DIVINE SONSHIP AND MIDDLE METHODISM: RICHARD WATSON’S THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTES Barry W. Hamilton By the second decade of the nineteenth century, British Methodism faced a mounting crisis among its ministerial ranks. While Anglicanism had engaged with rationalism, Calvinism and atheism for about two centuries, by 1820 these challenges threatened to undermine Methodist tradition. No longer were doctrinal debates confined to Anglican bishops and other elites: now artisan-class Wesleyan ministers elevated reason to the same level as revelation and began to question traditional Christian teaching. 1 Trained through a course of study that relied largely on the works of John Wesley and John Fletcher, Wesleyan ministers were ill-equipped to resist the inroads of Continental philosophy. 2 Some struggled with the doctrines of the Trinity and the Person of Christ. Pastors needed a compendium—a structured exposition of Christian doctrine— that addressed these issues. Alarmed at the challenges to Methodist doctrine, Richard Watson—and his colleague Jabez Bunting—used their authority to suppress error and ejected preachers who did not comply. 3 1 E.g. Samuel Tucker, The Triumph of Scriptural and Rational Truth: Displayed in a Complete Refutation of the Absurd and Unauthorized Doctrines of the Eternal Generation of the Divine Logos, and the Hypostatical Union of the Spiritual Natures in Jesus Christ: in a Series of Letters Addressed to the President of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference (London: Marshall and Mills: Fisher, Son, and Jackson, 1828), iii. Courtesy United Library, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary (Evanston, IL). 2 Wesleyan ministers were to “preach no other doctrines than are contained in Mr. Wesley’s first four volumes of invaluable sermons, and his excellent notes on the New Testament, which form the standard of religious opinions in our connexion.” Bristol Circuit, A Correct Statement of Facts, Connected with What Mr. George Pocock Has Termed “The Ejectment of Certain Ministers from the Society of Wesleyan Ministers in the City of Bristol.” Published by Order of the Leaders’ Meeting (Bristol: Nathaniel Lomas, [1820] ), 13. Courtesy Bridwell Library, Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX). 3 For a contemporary argument in support of the Conference as the representative of Methodism, acting on behalf of the entire body, see William Vevers, Observations on the Power Possessed and Exercised by the Wesleyan Methodist Ministers, in a Letter to a Friend (London: J. Mason, 1828), esp. 4-16. Vevers rebuts the charge of tyranny against the Methodist preachers, simply because they act for the general interests of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. For insight into Jabez Bunting’s strong leadership style, see Thomas
Transcript
DIVINE SONSHIP AND MIDDLE METHODISM:
RICHARD WATSON’S THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTES
Barry W. Hamilton
By the second decade of the nineteenth century, British Methodism faced a
mounting crisis among its ministerial ranks. While Anglicanism had engaged with
rationalism, Calvinism and atheism for about two centuries, by 1820 these challenges
threatened to undermine Methodist tradition. No longer were doctrinal debates confined
to Anglican bishops and other elites: now artisan-class Wesleyan ministers elevated
reason to the same level as revelation and began to question traditional Christian
teaching.1 Trained through a course of study that relied largely on the works of John
Wesley and John Fletcher, Wesleyan ministers were ill-equipped to resist the inroads of
Continental philosophy.2 Some struggled with the doctrines of the Trinity and the Person
of Christ. Pastors needed a compendium—a structured exposition of Christian doctrine—
that addressed these issues. Alarmed at the challenges to Methodist doctrine, Richard
Watson—and his colleague Jabez Bunting—used their authority to suppress error and
ejected preachers who did not comply.3
1 E.g. Samuel Tucker, The Triumph of Scriptural and Rational Truth: Displayed in a Complete Refutation
of the Absurd and Unauthorized Doctrines of the Eternal Generation of the Divine Logos, and the
Hypostatical Union of the Spiritual Natures in Jesus Christ: in a Series of Letters Addressed to the
President of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference (London: Marshall and Mills: Fisher, Son, and Jackson,
1828), iii. Courtesy United Library, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary (Evanston, IL). 2 Wesleyan ministers were to “preach no other doctrines than are contained in Mr. Wesley’s first four
volumes of invaluable sermons, and his excellent notes on the New Testament, which form the standard of
religious opinions in our connexion.” Bristol Circuit, A Correct Statement of Facts, Connected with What
Mr. George Pocock Has Termed “The Ejectment of Certain Ministers from the Society of Wesleyan
Ministers in the City of Bristol.” Published by Order of the Leaders’ Meeting (Bristol: Nathaniel Lomas,
[1820] ), 13. Courtesy Bridwell Library, Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX). 3 For a contemporary argument in support of the Conference as the representative of Methodism, acting on
behalf of the entire body, see William Vevers, Observations on the Power Possessed and Exercised by the
Wesleyan Methodist Ministers, in a Letter to a Friend (London: J. Mason, 1828), esp. 4-16. Vevers rebuts
the charge of tyranny against the Methodist preachers, simply because they act for the general interests of
the Wesleyan Methodist Church. For insight into Jabez Bunting’s strong leadership style, see Thomas
But more was at stake than simply addressing the questions of the day. Primary
source documents signal a major generational shift in this period. Those who knew John
Wesley—those who knew the first generation—were dying at an accelerated pace.4 A
new generation of Methodist preachers was ready to take their place; however, Bunting,
Watson and other Methodist leaders recognized the brewing crisis and reformed the
Wesleyan Methodist Church through stronger oversight.5 They also grounded these
changes in a theology of the pastoral office that maintained church order and upheld
ministerial authority.6 In these concerns can be traced the origins of Methodist
Percival Bunting, The Life of Jabez Bunting, D.D. With Notices of Contemporary Persons and Events
arbitrarily exercised authority, they often clashed with lay notions of the rights of British citizens. For
example, see An Address to the Methodist Societies in Beverley and the Vicinity, from the Members of Mr.
Robinson’s Class, Occasioned by the late Attempts to Exclude Him from the Society, for Having Published
“Observations on the System of Wesleyan Methodism.” With an Appendix (Beverley: T. Proctor, 1824), 10.
Courtesy Bridwell Library, Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX). 4 See The Annual Address of the Conference to the Methodist Societies in Great Britain, in the Connexion
Established by the Late Rev. John Wesley, M.A. August, 1820. London: Thomas Cordeux, 1820. Courtesy
Pitts Theology Library, Emory University (Atlanta, GA). 5 The power of the conference to examine its preachers stems from John Wesley himself. “Let it be
observed, however, that Mr. Wesley’s Design in calling the Preachers together annually, was not merely for
the regulation of the Circuits, but also for the review of their doctrines and discipline, and for the
examination of their moral conduct…” Joseph Benson, Apology for the People Called Methodists,
Containing a Concise Account of Their Origin and Progress, Doctrine, Discipline, and Designs: Humbly
Submitted to the Consideration of the Friends of True Christianity(London: G. Story, 1801), 202. For an
example of the attacks on Methodist episcopacy, see James Douglas, The System of Methodism Further
Exposed; and the Wiles of Priestcraft Investigated. Being a Refutation of the Calumnies Contained in the
Pamphlet of the Rev. Mr. Farrar, Entitled “The Condemner of Methodism Condemned,” with a Further
Developement [sic] of the Plans Adopted by the Wesleyan Preachers to Enslave Their Followers, and
Establish a System of Universal Tyranny and Priestly Dominion. Newcastle on Tyne: J. Mitchell, 1814.
