The Theology of John Woolman, part 5 of 6

The Emergence of the “Government of Christ”: This-Worldly Perfection and Judgment

In the last post we looked at eschatology in relation to eighteenth century Quaker antislavery proponent, John Woolman’s, conception of time: one foot in the eschaton and one foot in historical time, so that he viewed himself as someone who brought God’s will to bear on the world of human affairs.

Today we are going to look at Woolman’s perfectionism and his views of divine judgment.
A theology of perfection and a theology of divine judgment are two beliefs that make us twenty-first century folks squirm in our seats a bit.  Why would concepts of perfection and judgment make us uneasy?
The concept of perfection brings with it fears of moral self-righteousness. It also makes us think of the infallibility that is associated with cults. When people claim perfection for themselves, they are usually abusing power in some way.

Similarly, theologies the feature divine judgment prominently are often little more than blaming others for their suffering. Moreover, retributive views of divine judgment strike us as arbitrary because people who rarely know God's specific will for their own lives claim to know God’s motivations in dealing with other people. When someone has a difficult time deciding where to go for lunch, but then claims to know God's mind  when a tragedy strikes another person or group, it seems phony.

The Theology of John Woolman, part 4 of 6

“On Earth as it is in Heaven”: John Woolman’s Apocalyptic Eschatology

The series of posts explores the theology of an eighteenth century Quaker minister, John Woolman. Woolman is most known as an antislavery proponent, but as we have seen his vision for the British Atlantic world was comprehensive and entailed the remaking of the world according to a radical vision of Christ's presence governing human affairs.

We have explored how he knew what he knew of God, his theology of revelation. We then explored how the inward, spiritual revelation led Woolman to outward socio-political embodiments, his propheticism. In this post, we will explore how the revelation of Christ's governance of all things was a revelation of ultimate human destiny, that is, his eschatology. Because eschatology is such an important and multifaceted part of Woolman's theology I have split it into two posts. This post deals with the nature of time and eternity, and how time impacts the life of faith. In the next post, I will explore two implications of Woolman's eschatology, his views of Christian perfection and impending judgment.

The Theology of John Woolman, part 3 of 6

The Colonial American Jeremiah: Woolman’s Prophetic Witness

In the last post, I explored how colonial American Quaker, John Woolman, came to spiritual knowledge. In other words, how did he know what he claimed to know of God's will? The answer to that question is to be found in an encounter with God that reshaped his understanding of reality and that dissolved physical/spiritual, temporal/eternal dichotomies.


In this post, I want to explore how the revelation Woolman received, which was spiritual and inward, made claims on human affairs and societal organization. In other words, I want to look at the way religious conviction can move beyond the predefined sphere of meaning we call "religion," and can shape all the venues that typically, and artificially, fragment human existence (i.e. political, spiritual, economic). The inward turns outward. I call this "propheticism," because the task of the prophet is to embody and pronounce the revelation she or he has received. This is what Woolman did, too.

The Theology of John Woolman, part 2 of 6

The “Principle that Proceeds from God”: Revelation, Conversion and Resignation

In the last post, I looked at some of the religious, economic and political events that influenced John Woolman's life and witness, and some of the key moments of his life. The next four posts will look at the core of Woolman's theology.

This post examines Woolman's theology of revelation (i.e. how did he know of God what he claimed to know?)
Post three explores Woolman's "propheticism," or, the claims of divine revelation on human affairs.
Post four takes up the question of "eschatology," or, how Woolman's views of human faithfulness were wrapped up in issues of human destiny and the fulfillment of divine promises.
Post five looks at the implications of Woolman's eschatology, namely that humans were capable of living in spiritual perfection such that their actions were consistent with God will. Moreover, Woolman believed God would judge humanity if they did not respond willingly to God's messages.
Post six examines Woolman's books and the influences that might have shaped his theology.