
Wesley read Rimius’s narrative as soon as it was published, and
wrote: “It informed me of nothing new. I still think several of the
inconsiderable members of that community are upright; but I fear their
governors wax worse and worse, having their conscience seared as with a
hot iron.”
Whitefield, in a letter dated March 21, 1753, observed:—“What is
happening to the Moravians is no more than I have long expected, and
spoken of to many friends. Their scheme is so antichristian in almost
every respect, that I am amazed the eyes of the English Brethren have
not long since been opened.”
Whitefield tried to open them. He published a pamphlet, entitled, “An
Expostulatory Letter, addressed to Nicholas Lewis, Count Zinzendorf,
and Lord Advocate of the _Unitas Fratrum_.” The letter, dated April
24, 1753, in whole or in part, was reprinted in the magazines and
newspapers of that period, and produced a great sensation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account