Courtesy Pitts Theology Library, Emory University (Atlanta, GA). “Methodism, says Watson, has
generally been assailed by a violence so blind and illiberal, that the writers who have been chosen to
distinguish themselves by their zeal against that religious body, have, in most cases, so sufficiently
answered themselves, that controversy has been rendered unnecessary.” Samuel Dunn, Misrepresentation
Exposed, and Methodism Defended; in Answer to the Rev. John Turnbull’s Reply to Observations on His
Address (Edinburgh: Guthrie & Tait, 1825), 5. Courtesy Drew University Library, Drew University
(Madison, NJ). 6 “In and around Manchester… there was a troublesome element of irregularity and turbulence among so-
called Methodists, connected with prejudices and practices opposed to Church order and ministerial
authority, which came to the surface in the years following upon the death of Wesley. Bunting had had
experience of this state of things, and it was his object to have such a body of trained and competent
Christian ministers, and such a discipline established among ministers and people that in process of time
this leaven might work itself out without any violent agitation.” James Harrison Rigg, Jabez Bunting: A
Great Methodist Leader (London: Charles H. Kelly, n.d.), 104-105. Courtesy Manchester Wesley Research
theological education in a formal sense. The Pastoral Address to the Conference of 1820,
the first address of its kind, written by Jabez Bunting, exhorts the denomination to seek
out the rich spiritual connection with God—the holiness of heart and life essential to
being ‘Methodist.’ Three years later, Watson published the first volume of his
Theological Institutes, a defense of Wesleyan orthodoxy and an instrument of ministerial
reform in the Wesleyan spirit.7
Swept into Prominence
Watson’s early career scarcely portended his meteoric rise into Methodist
leadership. Born in Barton-upon-Humber in 1781, he began to preach at the age of fifteen
and achieved a modest popularity on account of his extreme youth. Yet the prevailing
issues of the Wesleyan Methodist Church apparently created an unfavorable climate for
his early ministry; moreover, Watson carried theological debates into the pulpit that
apparently alienated his parishioners. He returned briefly to secular employment and in
1801 transferred to the Methodist New Connexion.8 Later in life—and even after his
death—Watson’s critics were swift to latch onto this irregularity as evidence of his
Centre, Nazarene Theological College (Manchester, UK). For a strong defense of Conference authority in
the Wesleyan Methodist Church, see Charles H. Welch, An Investigation of Mr. Mark Robinson’s
Observations on the System of Wesleyan Methodism (London: Baldwin, Cradock and Joy, 1825), especially
pp. 29-52, “Chap.III, Power of the People,” a thorough examination of the rise of Conference authority
from Mr. Wesley himself (1738) through the Plan of Pacification (1797). Courtesy Bridwell Library,
Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX). 7 “Allowing a more free use of the imagination in treating religious subjects than Mr. Wesley, we had in
Mr. Watson a similar strictness and care to guard all he said from error.” Letter from the Rev. John Scott, of
Manchester, Dated January 15, 1833, in Jabez Bunting, Memorials of the Late Rev. Richard Watson:
Including the Funeral Sermon, Preached in the City-Road Chapel, London, on Friday, January 18, 1833;
An Enlarged Account of His Character and Death; and Brief Biographical Notices (London: John Mason,
1833), 76. Courtesy Drew University Library, Drew University (Madison, NJ). 8 “For a young man of his mental temperament, the times when he began to travel were most unfavorable.
The Societies had long been agitated by the questions of the Sacraments, and other points of church order
and discipline, and for want of a little fostering care and the guiding hand of experience, before he came of
age, he was prevailed on to leave the Society in which he labored successively at Castle Donington,
Leicester, Derby, and Hinckley and he joined the Methodist New Connexion in 1801, and preached for
them.” PLP III.7.2. Watson Manuscript Collection, The John Rylands Library University of Manchester
(Manchester, UK), 76.
‘ambition.’9 Indeed, his return to the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1811 and his
subsequent appointment to Wakefield placed him in circumstances which thrust him
within a few years to the top levels of Methodist leadership. Perhaps the most crucial
element at this time was his close fellowship with preachers who were rapidly advancing
within the ranks, especially Jabez Bunting.10
The close association with Bunting transported Watson from the rank-and-file
into the highest circles of Methodism.11 The Wakefield appointment gave Watson the
opportunity to exercise his talents for the ‘Old Connexion,’ and Bunting happened to be
close enough to recognize gifts that could be harnessed to promote Methodist missions.
Even sixty years later, those who remembered these men characterized Bunting as one
who brought Watson into prominence for the sake of Methodist missions, and Watson as
one who welcomed every opportunity afforded him.12 This symbiotic friendship
9 “A certain amount of popularity, arising from his extreme youth, accompanied him in his several circuits
but there were causes which prevented his receiving the attention his talents merited and thinking the
change would remove the hindrance of his progress he ventured upon the experiment, and remained
identified, very honorably with the New Connexion till the year 1811, by which time he found himself as
much in the background as he had ever been (until) [h]e was introduced to the Rev. Joseph Entwisle, in
Liverpool, in December 1811, and learning the disposition of his mind, Mr. Entwisle received Mr. Watson
into membership again with Methodism.” PLP III.7.2, 76. Other accounts attribute Mr. Watson’s voluntary
exit to the unwarranted suspicion of heterodoxy and the circulation of uncharitable rumors. For example,
see Richard Wench, Eminent Divines. Biographical and Critical Sketches of Richard Watson, and Robert
Hall (Selby: Brown & Foprbisheer, 1861), 7-8. Courtesy United Library, Garrett Evangelical Theological
Seminary (Evanston, IL). For an example of an attack on Watson’s character based on these early events,
see The British Critic and the Rev. Richard Watson: Strictures Upon the British Critic, No. XXXI., Article
I: Review of Jackson’s Memoirs of the Life and Writings of the Rev. Richard Watson (London: Simpkin and
Marshall, 1834), 6-13. This pamphlet is a defense of Watson’s character, published a year after his death.
