A Theology of Love

Rating:
Summary: A Good Book - A Must Skim
Review: Mildred Bangs Wynkoop advances the thesis that one hermenutical principal must characterize Wesleyan thought: Love. Wynkoop is very specific about what she means when she refers to this hermeneutic of love. For Wynkoop, the type of love she is referring to is agape. She explains Wesley by saying, "Every strand of his though, the warm heart of every doctrine, the passion of every sermon, the test of every claim to Christian grace, was love. So central is love that to be 'Wesleyan' is to be committed to a theology of love." (p. 101)

Wynkoop concludes her discussion with a deeply personal testimony to the way that God has changed her life. Here one sees the thoughts that are implicit and in some places explicit spelled out in the clearest terms possible. Perhaps it is fitting that in a discussion of the circumstance of sanctification, Wynkoop concludes with what this has meant for her. The words there are beautiful and poetic and any attempt to summarize them would be taking a sledgehammer to a beautiful stained glass window. At the conclusion of the work, one must see that the life in Christ is to be a life governed by love. This love binds together all parts of the Christian work and it is fitting that Wynkoop should title her work A Theology of Love.

I recommend this book. I also recommend skimming. Skimming should allow the reader to catch the message without wading through all of Wynkoop's language.