The History of the Davis United Methodist Church

Kathy Schinski

In John Wesley's Articles of Religion, a portion titled “Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation” reads in part: “The Holy Scripture containeth ALL things necessary to Salvation, so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to Salvation.” This Article, however does not say that the Bible contains all truth in all topics, for all time! Wesley did not think that all parts of the Bible were equally binding on Christians. For example, he identified 3 kinds of law in the Old Testament: Moral, Ceremonial, and Political. He thought that Ceremonial and Political laws which were written from specific historical and religious situations that no longer existed were not binding on Christians of his day (or ours). Moral law however was timeless and binding on all the people of God in all times and places.      In July, UMC Davis and the world lost Roberta Rothe, a wonderful woman who embodied a lot of our church history. She and her family became members at the very beginning of UMC Davis. They helped to form many of the traditions and attitudes we hold at UMC Davis today. We are proud that she is a part of our legacy, and honored to have been a part of hers!! Question: What Doctrines were important in Wesley's “Grand Scheme For Salvation?” (Sources: Book of Disciplines 1996 edition, John Wesley For The 21st Century by John O. Gooch)