Courtesy Bridwell Library, Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX). 10 “He remained in that circuit for two years, and during that time he was often associated with some of the
most eminent preachers in Methodism, particularly with the Rev. Jabez Bunting, who was then taking a
prominent place in the Connexion by the efforts which his earnestness and devotion led him to make in
founding the Methodist Foreign Missionary Society.” PLP.III.7.2., 76. For a detailed account of the initial
meeting of Bunting and Watson, see Richard Wrench, Eminent Divines, 10-11. 11 James Harrison Rigg called Jabez Bunting “the greatest man of middle Methodism” and “the greatest
leader of Methodism in the century that followed the death of Wesley.” James Harrison Rigg, Jabez
Bunting: A Great Methodist Leader. (London: Charles H. Kelly, n.d.), 5, 16. Courtesy Manchester Wesley
Research Centre, Nazarene Theological College (Manchester, UK). 12 “In that most important work, Mr. Bunting secured the able and masterly advocacy of Richard Watson,
and by thus introducing him into the foremost ranks of Methodism, both in the pulpit and on the platform,
continued until Watson’s death in 1833; indeed, Bunting may have encouraged Watson to
write his Theological Institutes. While Watson demonstrated considerable ability through
his ministry appointments, he was fortunate enough to be stationed in proximity to a
colleague who could direct those talents into a prominent role.13 Bunting had a keen eye
for talent that could support the cause closest to his own heart—the Methodist Foreign
Missionary Society. As much as or more than any other Methodist leader in that era,
Watson articulated a comprehensive vision of the opportunities in global mission and
compelled his audiences to embrace it.14
Watson’s outstanding service to the Methodist Foreign Missionary Society
eventually led his colleagues to elect him Conference President in 1826. This honor
crowned a series of events in which Watson’s talents had been employed on behalf of the
Wesleyan Methodist Church. After his service in the West Riding of Yorkshire from
1813 to 1816, where he had been ‘neighbors’ with Mr. Bunting, Watson moved to the
City Road Chapel in London. Here he preached a memorable sermon at the first
anniversary of the Methodist Foreign Mission Society (1817) that propelled him into the
top ranks of leadership. The Conference subsequently requested Watson to “draw up a
plan for the government of the Missionary Society.” Watson thus provided the initial
there Mr. Watson found the most ample scope for the exercise of all the genius which his piety and intellect
could command. The occasion was one which exactly suited the mind of Richard Watson, and he was not
slow for accepting all the opportunities which presented themselves to testify how heartily he sympathized
with the great Missionary Enterprise.” PLP III.7.2, 76-77. 13 “From 1813 to 1816 Mr. Bunting and Mr. Watson were near enough neighbors to be frequently in each
others’ company, and Mr. Bunting took an especial pleasure in promoting the best interests of Mr. Watson
in every possible way.” PLP III.7.2., 77. 14 “Since his return to the ranks of Methodism, Mr. Watson had been placed in some of the best and most
prominent circuits in the Connexion. He had often been called upon to preach special sermons, and as the
advocate of the foreign missionary cause he might have several equals, but he had no superior. He threw all
the force of his intellect and deep earnest piety into that advocacy and some of the climaxes which he
reached in pleading for the downtrodden and oppressed heathen nations, and especially the slaves, have
never been surpassed for their force, directness, eloquence, and expressiveness, either in the Senate or the
pulpit.” PLP III.7.2., 77.
organizational framework for the Society, rendering an immense service for Methodism.
Recognizing his high potential for leadership, the Conference elected him Chief Secretary
in 1821 and President in 1826.15 Watson subsequently “found a field of exertion, worthy
even of his exalted powers and peculiar attainments; and in that field he occupied himself
with a zeal and devotedness of spirit, and a degree of general acceptance and success,
which will rarely be equaled,--never surpassed.”16
During these years, Watson wrote his Theological Institutes when his career
reached its apex, the first volume appearing in 1823 and the last in 1829. This became his
magnum opus, the first systematic theology commissioned by a Methodist Conference.
His devotion to Methodism knew scarcely any bounds, for not only did he carry a heavy
load of Conference and pastoral duties but also struggled with serious health issues. 17
Prodded into Action
When Adam Clarke released the first volume of his Commentary in 1818, his
footnote on Luke 1:35 set off a firestorm of controversy. Perhaps the foremost biblical
scholar of his generation, Clarke’s expert knowledge of ancient languages secured his
reputation as an outstanding exegete. Scorning creeds and explicitly despising systematic
15 “It may be well to note a few items which may have contributed somewhat to produce this result [i.e.
being elected Conference President]. When he came to London in 1816, he was only thirty-five years old,
and had returned to Methodism only four years. Yet Mr. Watson was chosen by his brethren to preach in
City Road Chapel the first of a series of annual sermons before the Society, at its first anniversary. What a
galaxy of great names have followed in succession in that particular line of preachers, but no name greater,
nor any Sermon more effective than the first by Richard Watson. His comprehensive mind took in the
entire plan of the Missionary Enterprise, and by the Conference he was requested to draw up a plan for the
government of the Missionary Society, and this he did in the form of eighteen laws and regulations which
were printed in the Minutes of the Conference, and in the Report of the Society for 1818, and in subsequent
reports, as the basis of the Society’s operations.” PLP III.7.2., 77-78. 16 Jabez Bunting, Memorials of the Late Rev. Richard Watson, 42. .
17 “Being now more than forty years of age, his mental powers were at their greatest vigour, whilst his
capacious mind was full, from extensive reading, and much and deep thinking. From the continued feeble
state of his health, however, it seemed highly probable that he would not live to old age. Accordingly,
without delay, he addressed himself to a more weighty matter in authorship than had hitherto engaged his
mind and pen; which, indeed, was nothing less than a Complete body of Divinity.” Wrench, 15.
theology, he kept his own theological opinions close to his exegesis and produced a
biblically-faithful exposition of Christian doctrine that often conflicted with his
colleagues’ opinions.18 In his footnote, Clarke observed that the term “Son of God”
properly referred to Jesus Christ after the Incarnation. He applied the term “Logos” to the
Second Person of the Trinity as existing prior to the Incarnation. Clarke never denied the
Divinity of Christ; however, his critics feared his interpretation of this passage armed the
“Socinians” with ammunition against Trinitarianism.19 Shortly after the publication of
this first volume, they responded with more than forty pamphlets that both defended and
attacked Mr. Clarke.
Clarke refused to respond to these animadversions and compared them to a man
who went to the seashore to hold back the tide with a pitchfork.20 He held the results of
his scholarship with a tight grip; after his death, rumors circulated that Clarke had
changed his mind on the Sonship issue.21 However, his widow insisted that her late
husband “was no changeling”—once he had made up his mind, his position was fixed.22
Yet his critics unfairly accused Clarke of obstinacy; in fact, Clarke wrote his
Commentary from intense study, serious devotion and sturdy commitment to
18 See Ian Sellars, Adam Clarke, Controversialist: Wesleyanism and the Historic Faith in the Age of
Bunting (Ian Sellars, 1976), 2; and An Account of the Religious and Literary Life of Adam Clarke, LL.D.,
F.A.S. &c., &c. By a Member of His Family. With an Appendix by J. B. B. Clarke, M.A. 3 vols. (London: T.
S. Clarke, 1833), III:37. 19 Adam Clarke apparently shared hermeneutical perspectives with John Locke, especially as adumbrated in
the latter’s The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695). 20 An Account of the Religious and Literary Life of Adam Clarke, III: 168-169; Clarke, Christian Theology,
43-44. 21 Samuel Tucker appears to have been the source of this misinformation: “It is, indeed, a melancholy fact,
that the Dr., whose once manly intellect may be sinking under the infirmities of age, has unhappily
abandoned this elevated ground and standard of judgment, in reference to the important truth of the
incarnation of the Son of God.” See Tucker, An Expostulatory Letter, 27. 22Dunn, Life of Adam Clarke, 232. In the same paragraph, Dunn records Clarke’s regret that his son Joseph
“had go into the Established Church, instead of being a Methodist preacher; then adding, that his views on
the Sonship of Christ would have induced certain individuals to close the door against his admission, or to
select him as the victim of their annoyances, and so made his ministerial life uncomfortable.” Clarke may
have been alluding to Jabez Bunting and Richard Watson.
Methodism.23 To the end of his life, Clarke maintained a silent dignity that was broken
only in a few private moments.
