John Wesley's Argument Paper

The early church theologian Iranaeus of Lyons states the definition of church as those people that live on the earth. According to his argument though they speak different languages, they profess one faith. The theme of being one is similar to John Wesley’s theme of oneness. Wesley argues that no matter who the person is, he or she who is a believer , will be free from every kind of sin or breaking of moral laws. To explicate on this, it can be stated that just like languages are different in the world, so are the cultures and since cultures vary throughout the world, the norms and standards of crime, evil, and sin are different. At the same time, the understanding of faith in God is same and does not change from one country to another, rather

This view is in connection with Dr. Fowler’s words that “the Church is not fundamentally an institution; it’s the Body of Christ.” Using this argument, I would like to integrate this with my Pastor and People course field trip to a hospital, funeral home and an old people’s residence to make more explicit that the Church has many roles to play. Gustavo’s claim is an additional claim about the church not about “guaranteeing heaven.” I will explain that with my experiences at all these places have helped me understand Moltmann’s argument about “Christianity is not yet the new mankind, it is its vanguard.” t As humans, other than the clergy or church people, the sick look up to a doctor or a nurse for medical aid. In case of accident, murder or suicide, the Police is involved in filing the case and the doctor issuing official death certificate. The social norms, customs, rituals and expectations also come in action. Quoting Brooke Peterson, who shared her experience as a Pastor knowing some new experiences as a pastor in Chicago, she mentioned that some families as the time of death prefer to stop by the house of the deceased. She also mentioned how some families like to take pictures of the deceased person to share it with family or friends who could not attend the funeral. This experience resonated with my experience because this is a normal custom and ritual in Pakistan and is followed by people belonging to any faith in Pakistan. Listening to the main person who is the in charge of the funeral home, I came to know that cremating the dead body is part of the culture here. Also, that serving the community at this funeral home is a ministerial task for