Methodism/Puritanism research

The Evangelical Methodist Church is a Methodist church located in Corso Rosselli in Carrara, in the province
of Massa-Carrara. The Methodist temple was built in the twenties on a project by the architect Carlo
Vianello in neoclassical style.

Methodism is an expression of Protestantism and has given rise to one of the most widespread evangelical
churches in the world (about 70 million faithful). It belongs to the "revival or awakening movements",
which represent a constant spiritual component of the Protestant world and aim to bring evangelical
spirituality back to the center of the life of the churches, when these appear too institutionalized or
theological speculation risks making the faith excessively abstract and far from the existential experience of
the individual believer.

Awakenings almost never had schismatic intent.

In theological terms, awakenings re-evaluate the fundamental principles of the Christian faith, based on the
centrality of Christ and the Bible. From the ethical point of view, rediscovered faith is not a simple
adhesion, even if it is alive and participatory, but involves a complete renewal of personal life. A widely
used term is "conversion", which does not mean the passage from one church to another, but the change
from an existence dominated by the suggestions of the "world" to a life that has as its center the person of
Jesus the Christ, through a personal decision and an inner experience.

Methodists believe in the existence of preventative grace but, unlike Calvinists, they do not believe that it is
an irresistible grace and, therefore, believe that it can be rejected by man.

The birth of Methodism

The Methodist movement was born in eighteenth-century England, by an Anglican pastor, John Wesley,
whose intent was originally to create a current of revival within the Anglican Church, in a particularly
delicate and difficult era, characterized by the birth of the Industrial Revolution.

Wesley initially formed a student association at Oxford, which aimed to "methodically" divide the day
between Bible study, prayer and service to prisoners and people in social situations of poverty and
abandonment: hence the name of Methodists (originally given in a disparaging sense by opponents).
Wesley later traveled to North America and, through the Moravian Brothers' church, drew near to his
Lutheran roots, focused on the concept of the love of God who forgives and saves by grace alone through
faith, and who offers his grace without distinction to all human creatures, who can accept or reject it.

The Methodist spiritual experience is based on conversion to the Gospel and sanctification, that is, the
believer's response to God's love, through a commitment to transform one's life.

A happy insight of Wesley is that God has given everything, so we must give everything. There is therefore
an indissoluble link between the salvation received as a gift and the commitment to one's neighbour. Hence
the strong inclination of Methodism to social intervention, which is expressed outside its own circle, in
every place where there are situations of injustice. Significant on. Wesley's motto "my parish is the world".

The converts to the new faith were first of all the derelicts of society, the miners, the peasants, the poor
class of the industrial cities. Subsequently, it also ended up attracting members of the middle class.

From the beginning Methodism was characterized as an essentially popular movement, attentive to the
improvement of man in his totality and fullness of personality: precisely for this reason it merged with the
social life of the time. In fact, it is not possible to preach salvation, the love of God, brotherhood in Christ
for every man, without at the same time promoting the intention of establishing a new society, which
respects the dignity, value and rights of each one. Wesley preached mainly in a popular environment,
organizing the faithful in small groups (classes). Given the lack of adherence of Anglican pastors, he
decided to authorize the use of lay preachers, who soon became one of the main structures of Methodism.

The official separation of Methodism from the Anglican Church occurred only in 1795, four years after
Wesley's death, which left an organization of 135,000 faithful and 541 itinerant preachers. Methodism first
involved England and North America and then, through the activity of its missionaries, soon spread to
Europe and the rest of the world.

Puritanism

Puritanism was founded by some Calvinist Protestants after the coronation of Elizabeth I of England in
1558.

Puritanism, seeks to "purify" the Church of England from the remnants of the Roman Catholic "papacy" that
the Puritans claimed had been maintained after the religious settlement achieved at the beginning of the
reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The Puritans became known in the seventeenth century for a spirit of moral and
religious seriousness that informed their entire way of life and sought through the reform of the church to
make their lifestyle the model for the entire nation.

According to the Puritans, the church had to be freed from political power because Christ is the only head
of the church; they therefore affirmed the need for the supreme authority to reside in a group of "elders"
directly elected by the faithful and the freedom of every man to adhere or not to a religion.

Their spirituality was based on the appreciation of interiority and morality; moreover, they strongly
opposed the festivals and theatrical performances that had characterized the Elizabethan era.

The main point of Puritanism was God's supreme authority over human matters, particularly in the Church,
and especially as expressed in the Bible. This vision led them to seek individual and collective conformity to
biblical teachings, and this led them to pursue moral purity down to the smallest detail as well as
ecclesiastical purity at the highest level.

On an individual level, the Puritans emphasized that every person should be continually reformed by God's
grace to fight against the sin inherent in man and do what is right before God. A humble and obedient life
would be suitable for every Christian.

At the level of the ecclesiastical body, the Puritans believed that the worship of the Church should be
strictly regulated by what is commanded in the Bible. The Puritans condemned many practices of worship.
Like some Reformed churches on the European continent, Puritan reforms were characterized by very few
rituals and decorations and an obvious emphasis on sermon. They eliminated the use of musical
instruments in their worship practices, for various theological and practical reasons. Outside the church,
however, the Puritans were quite fond of music and encouraged it in some cases.

Another important distinction was the Puritan approach to Church-State relations. They opposed the
Anglican idea of the supremacy of the monarch in the church (Erastianism), and, like Calvin, claimed that
the only head of the heavenly or earthly Church is Christ (not the pope or the archbishop of Canterbury).
However, they believed that secular governments were accountable to God (not through the Church, but
alongside it) and that they had the task of protecting and rewarding virtue, including "true religion," and
punishing those who erred – a policy that can be described more as non-interference rather than
separation of church and state. The Congregationalists, a part of the puritan movement more radical than
the Anglican Puritans, believed that the divine right of kings was heresy, a belief that was even more
uphealed during the reign of Charles I of England.