The Causes, Evils, and Cures of Heart and Church Divisions - eBook [ePub]

By Abingdon

Francis Asbury said he was “feeling the pain of a partial separation in spirit and practice from some who were as my brethren and sons in the gospel,” He “saw so clearly the evil consequences of a division, and how good and pleasant a thing it is for brothers and sisters to dwell together in unity.” So he began to abridge and edit two works written in the 1600s during the English Civil War. Asbury’s 1792 result, The Causes, Evils & Cures of Heart & Church Divisions, was one of the earliest publications sold to Methodist congregations and leaders by John Dickins, the first book steward of what is now the United Methodist Publishing House. The book was recommended in the Book of Discipline during the 19th century and repackaged in a new edition by the Methodist Book Concern in 1849 after Methodists split, north from south, over the battle to end slavery.

Decisions about what to include or omit were made while abridging and reissuing a work in 2016 that is based in sources from 1653 and 1670, when the dialect of Elizabethan English was spoken. We no longer speak this dialect, so the following principles guide the translation of archaic English in this further abridgment of Francis Asbury’s selections.

First, scripture quotations are converted to the Common English Bible, which also influences the vocabulary and syntax of the text where biblical allusions are employed. Second, with occasional exceptions, the text is now gender inclusive. Third, archaic words and idioms are replaced with functional or dynamic equivalents in present-day English. For example, few readers would know that a “jade,” who plays “jadish tricks,” is a worn-out old horse who is ill tempered. As another example, the word livery is replaced with “attire.”

The structure and flow of the abridgment by Bishop Asbury is preserved, with the headings adjusted to fit with the selected excerpts as well as the translation principles.

This book compiled by Francis Asbury continues to resonate with readers as a classic for painfully clear reasons: it shows how we love ourselves and our ideas far more than we love our neighbors or our adversaries.

"Causes, Evils & Cures can be a catalyst for perfecting the
spirit and witness of the UMC in the same way that Three Simple Rules
helped to enrich our life together two quadrennia ago. Every United
Methodist should read and pray with this little treasure close to their
heart."
-Bishop Gregory V Palmer

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Release date: Jan 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781501820793

Book preview

9781501820786.jpg

Title Page

20759.png

Copyright Page

the causes, evils, and cures of

heart and church divisions

Copyright © 2015 by Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Permissions, Abingdon Press, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., PO Box 280988, Nashville, TN 37228-0988, or permissions@

abingdonpress.com.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Asbury, Francis, 1745-1816. | Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646. Irenicum

to the lovers of truth and peace. | Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691. Cure of

church-divisions.

Title: The causes, evils, and cures of heart and church divisions / by

Francis Asbury.

Description: First [abridged edition]. | Nashville, Tennessee : Abingdon

Press, 2016.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015038659 (print) | LCCN 2015039653 (ebook) | ISBN

9781501820786 (binding: adhesive casebound : alk. paper) | ISBN

9781501820793 (e-book)

Subjects: LCSH: Christian life. | Church controversies.

Classification: LCC BV4501.3 .A786 2016 (print) | LCC BV4501.3 (ebook) | DDC

262—dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015038659

Scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission. www.CommonEnglishBible.com.

The excerpts in this volume are abridged and updated from The Causes, Evils, and Cures of Heart and Church Divisions, extracted from the works of Mr. Richard Baxter and Mr. Jeremiah Burroughes, Philadelphia: Printed by Parry Hall, no. 149, Chestnut Street, and sold by John Dickins, no. 182, in Race Street near Sixth Street, MDCCXCII [1792].

In 1792 Francis Asbury extracted the edition above from two sources: (1) Jeremiah Burroughes, Irenicum, to the Lovers of Truth and Peace Heart-Divisions Opened in the Causes and Evils of Them: With Cautions That We May Not Be Hurt by Them, and Endeavours to Heal Them (London: Robert Dawlman, 1653); (2) Richard Baxter (1615–1691), The Cure of Church-Divisions, or, Directions for Weak Christians to Keep Them from Being Dividers or Troublers of the Church with Some Directions to the Pastors How to Deal with Such Christians (London: Nevil Symmons, 1670).

Contents

21525.png

Publisher’s Note to the 2016 Edition

Publisher’s Note to the 1849 Edition

Address to the Church by Bishop Francis Asbury

Part One: The Causes of Divisions

I. Political Disorders That Divide

1. Pride

2. Self-Love

3. Envy

4. Passion

5. Rigidness

6. Rashness

7. Willfulness

8. Inconstancy

9. Jealousy

10. Contention

II. Practices That Divide

1. Whispering

2. Needless Disputes

3. Meddling

4. Slander

5. Inordinate Respect

6. Single-Issue Judgments

7. Compromising against the Common Good

8. Revenge

Part Two: The Evils of Divisions

I. The Good They Hinder

1. They Hinder Quietness, Comfort, and Spiritual Sweetness

2. They Hinder Spiritual Freedom

3. They Hinder Sweetness of Communion

4. They Hinder Our Time

5. They Hinder Our Prayers

6. They Hinder Use of Our Gifts

7. They Hinder Our Graces

II. The Sin They Cause

1. They Violate the Law of Love

2. They Are against the Prayer of Christ

3. They Dishonor Christ

4. They Hinder Our Time

5. They Offend Our Brothers and Sisters

6. They Stir Up Corruption

7. They Become Stubborn in Sin

8. They Keep Others from God’s Ways

Part Three: The Cures of Divisions

I. Joining Principles

1. Peace and Love Will Reconcile Differences

2. Strife Won’t Gain What Love Can

3. Better to Do Good Than Receive Good

"4. Another Person’s Good

Is Ours as Well as Theirs"

5. Our Good Is More in the Public Than Ourselves

6. The Golden Rule

7. To Yield Is More Honorable Than to Overcome

II. Considerations

We Are One

III. Directions

1. Value Maturity and Wisdom

2. Learn How to Overcome Spiritual Pride

3. Don’t Act More Holy Than Others

"4. Don’t Overvalue Words