''The Wesley Study Bible'' is a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

-oriented biblical study text with introductory text for each book, explanations and commentary 'to help the reader to understand the biblical text', and with 'special references to the writings of John Wesley'.

History

It was first published on 1 February 2009 by

Abingdon Press Abingdon Press is the book publishing arm of the United Methodist Publishing House which publishes sheet music, ministerial resources, Bible-study aids, and other items, often with a focus on Methodism and Methodists. History Abingdon Press w ...

. This initial release was a

New Revised Standard Version The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches.Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

, without the

Apocrypha Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

books. In November 2012, The Wesley Study Bible was published in the

Common English Bible The Common English Bible (CEB) is an English translation of the Bible whose language is intended to be at a comfortable reading level for the majority of English readers. The translation was begun in late 2008 and was finished in 2011. It includes ...

(CEB) translation (also without the Apocrypha.) The CEB edition included National Geographic maps, a concordance, and an updated layout. The Wesley Study Bible has comprehensive notes on the text written by over 50 Biblical scholars along with life application notes written by over 50 pastors. The General Editors of the Bible were William H. Willimon, United Methodist

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

and Joel B. Green, professor of New Testament Interpretation at

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller consistently has a student body that compr ...

. Associate Editors included Bill T. Arnold, Andy Johnson, Sarah Heaner Lancaster, Robert W. Wall, Laceye C. Warner, and Karen Strand Winslow. The notes draw extensively on

Wesleyan theology Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles ...

and specifically on the works of John Wesley, especially his

Notes Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened versio ...

and his forty-four sermons. Wesleyan theological terms are explained. There are 19 pages of color maps in the back of the 1,616 page Bible (the CEB edition has 1728 pages). Those who worked on the Bible were drawn from eleven churches based in North America with Wesleyan roots. They are

The United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelica ...

, the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...

, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church,

Christian and Missionary Alliance The Alliance World Fellowship is the international governing body of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (The Alliance, also C&MA and CMA). The Alliance is an evangelical Protestant denomination within the Higher Life movement of Christianity ...

, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church,

Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelicalism, evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, Lenexa within Johnson Cou ...

Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) The Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) is a holiness Christian denomination with roots in Wesleyan-Arminianism and also in the restorationist traditions. The organization grew out of the evangelistic efforts of several Holiness evangelists in Ind ...

, Free Methodist Church of North America,

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

Wesleyan Church The Wesleyan Church, also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church and Wesleyan Holiness Church depending on the region, is a Methodist Christian denomination in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Namibia, Sierra Leone, L ...

, and the

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...

. A limited black genuine leather edition was published in October 2009 by HarperCollins Publishers and available only from

Cokesbury Cokesbury is the retail division of the United Methodist Publishing House. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Cokesbury serves as an agency of the United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant d ...

. A previous study Bible, now out of print, was the Wesley Bible published by Thomas Nelson, and using the New King James Version. This Bible was produced by those denominations aligned specifically with the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition.

References

Bibliography

* The CEB Wesley Study Bible () * The NRSV Wesley Study Bible () {{DEFAULTSORT:Wesley Study Bible, The Arminian texts 2009 in Christianity 2009 non-fiction books African Methodist Episcopal Church Bible translations into English Christian and Missionary Alliance Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) Church of the Nazarene Free Methodist Church Study Bibles The Salvation Army United Church of Canada United Methodist Church Wesleyan Church

History

See also

References

Bibliography