Imaging the God of Justice and Mercy: Theological Allusions in John Wesley’s Thoughts upon Slavery

Abstract

John Wesley’s influential booklet, Thoughts upon Slavery, argues that slavery is inherently evil and ought to be abolished, largely using the non-religious language of justice, mercy, natural liberty, and natural law. In key places in his argument Wesley alludes to theological concepts. This article contends that these allusions are not random but refer to key theological components of the core of Wesley’s theology. It relates these allusions to expositions of the core concepts in Wesley’s other writings to argue that slavery, and other forms of social injustice, are inherently incompatible with the core of Wesleyan theology.