Wesley's sermon against bigotry must have sounded radical to Wesley’s 18th Century audience, just as I’m sure it still sounds radical today. Think, for example, about Republicans who expel any politician who admits the obvious truth that Joe Biden won the 2020 election, or progressive Democrats who are enraged that more moderate Democrats don’t automatically agree with every single one of their seemingly radical proposals. Think of the parents who rant incoherently during school board meetings because they do not want their children to learn about Martin Luther King, Jr. Bigotry tempts us every day.
Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Mountaintop in Memphis, Tennessee: A Speech for the Ages
If people of a different religious faith do good things, Wesley asked, is it not wrong to criticize or exclude them? On the one hand, Wesley spoke for what was (by the standards of his time) a degree of religious tolerance; on the other hand, as we will see, he fell short of his own ideals. So, let us remember what was good.
John Wesley, although ordained in the Church of England, is considered to be the founder of the Methodist Church. In this sermon against bigotry, it is enough, Wesley said, for someone to do something good. It is not necessary to belong to some favorite group. Group membership and official sanction are not prerequisites to goodness. Furthermore, it is not realistic, he insisted, to expect everyone to be good all the time.
As was standard practice among 18th-century Protestant preachers, Wesley based his sermon on a brief passage from the King James Bible, in this case, Mark 9:38-39. In the story, Jesus’ disciples condemn a man who is not in their group who was doing good deeds in Jesus’ name. Jesus responded that the man should not be stopped, but instead he should be allowed to continue his work:
“‘And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in Thy name: and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not.’ Mark 9:38, 39.”
Wesley’s ensuing argument was that someone who does good things has earned acceptance, even respect, even if that person does not belong to your particular group. It is wrong to criticize people in the pursuit of doctrinal or ideological purity. For, Wesley insisted, a person’s group membership is not important. There is no reason, Wesley insisted, to stop someone from preaching just because that person does not belong to a particular church, or has not been licensed to preach by a particular bishop. Similarly, we could infer, people of whom we disapprove can nevertheless be doing good things. We can (and should) praise them for doing the good things even if they have not joined our group. If people have done some good things, we should praise those deeds and, perhaps, decline to dwell on what is wrong. We should not even reject the good deeds that bigots might do. That was a radical idea in the 1700’s, and it remains a radical idea today. And, so, here is how Wesley summed up his argument:
“Think not the bigotry of another is any excuse for your own. It is not impossible, that one who casts out devils himself, may yet forbid you so to do. You may observe, this is the very case mentioned in the text. The Apostles forbade another to do what they did themselves.”Furthermore, Wesley even warned his audience to be careful before they condemned wicked deeds:
“But beware of retorting. It is not your part to return evil for evil. Another’s not observing the direction of our Lord, is no reason why you should neglect it. Nay, but let him have all the bigotry to himself. If he forbid you, do not you forbid him. Rather labour, and watch, and pray the more, to confirm your love toward him.”
Instead, Wesley urged his audience to look for ways to praise even those people who are doing evil:
So, what lessons can we draw? First, bigotry is nothing new. Second, even when bigotry was socially accepted, as it was in Wesley’s culture, good people have always been able to call it out. Third, even the most bigoted – or evil – people are capable of doing good things. Evil people can be praised when they do good things. Fourth, no one is perfect. For example, no Christian preacher can possibly uphold every one of his or her own principles. Wesley did not. So what? That doesn’t prove that the principles are wrong. It simply means that human weaknesses afflict all of us. Fifth, we should seek the good in other people. We should recognize people who do good things even if the people themselves offend us. Instead of excluding people who falsely claim to be members of our group, we should welcome them. We should encourage people who (metaphorically) cast out demons in our name. Even if they are not really in our group.
Wesley’s subtle logic distinguished between good deeds and bad people. He noted that bad people can do good things. He noted that silly rules should not stop good people from doing good things. He also noted, and this may be his most important point, that it is wrong to meet bigotry with bigotry. Steeped in Christian tradition, Wesley said that Christians are called to love not only each other, but also their worst enemies. He called his audience to show acceptance and tolerance toward everyone. That does not mean that people should give in to evil. Instead, it means that we do not fight evil by becoming evil ourselves. Wesley taught an important moral lesson, not only for his own time, but for ours.
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“If he speak all manner of evil of you, speak all manner of good (that is true) of him. Imitate herein that glorious saying of a great man (O that he had always breathed the same spirit!), ‘Let Luther call me a hundred devils; I will still reverence him as a messenger of God.’”Wesley was not perfect, any more than preachers today are perfect. And so, while preaching against bigotry, he sometimes fell victim to bigotry’s temptations. In the course of his sermon, he criticized what he said were brutal practices of Native Americans. I will not quote him – his comments were quite offensive – and it is unfortunate that he made no effort to verify the facts. Wesley’s sermon expressed a bit of bigotry toward non-Christians. Also, as the reader surely noticed, Wesley used “he” and “his” in a generic sense. That was standard practice in his time (and for centuries later), but such language does convey an implicit anti-female bias. So, he was as capable of bigotry as anyone else. I suppose that the Critical Race Theorists would say that some degree of bigotry lies within all of us.
So, what lessons can we draw? First, bigotry is nothing new. Second, even when bigotry was socially accepted, as it was in Wesley’s culture, good people have always been able to call it out. Third, even the most bigoted – or evil – people are capable of doing good things. Evil people can be praised when they do good things. Fourth, no one is perfect. For example, no Christian preacher can possibly uphold every one of his or her own principles. Wesley did not. So what? That doesn’t prove that the principles are wrong. It simply means that human weaknesses afflict all of us. Fifth, we should seek the good in other people. We should recognize people who do good things even if the people themselves offend us. Instead of excluding people who falsely claim to be members of our group, we should welcome them. We should encourage people who (metaphorically) cast out demons in our name. Even if they are not really in our group.
Wesley’s subtle logic distinguished between good deeds and bad people. He noted that bad people can do good things. He noted that silly rules should not stop good people from doing good things. He also noted, and this may be his most important point, that it is wrong to meet bigotry with bigotry. Steeped in Christian tradition, Wesley said that Christians are called to love not only each other, but also their worst enemies. He called his audience to show acceptance and tolerance toward everyone. That does not mean that people should give in to evil. Instead, it means that we do not fight evil by becoming evil ourselves. Wesley taught an important moral lesson, not only for his own time, but for ours.
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Pope Francis' Sermon for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees
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Research Note: Common practice in the 18th and 19th century was for prominent preachers to publish pamphlets or books of their sermons. The only known text of this sermon comes from a version that Wesley edited and published. Thus, the text could be more polished than what he actually delivered in church.
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