The vast majority of pamphlets scarcely merited a reply; even those that defended
Clarke often revealed their authors’ unskilled use of rhetoric.24 Today’s readers might
question the significance of the debate; however, as William West recognized, “The
Scripture doctrine of the Trinity depends entirely upon the eternal Sonship of Christ.”25
Richard Watson recognized the crucial importance of the Sonship issue, and responded
with a passionate plea for the doctrine of the “eternal generation” of the divine Son of
God. He might have passed over the opportunity; however, as Secretary of the Wesleyan
Missionary Society he discovered that the issue had spread even to remote mission
stations. A strongly-principled man who would set out to win an argument even at the
cost of friendship, Watson wrote a pamphlet that could be regarded as the ‘official’ or
‘orthodox’ response to Mr. Clarke’s exegetical opinion on Luke 1:35.
Readers today might wonder why Watson should respond with such passion, at
the risk of alienating one of Methodism’s greatest lay leaders. Apparently, at the heart of
the issue was the extent to which reason could interpret Scripture. Furthermore, the issue
did not begin with Clarke’s footnote, but had been agitated among Methodist preachers
for some time. In the midst of the controversy, Watson wrote a letter to Richard Reece
23 “The following observations which he made in a letter to a young friend, should be more publically
known: ‘Mr. Wesley’s Notes on the New Testament are excellent and useful; and, were I not fully
convinced in the fear of God of what I am about to say, I would not say it. I then say, Carefully read over
my Comment on the Scriptures. I wrote every page of it in reference to the ministers of the word of God,
and especially those among the Methodists, and I know of no work, be it what it may, in which the
doctrines of the Methodists are so clearly stated, illustrated, and proved.’ In this I heartily concur.” Adam
Clarke, Christian Theology: Selected from His Published and Unpublished Writings, and Systematically
Arranged: With a Life of the Author. By Samuel Dunn. 9th ed. (London: William Tegg, 1848), 45.
24 *ckck Stephen Brunskill
25 William West, Observations on the Eternal Sonship of Christ, in a Letter to a Methodist Minister
(London: Thomas Cordeux, 1819), 10.
and enumerated the reasons for writing his pamphlet on the Eternal Sonship: (1) the
controversy had been going on for some time, especially among the younger preachers;
(2) Clarke’s statement of hermeneutical principles in his Appendix “had given it fresh
impulse”; (3) the justification on grounds of reason was “infinitely more serious than the
denial of the Eternal Sonship” and had a “very dangerous tendency”; and perhaps most
seriously in Watson’s mind, (4) the confusion that resulted in the minds of the younger
preachers, especially the missionary candidates.26 As the Secretary for the Missionary
Society, Watson could not keep silent. In the heat of controversy, he passionately argued
for the priority of faith over reason (without denying the role of reason). He and Bunting
followed up with intense examination of every Wesleyan minister on the Sonship issue,
and those who could not produce a satisfactory answer were dismissed from the
Wesleyan Methodist Church. The controversy created bitterness among those who were
ejected, but the latter included a number of ministers who were already leaning toward
heresy. Affirming the Eternal Sonship of Jesus Christ, Watson and Bunting insured that
the Wesleyan Methodist Church remained Trinitarian, even at Clarke’s expense.
Passing the Torch
By the second decade of the nineteenth century, Methodist leaders recognized the
critical need to reform theological education. The ascendant popularity of “enlightened
reason” as a criterion for reading Scripture produced a generation of preachers who
distrusted traditional creeds and sought to harmonize their reason with Divine Revelation.
26 “4. Most of the young men who came up to town to be sent out as Miss.’s [e.g. missionaries] had had
their minds greatly bewildered on these subjects; and the mischief had got to the foreign stations. One of
the Miss.’s writes home, and alludes to the ‘new exploded doctrine of the eternal sonship.’”Letter from
Richard Watson to the Rev. R. Reece, Methodist Chapel, Manchester. London, March 7, 1818. PLP
III.7.23. Courtesy The John Rylands Library University of Manchester (Manchester, UK).
As a result, Methodist preachers brought Arianism, Sabellianism and Unitarianism into
their pulpits, and resisted efforts at doctrinal reform.27 While the English Church since
the Restoration had opposed the perceived growth of irreligion, these doctrinal challenges
intruded into the lives of ordinary citizens, including those in Methodist congregations.
(*ckck Adam Clarke) Perhaps the strongest challenge came from the rise of English
Unitarianism, a movement that resonated with the era’s quest for a faith aligned with
reason and nature.28 Of course, theological controversies had raged in England since the
Reformation, especially after the Restoration of 1660. Calvinism, Socinianism, Arianism,
deism and atheism sparred for dominance, setting off a prolonged pamphlet war. Indeed,
John Wesley himself engaged heartily in theological debate across a broad range of
issues. His sermons and other publications furnished a substantial body of material,
enough to form the basis of a rudimentary theological education for Methodist
preachers.29 However, they lacked the systematic organization necessary to respond to
the profusion of questions raised by both preachers and laity in the early nineteenth
27 “To my certain knowledge, many of you are Sabellians,--not a few are secretly Arians,--many more are
Polytheists,--but the great majority, I believe, have no fixed opinions on those all-important points: their
minds are a chaos of confusion, and their pulpit discourses, when they do foolishly venture to introduce
those subjects into them, are generally a tissue of incoherent rhapsody, absurdity, and self-contradiction.”
Samuel Tucker, An Expostulatory Letter, Addressed to the President, Secretary, and Other Preachers
Constituting “The Wesleyan Methodist Conference,” Assembled at Liverpool, in July 1832; Charging that
Body with Maintaining and Enforcing Irrational and Antiscriptural Dogmata, as Fundamental Principles
in Their System of Theology; with a Challenge to a Discussion upon the Points at Issue; and a Brief
Statement of the Only True System of Christian Theology (Liverpool: Worrall and Taylor, 1832), 25-26.
Courtesy Bridwell Library, Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX). 28 The rise of ‘Socinianism’ in England stems in large measure from the scientist and Unitarian minister
Joseph Priestley, whose enthusiasm placed him in the role of an evangelist for rational religion. The
success of this movement and its threat to the Wesleyan Methodist Church can be measured by the fact that
in 1817 a Methodist Unitarian Church, one of several to follow, was organized in Manchester. *ckck 29 Prior to writing the Theological Institutes, Watson had been “desired by the Conference, in conjunction
with Mr. Benson, to prepare two Catechisms on Christian doctrine, and Scripture history” and then wrote a
third, “entitled, ‘The Evidences of Christianity,’ a very able and comprehensive work. In preparing these
manuals, he wisely availed himself of the Catechism of the Established Church, and that of the
Westminster Assembly of Divines, as well as of Wesley’s ‘Instructions for Children’... We hesitate not to
affirm, that any youth who should ‘mark, learn, and inwardly digest’ these Catechisms, could ceteris
paribus, undergo an acceptable theological examination for the office of a Preacher of the Gospel.”
Wrench, Eminent Divines, 16.
century. Some strong personalities questioned whether they were obligated to follow the
opinions of a “deceased fellow mortal” (e.g. Mr. Wesley).30 Others embraced the
rationalistic spirit of the age and veered away from affirming the historic creeds of
Christendom.31
In early nineteenth-century England, theological education for Wesleyan
ministers remained largely informal. The Conference required each preacher on trial to
produce a reading list of theological literature, and depended on the more experienced
ministers to advise the younger respecting their education. Before their admission into
full connection, these younger preachers were examined for their knowledge of Mr.
