Show WESLEY AND CHRISTIAN UNITY helped to lessen bitterness and draw good men nearer together it would be unjust to ignore what john wesley did tor for christian unity religious differences were more ran cerous in his day than in ours mac mae aulay allay often exaggerates but he did not exaggerate in describing the old time country squire whose animosities were numerous and bitter he hated frenchmen and italians Scotch men and irishmen papists and nans rians independents and baptists quakers and jews it did not re quire much provocation for a mob to pull down a dissenting chapel or throw stones at a roman catholic priest in this world of fierce de den n incitation ancia tion amov ed a scholar who gladly acknowledged his indebtedness to good men of wide ly diff different prent tenets wesley had learn ed a good deal from the earia earl fathers he had read the great divines of the church of england some of his warm est friends were Moravia ns he aamir ed the saintly characters of the ro man and of the undivided catholic church his sympathies naturally quick had been broadened by read ing since de maistre warned the ro man church not to forget the claims of her anglican sister since the evan ge licals gave new force to the church of england since the oxford divines made dry bones live many lessons have been learned an increasing num ber of persons is gradually awakening to the difference between the faith once delivered to the saints and the opinions which merely date from au all gustine or calvin john wesley was in advance of his time should organic unity come within a century or two he will be counted among those who helped to lessen bitterness and to draw good men nearer together the living church P E |