John Wesley (1703–91)

Chapters 7, ‘John Wesley (1703–91)’, and Chapter 8, ‘Charles Wesley (1707–88)’, explore the individual lives, relationships and spiritual journeys of the Wesley brothers. Using psychoanalytic theory, and particularly Kristevan theory, an attempt is made to understand their mental structures and psychological defence mechanisms from their own writings, and from the writings of others close to them, and to explore ways in which these affected their responses to the religious faith they shared.