Wesley’s Works, especially his Sermons and Explanatory Notes on the New Testament.
The Conference required them to purchase Mr. Wesley’s works, and directed the Book-
Steward to allow the preachers to pay for them by installments. The Conference also
recommended they purchase Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures,
available to them at half-price.32 The 1822 Conference determined to exercise greater
control and develop its own reading list, apparently as part of its increasing measures to
insure a consistent orthodoxy among its preachers on all points of doctrine.33 And even
30Tucker, Triumph of Scriptural and Rational Truth, 4. See also Vevers, Observations on the Power
Possessed and Exercised by the Wesleyan Methodist Ministers, 5.Vevers refers to those who would regard
information about Methodism’s origins as “only worthy the attention of the Society of Antiquarians.” 31 One of Watson’s most significant contributions to Methodist theology may have been his adherence to
the historic creeds. Watson “loved the creeds of the ancient Church, because he considered those
formularies as signally instrumental in maintaining ‘the faith once delivered to the saints;’ as able
summaries of the whole sense of what is revealed in Scripture on the subjects to which they refer; as
seasonable and useful protests, at the time of their first appearance, against the multiform and almost
endless heresies by which the truth has been assailed; and as valuable records of the doctrinal views of
those Christians who, in former ages, were eminently called to ‘witness a good confession.’” Bunting,
Memorials of the Late Rev. Richard Watson, 44. 32 See The Wesleyan Methodist Conference 1744-1932 [manuscript]. Journal. LXXII (31 July 1815), 122-
123. Courtesy The John Rylands Library University of Manchester (Manchester, UK). This is the hand-
written journal ledger taken down during each Conference, not the published material. 33 “Resolved, That in order to assist young men on trial in theological and useful reading, a Committee shall
be appointed who shall prepare a select list of Books in Divinity, Biblical Literature, Civil and
in his poor health, Mr. Watson invested himself in the training of young missionaries in
theology. These measures indicate the Methodist leaders’ concern for the welfare of the
entire movement, insuring that the missionaries were fully orthodox before their
departure for foreign lands.34
The Wesleyan Methodist Church (probably Mr. Bunting himself) chose Richard
Watson to write a systematic theology for training young ministers, for he had a capacity
for logical argument and ‘generalization’ without peer among the Methodists of his day.
But Watson had a more personal reason for his involvement in theological education. In
the funeral sermon for his friend, Jabez Bunting revealed the lack of formal training as
the major factor in Watson’s early departure to the Methodist New Connexion. As a
precocious adolescent preacher, he apparently engaged in theological disputations in his
sermons in front of working-class congregations. Rumors arose from these circles and
reached Watson’s colleagues, who apparently suspected doctrinal aberration. In his
funeral sermon, Bunting belabored the point that Watson never appeared for a moment to
stray from sound doctrine. But the ensuing conflict wounded the young preacher, and
Watson turned back to making furniture, the trade in which he had been apprenticed at
age fourteen.35 The anguish of this period left an enduring mark on Watson’s character,
Ecclesiastical History, Natural Philosophy, etc., to be read by them during the four years of their
probation;--that this selection of Books shall be laid before the next Conference for its approbation, with a
plan to secure the careful reading of them on the part of the candidates;--that sufficient time shall be given
to the young men on trial [i.e. sufficient time to pay for the books]. N.B. The following persons are
appointed a Committee to carry into effect the above suggestions, viz. The President and Secretary; the
Superintendents of the three London Circuits; and Messrs. Bunting, Watson, and Thomas Jackson.” The
Minutes or Journal of the Conference of the People called Methodists, begun in London on Wednesday,
July the thirty-first, 1822, and continued by various adjournments to the fourteenth day of August following
[manuscript], 555-556. Courtesy The John Rylands Library University of Manchester (Manchester, UK). 34 *ckck the problem with the sonship controversy reaching the mission stations
35 Jabez Bunting, Memorials of the Late Rev. Richard Watson, 26-27. “When a student not yet twenty years
of age,--ardent in his aspirations after knowledge, but left very much to himself in the choice of books,--
without the means, probably, of obtaining those standard works which to an intellect of his peculiar cast
and order would have been most useful,--unaided and unprotected in his somewhat eager and adventurous
and likely contributed to his lifelong passion for theological education.36 These troubles
may have also turned Watson into a staunch opponent of the lay-oriented democracy of
the New Connexion and a firm advocate of Bunting’s campaign for a centralized
governance structure in the hands of the Preachers.37
According to Bunting, Watson wrote his Institutes to address the needs of young
Wesleyan ministers.38 These needs included the disciplinary action of the Conference in
educating pastors and keeping them faithful to Methodist doctrinal standards.39 In fact,
the Institutes were a significant milestone in the Methodist episcopacy’s campaign to
overhaul Wesleyan theological education and strengthen the Pastoral Office. This revised
system placed a protective hedge against the “hour of temptation” that tempted young
ministers to stray from the truth of Divine Revelation.40 In spite of his faithful adherence
inquiries by any sufficient course of previous mental discipline,--and not always favoured with the
guidance and advice of judicious instructors well versed in theological discussions,--he was exposed to
more than ordinary temptation and danger. Escaping, however, by the mercy of God, from early perils of
this nature, it does not appear that even then he so erred from the truth, as to renounce essential doctrines.” 36 See Bunting, Memorials of the Late Rev. Richard Watson, 33-34, 67-68.
37 According to Joseph Barker, the Methodist New Connexion drove Richard Watson away from their ranks
because his precocious ability may have threatened a lay governance structure. “The Old Connexion bred
great and mighty men, the New Connexion bred weak and little ones. The New Connexion was afraid of
superior men, and if any made their appearance, drove them away, as in the case of Richard Watson and
others; the Old Connexion welcomed such men, and used them, and reaped from their labors rich harvests
of blessing.” Joseph Barker, Modern Skepticism: A Journey Through the Land of Doubt and Back Again. A
Life Story (Philadelphia, PA: Smith, English & Co., 1874), 157. 38 “His ‘Institutes’ were chiefly written with a view to the theological improvement of the junior Ministers
and the younger Local Preachers of our body, an object which he rightly deemed to be of primary
importance.” Bunting, Memorials of the Late Rev. Richard Watson, 41. 39 “His benevolent zeal was also evidenced by his diligence and tenderness, mixed with becoming firmness
and fidelity, in the discharge of pastoral and disciplinary functions; which he justly reckoned to be a most
useful and responsible department of ministerial service.—The same principle, in connexion with a deep
conviction of the infinite value of divine truth, and of the solemn obligation to extend its light and
influence, prompted him to write and publish his various works.” Bunting, Memorials of the Late Rev.
