Does God really communicate his will to individuals, so that they
receive infallible guidance in that sense which the ancient Greeks
called ""enthusiasm""? Both the Old Testament and the New maintain that
the true prophets received direct advices from God, which, regardless of
consequences, they were morally bound to communicate even to the
skeptical among their contemporaries. The recent canonization of Joan of
Arc is a fresh proof that the Catholics believe in the possibility of
private revelations. Luther, Calvin and the English Reformers were
hostile to those Anabaptists and others who alleged they were actually
receiving new revelations; and early Massachusetts felt that the most
dangerous of Anne Hutchinson's heresies was her claim to immediate
inspiration; for the ""motions"" she followed might not be those of God
but the Devil. Dr. Lee sketches the belief in direct inspiration from
its Hebraic and Greek roots down to the time of the French Prophets who
amazed London. Early Methodism arose in such an atmosphere. He has,
therefore, examined the early records of the Methodist movement and
gathered evidence from its friends and from its enemies to answer the
question: How far did some of the early Methodists believe that they
were directly moved by God?