Richard Watson, 40. 40 “While yet engaged in the mere process of inquiry, or in working out, as he used to term it, a subject of
theological interest… he might to some, who misunderstood his object, and knew not his habits, present the
appearance of an occasional unsettledness of opinion; and there was a season of juvenile ardour and
inexperience… during which unquestionably he was found “in slippery places.” His extreme youth, the
peculiar character of his mind, the frequent want of regular training and guidance in his studies, and other
circumstances, all combined to make that period of his life “the hour of temptation.” That he always and
entirely resisted the temptation, so as to be wholly saved at that time from speculations neither safe nor
to Methodist doctrines, Watson’s unfortunate departure from the “Old Connexion”
provided his enemies with material for attacking his character, even after his death.41
Extending the Roots
Certainly the Pastoral Address of 1820 underscores Methodism’s concern with
the transference of its identity to a new generation. The Conference observed the
diminishing numbers of ministers who could remember their esteemed founder, and
called for the rising generation to renew its commitment to Jesus Christ in the spirit of the
earliest days of the movement. But the key element in right practice lay in faithful
adherence to Methodist doctrines.42 Early Methodist leaders could never separate these
two aspects—in their eyes, the key to their success as a movement, the source of their
power, lay in their possession of the Truth. Indeed, Watson wrote his Institutes as an
exposition of Divine Revelation, refined through argument, supported by Scripture,
patristic and modern authorities, against every heresy that threatened the Gospel in its
purity.43 Convinced that reason had been corrupted by Adam’s disobedience, Watson
established his theology on the authority of the Holy Scriptures. 44 While he could
profitable, I am not careful to affirm. The blame, if blame there were, must rest in part, in my judgment, on
the glaring defect of that system which leaves young men so situated without due protection against hazards
so serious; hazards which might, in this case, have proved fatal to a youth of most extraordinary mental
power and promise.” Bunting, Memorials of the Late Rev. Richard Watson, 43. 41 See Bunting, Memorials of the Late Rev. Richard Watson, 69-72.
42 *ckck John W. Wright
43For a lay characterization of Watson’s theology as “richly evangelical,” see Letter from Mrs. Bulmer, of
London, Dated January 16, 1833, in Bunting, Memorials of the Late Rev. Richard Watson, 81-83. 44 “After his inquiries had been well directed and matured, and his judgment duly trained to those habits of
cautious and comprehensive investigation, in which he subsequently excelled, his attachment to the
fundamental verities of the gospel was ever firm and exemplary, and grew in strength and influence to the
very close of life. His convictions of those verities was very little founded on metaphysical reasonings, or
on analogical congruities, real or imagined, but rested primarily, and almost exclusively, on the divine
authority which has made them known. As in ETHICS he had adopted, and was wont to vindicate, that
hypothesis which takes the will of God as the true ground of moral obligation, and the primary rule of
right… so in THEOLOGY, he contentedly reposed on the word of God.” Bunting, Memorials of the Late
Rev. Richard Watson, 27.
address speculative theological issues, Watson would conclude his observations by
resting in the “saying of Christ”—the Divine Revelation recorded in Scripture.45
In opposition to the spread of irreligion, the Methodists redoubled their efforts to
spread their faith among the populace. Watson began to write his Institutes at a critical
moment when opposition to traditional religion—and internal rebellion against
ministerial authority—provoked the Conference to respond to the challenge.46 As a
movement tinctured with enthusiastic elements, Methodism received its share of censure
from rationalists and other freethinkers.47 Furthermore, the political movements of that
era—in the form of Radicalism—resulted in painful losses to church membership.48
Motivated by democratic ideals, these currents were often deeply infused with anti-
45 As Bunting observed, “The careful and able discussion of the Calvinistic controversy, which is found in
Mr. Watson’s ’Institutes,’ is prefaced by some admirable observations, part of which I shall here quote,
because they are, in my judgment, eminently important and correct; and because they furnish, in his own
words, a further illustration of his habitual appeal to ‘the saying of Christ,’ in preference to every other
mode of proof or vindication. They shew that ‘reasoning out of the Scriptures’ was, in his view, the proper
method of conducting such inquiries.” Bunting, Memorials of the Late Rev. Richard Watson, 29. 46 As a response to theological controversy, Watson’s Theological Institutes followed an especially difficult
period of English history. “But in the terrible years for England which immediately followed the peace
gained by the downfall of Napoleon, all classes suffered severely; while political rancour, on both sides,
made the path of the honest and godly man hard and narrow. Jabez Bunting passed through those toublous
times, not without incurring reproach—and sometimes indeed serious perils from disaffected malignity—
but on the whole with steadily increasing honour and influence.. In that very year (1820) he was by a very
large majority elected President of the Methodist Conference, being the youngest man who had occupied
that Chair.” Rigg, Jabez Bunting, 98-99; see also The Annual Address of the Conference to the Methodist
Societies in Great Britain, in the Connexion Established by the Late Rev. John Wesley, M.A.: August, 1820
(London: Thomas Cordbux, 1820), 4-5. Courtesy Pitts Theology Library, Emory University (Atlanta, GA). 47 See James Everett, The Village Blacksmith; or, Piety and Usefulness Exemplified in a Memoir of the Life
of Samuel Hick, Late of Micklefield, Yorkshire (London: T. Woolmer, [1830]), 194-206. In this appendix,
Everett notes that skeptics and infidels ridiculed the stories of supernaturalist credulity that characterized
both John Wesley and Samuel Hick. Courtesy Manchester Wesley Research Centre, Nazarene Theological
College (Manchester, UK). See also Vicki Tolar Burton, Spiritual Literacy in John Wesley’s Methodism:
Reading, Writing and Speaking to Believe (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2008), 27-28. 48 “The political miasma which continued to hang over the public mind, occasioned unpleasant feeling in
the Doctor [i.e. Adam Clarke]. ‘..The nation is becoming increasingly disaffected. The Methodist
preachers, however, are all true men. It will pain you to hear, as it does me to relate, that this year [1821],
through what is called Radicalism, we have lost between 5,000 and 6,000 members. This is such a blow as
we never had since we were a people.’” James Everett, Adam Clarke Portrayed. 2 vols. 2nd ed., carefully
revised and enlarged. London: W. Reed, 1866. Courtesy Manchester Wesley Research Centre, Nazarene
Theological College (Manchester, UK).
clericalism, the results of lay members and Local Preachers chafing against the Methodist
hierarchy and its support of the Crown.49
Methodist leaders called for the dissemination of religious literature, particularly
the sermons of Mr. Wesley, as part of the antidote to the landslide of error that threatened
to ruin England.50 At the same time, they urged their members to renew their spiritual
practice. The Conference believed these strategies would fortify the Methodists against
attack and strengthen their mission to spread the Gospel.
Indeed the Wesleyan Methodist Church faced a major crisis within its ranks by
the second decade of the nineteenth century. Expressing gratitude for the Theological
Institutes and assessing their worth, Richard Wrench credited Methodism’s doctrinal
strength to “Wesley’s works” and Watson’s “systematic theology.”51 Originating in the
seventeenth-century Anglican controversialists, the genre of ‘systematic theology’
supplied an intellectual framework through which the Christian tradition could be
expounded against contemporary challenges.52 Writing at a crucial moment in British
49 “The second quarter of the 19
th century was in many ways the most disastrous period in the whole history
of British Methodism. The far more serious secessions which we now examine had one thing in common:
they were all rebellions against the centralized authority of the Conference and the autocracy of the
ordained ministry.” Kenneth G. Greet, Jabez Bunting (n.p., n.d.), 23. Courtesy Manchester Wesley
Research Centre, Nazarene Theological College (Manchester, UK). 50 “The enemies of religion and of social order have been actively employed in spreading the poison of
immorality and infidelity; and we are desirous that our friends, in every part of the Kingdom, should
zealously counteract the leaven of evil, by carrying the doctrines of the Gospel into all the habitations of
ungodliness, and labouring to rescue from the dominion of darkness those who have been led captive by the
devil at his will. If the Sermons of Mr. Wesley and those religious Tracts which are most weighty and
impressive, be widely circulated, we have no doubt they will be the instruments of leading multitudes of
souls to an eternity of happiness.” The Annual Address of the Conference to the Methodist Societies in
Great Britain LXXIX. London (31 July 1822), 343-344. 51 “To his systematic theology, and Wesley’s works, it is owing,--in conjunction with the evangelical
soundness of Methodism’s two venerable theological tutors—that, while the Established Church is
frequently upheaved by Tractarianism, … and rationalism is at intervals producing strifes and division
amongst our Brethren of the Dissenting church, that in doctrine, Methodism is sound as the oak, its young
Preachers equally with the middle-aged, and the old… To this cheering result who can say how greatly we
are indebted to ‘Watson’s Institutes?’” Wrench, Eminent Divines, 37. 52 The genre of ‘systematic theology’ may be related to what John Redwood calls “the encyclopaedic
chroniclers of atheism” who flourished in seventeenth-century England. “Behind the works of the many
Methodist history, Watson shared Bunting’s sense of ministerial responsibility toward the
entire Connexion.53 Indeed, Watson and Bunting (along with Adam Clarke) were among
Methodism’s strongest advocates for theological education.54 Moreover, Watson
dedicated his Institutes to Bunting at the appearance of the first volume in 1823.55
A 2109-page exposition of Divine Revelation would have shaped both the thought
and spiritual life of a new generation of Methodist preachers, strengthening the Church’s
theology and practice in the Wesleyan spirit.56 Through his Institutes, Watson determined
to dethrone rationalism and establish Scripture as the rule of Methodist theology.57
Ironically, while this strategy rejected the Enlightenment’s apotheosis of reason and
penny pamphleteers who churned out their particular refutations of atheists and near-atheists in response to
the demands of the minute and the impulse of the hour, lay the much longer and more serious works of the
great encyclopaedic apologists. These men were concerned with establishing eternal verities and providing
reference works for all those concerned with the defence of the faith on the ground. There was no more
skilled or comprehensive a debater of atheist and semi-atheist opinions and heretical onslaughts against
Christian doctrine than Ralph Cudworth, the mid-seventeenth-century Cambridge author, tutor and cleric. It
was his work which was drawn on by many of the subsequent debaters, and his work which can best
provide us with the intellectual framework in which all the debates must be viewed.” John Redwood,
Reason, Ridicule and Religion: The Age of Enlightenment in England, 1660-1750 (London: Thames and
ministerial ranks, even at the cost of alienating scores of preachers and their supporters.61
Subsequent generations credited them with ‘saving’ Methodism from shipwreck and re-
establishing its doctrine on scriptural authority. Most Methodist reviewers hailed the
Institutes as a work of genius and Mr. Watson as “Methodism’s greatest man.”62
A Mixed Reception
While Methodist leaders heaped praises on Richard Watson, they recognized that
his Institutes’ greatness came from their comprehensive vision of the Gospel as preserved
and articulated through the Wesleyan-Anglican-Evangelical tradition. They kept the
Wesleyan Methodist Church on track with Mr. Wesley’s thought and spirit, and
continued the recovery of ‘Scriptural Christianity’ sought by the English Reformation,
particularly after the Restoration of 1660. Doing this, however, came with a price. The
Institutes are indeed a magisterial exposition of ‘Scriptural Christianity’—from a highly
61 “The times were critical, the task delicate, the errors to be refuted portentous. Mr. Watson had the double
merit of providing the Methodists with a body of divinity ably and lucidly arranged,--a desideratum to them
of vast importance,--and then, of rescuing their religious system from an impending danger. His efforts
were entirely successful. His writings became a healing element; and, demonstrating the consistency,
coherence, and extent of the Scriptures as the only foundation of theology, he settled the opinions of those
who had been shaken, and gave proof to all of the invulnerability of the Christian system. It follows that
these writings have an historical importance as respects the Methodist body. Crises will arise in all religious
communities; but a doctrinal crisis is most to be dreaded. This was approaching, if it had not actually
arrived; old men were alarmed, and young men were on the qui vive; orthodoxy trembled, and free-thinking
exulted; the lovers of the “old ways” stood aghast, and the men of progress and development were looking
forward to some grand consummation. Mr. Watson stepped in to the rescue, and, though a philosopher
himself, and a man of vivid intuitions, yet he renounced philosophy for the Gospel, and bowed his own
intuitions before the revelations of God… Mr. Watson’s intellectual capacity was great; but it was the
evangelical system itself, which he so tenaciously held, that gave him his power.” Wrench, Eminent
Divines, 38-39. 62 Wrench, Eminent Divines, 3. Shortly after Watson’s death, an anonymous Anglican author wrote a
pamphlet defending him against a critical review of Thomas Jackson’s biography. “Than Richard Watson,
the last century has certainly produced no greater man; no single individual distinguished by greater power
and breadth of intellect, by loftier and wider philanthropy, or by more strenuous or splendid exertions in the
cause of truth and piety. This we say fearlessly, and without hesitation; the more so, as we, who are not
members of his communion, shall hardly be suspected of being driven to this opinion by the all-levelling
strength of sectarian prejudice.” The British Critic and the Rev. Richard Watson: Strictures upon the British
Critic, No. XXXI., Article I: Review of Jackson’s Memoirs of the Life and Writings of the Rev. Richard
Watson (London: Simpkin and Marshall, 1834), 5.
particular perspective, that of Mr. Watson himself. This perspective reveals a gifted,
ambitious writer identified with the Methodist leadership of early nineteenth-century
England, at the height of the British Empire. And although his contemporaries lauded his
brilliance and eulogized his achievements, they also recognized—reluctantly, at times—
his limitations.
Born of a potential crisis in Methodist theological education, Watson’s Institutes
serve as an excellent model of argumentation in the form of Aristotelian logic. Watson
relished debate, and the Institutes provided an opportunity to defeat the intellectual
enemies of Methodism of that era. He assumed an air of confidence against all
opposition, citing scores of respected authorities from church tradition and interpreting
selected Scripture passages to support his positions. However, even as contemporaries
soon observed, the Institutes lacked literary quality. Written under the pressure of
emergency, Watson drew from an array of theological authorities and quoted them
extensively. At times, this prolixity tires readers; even shortly after the Institutes were
published, reviewers recognized their artlessness and attributed this to Watson’s
personality. Even Wrench, who eulogized Watson to the point of hagiography, believed
that Watson could have improved the Institutes through revision.63
Nevertheless, Watson’s admirers hedge their criticisms with reminiscences of his
skill as a great preacher. After the Conference of 1829 appointed him again to London,
Watson’s sermons attracted large audiences who relished their high intellectual character.
63 “With more leisure, and greater painstaking industry in polishing his compositions, some of these
imperfections would have disappeared, while others were inherent in his mind, which, though universal in
its passivity, and had ‘a face to look upon all quarters of truth and knowledge,’ yet was not possessed of
every active quality. His sentences, in general, especially in the ‘Institutes,’ are much too long… Watson
had very little sprightliness, archness, or vivacity, and no humour… This lack of pathos, tenderness, and
burning intensity, despite other numerous and great excellencies, has prevented both Watson and Hall from
becoming popular with readers generally.” Wrench, Eminent Divines, 39.
Furthermore, his chronic illness gave his sermons a peculiar pathos that apparently
magnified the serious tone of the subject matter.64 But this skill had been manifested in
his ministry for quite some time, and Watson’s sermons acquired a wide reputation.65
Unlike many preachers of this era, Watson did not rely on mere oratory but rather on the
skillful expression of ideas. And though he relied on a manuscript, Watson also balanced
the depth of his written words with opportune moments of freedom in the pulpit.66 But
even here, in his greatest moments, those who remembered his sermons thought them
capable of improvement. Even Richard Wrench, who slathered admiration on Mr.
Watson a bit much, admits that the great Methodist leader could have clarified his
sentences with some editorial work. Those who read his Institutes today would likely
agree that some of Watson’s sentences are awkward and lengthy, not only the product of
haste but also of the man’s character himself. Perhaps through sheer genius, Watson
stretched for the heavens; his readers apparently had difficulty grasping those moments.67
And while Watson wrote climacteric passages that make the Institutes a
monumental tribute to theology in the Wesleyan spirit, his work suffers from the
excessive inclusion of extracts from other sources. Wrench points out the extensive use of
64 “Richard Watson came to London to spend the remainder of his too short life. Into all the duties of the
work of a London circuit he entered with as much earnestness and determination as his extremely feeble
body would permit. His pulpit ministrations were attended by large numbers of persons of high culture and
intellectual taste. Though esteemed in polite society as one of the most learned and accomplished men of
the day, yet his humility and piety never shone brighter than during the time of his greatest popularity. His
great physical weakness added to the tenderness of his spirit, and often intensified his appeals from the
pulpit.” PLP III.7.1., 79. 65 “To hear him preach in his happiest moods must have been one of the greatest treats imaginable to
persons of culture and piety.” Wrench, Eminent Divines, 41. 66 “As a preacher Watson walked in the golden mean. He committed some of his sermons to memory,
studied all, and yet, as we have seen before intimated, of set purpose left his mind free to catch the fires and
visions of new creations, open to those side flashing thoughts which are oft more effective… than the most
carefully prepared paragraphs.” Wrench, Eminent Divines, 41. 67 “Indeed we cannot but wish that he had elaborated more; that, being less intent upon progress, he had
bestowed more pains-taking care in selecting ‘picked and packed words;’ for now and then the clearness of
his conception is obscured by the involved structure of his sentences.” Wrench, Eminent Divines, 41-42.
John Howe’s Living Temple, to the point of becoming tiresome. Watson does appear to
have been under constraint to complete the task expeditiously, and he later expressed
concern for revising these portions. Another motive was the publication’s purpose—to
make “scarce and expensive works” available to Wesleyan ministers. Watson indeed
rendered a valuable service to Connexion and raised the quality of Methodist literature to
an entirely new level.68 But while his work, born in the days of crisis, may have provided
an abundance of material for addressing the issues that faced Methodism, they also may
have challenged the patience of young preachers.69
Indeed, the Institutes bear the imprint of Mr. Watson in many respects, including
a marked propensity for tireless, pointed argument in favor of a particular theological
position. As Wrench pointed out in his eulogy, this element of criticism marked his
published book reviews. Chasing down every erroneous point of doctrine he could find,
Watson defended his own views as definitive of Christian orthodoxy. More than any
other characteristic, Watson appears to have been determined to be doctrinally upright.
He could sustain an argument at great length, support it with extensive quoted material
from authoritative sources, and dismiss other positions as ridiculous. Only in a few places
does Watson soar to thoughts of lofty reflection, as his admirers maintained. In these
68 “Mr. Watson raised the tone of Methodist literature to a much higher standard than it had ever reached
before.” PLP III.7.2., 79. 69 “The early pages of the second part of the Institutes contain more extracts from standard divines than the
other portions, especially from that admirable production, John Howe’s “Living Temple;” a work to which
Paley was immensly [sic] indebted, and for which his acknowledgement is quite inadequate. The extracts
being, however, in not a few cases, somewhat antiquated in style, invest the early portion of Part II. with a
lack of keeping; and although the arguments are both multifarious and conclusive, yet—in common with
others—we should greatly have preferred Watson’s presenting them after they had passed through his own
capacious and critical mind, being thereby ground into smoothness, and coming forth with a freshness, and
harmony of cadence… At the time, Mr. Watson deemed that mode the best, as the quotations were from
scarce and expensive works; yet a little before his death he cherished the intention of arranging the selected
material in a modern garb, and had made arrangements accordingly. In the latter portion of Part II. there is,
however, very little quotation. We had anticipated that in the Calvinian controversy Mr. Watson would
have made considerable use of Fletcher’s writings… Our subject however, ignores the whole: We doubt
whether he held Fletcher in very high esteem, as a polemic divine.” Wrench, Eminent Divines, 43.
arguments he used Aristotelian logic to polarize an issue, make one side look ridiculous,
and leave the other side as the “demonstrated as proven” position. This strategy gives the
Institutes the air of Protestant Scholasticism.
Even if readers concede that Watson has made a strong case for his views, they
will likely find the Institutes an impressive but artless monument to a humorless
theology. His contemporaries may have extolled his genius and called him “Methodism’s
greatest man,” but Watson viewed the Christian religion through a rather narrow slot. His
drive for correct argumentation gave his writing a decided sterility—intellectually
persuasive, doctrinally faithful to the Wesleyan tradition, yet lacking in the capacity for
being memorable or moving.70 One could almost declare the Institutes an emotional
desert, an academic feast for dry eyes.71 Certainly Watson established the priority of faith
over human reason; the supreme authority of the Holy Scriptures; and “correct doctrine”
over every teaching that threatened the Wesleyan tradition. For the Wesleyan Methodist
Church, his Institutes triumphed over the theological crisis of the hour; but they brought a
heavy-handed doctrinal conformity to Methodism through the consolidation of
ministerial authority.
70 Even Mr. Bunting, in the generous spirit of a funeral sermon, stated parenthetically that Watson “had a
passion for truth;--in other respects he was not a man of passion; though he had great tenderness of feelng
he seldom exhibited signs of strong emotion; but for truth he had an ardent and intense regard.” Bunting,
Memorials of the Late Rev. Richard Watson, 26. 71 “He was polished rather than passionate, ‘stately, not vivid,’ and discursive rather than concise. To him
we must not look for fervent emotion. He never, like some writers and speakers, seemed full to bursting.
Passion in him never shoots up unexpectedly and overwhelming as streams of lava from a burning
mountain. In addition, it seems to us, that Watson had no happy humour, withering irony, melting
tenderness, or piercing wit; and after learning that Mr. Watson ‘was rarely known to laugh aloud,” the
reader would be prepared to hear that he had no pointed sallies; whilst he was also defective in artlessness,
vivacity, and pathos.” Wrench, Eminent Divines, 45.
