This may very well be a poor question due to my ignorance, but do Methodists have a view of covenant theology that is similar to the Presbyterian view? Aside from the Calvinism/Arminian divide, how would you sum up the major differences between Methodism and Presbyterianism?
Methodists came out of the Church of England, their main issue with it was a lack of zeal for the gospel.
Unlike Presbyterians, they have no issue with Anglican polity, and so would have an Episcopal church structure, bishops and all. Though their structure is slightly different, due to their focus on lay preachers.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, (though I do not believe he wished to start a new denomination) was also a proponent of
perfectionism, that is the idea that it was possible to become
completely free from sin in this life. This idea went on to be part of Church of the Nazarene and Pentecostal doctrine. It also
taught by current
Methodist churches.
From my own experience, Methodist churches are very similar to Anglican churches here in the UK, there is a wide spectrum of beliefs, many would be slightly liberal, many would have contempary worship, some with more solid views, some with more traditional worship. They often tend to the strange practice of having a "traditional" service and a "contempary" service. I have seen Anglican churches with 5 different services, all different styles.
UK Methodists don't have a confession per say,
this was the closest explanation I could drag up:
The Methodist Church claims and cherishes its place in the Holy Catholic Church which is the Body of Christ. It rejoices in the inheritance of the apostolic faith and loyally accepts the fundamental principles of the historic creeds and of the Protestant Reformation. It ever remembers that in the providence of God Methodism was raised up to spread scriptural holiness through the land by the proclamation of the evangelical faith and declares its unfaltering resolve to be true to its divinely appointed mission.
The doctrines of the evangelical faith which Methodism has held from the beginning and still holds are based upon the divine revelation recorded in the Holy Scriptures. The Methodist Church acknowledges this revelation as the supreme rule of faith and practice. These evangelical doctrines to which the preachers of the Methodist Church are pledged are contained in Wesley's Notes on the New Testament and the first four volumes of his sermons.
The Notes on the New Testament and the 44 Sermons are not intended to impose a system of formal or speculative theology on Methodist preachers, but to set up standards of preaching and belief which should secure loyalty to the fundamental truths of the gospel of redemption and ensure the continued witness of the Church to the realities of the Christian experience of salvation.
It seems they also have
a catechism, and a Conference every year which issues reports. I also found something called a
Covenant Service along with the
Covenant Prayer.
In America the UMC lists its
foundational documents here.
You might also be interested in their
views on Baptism, as they seem to point to covenants at least for justifying the baptism of infants.
As far as I can tell, Methodists, while using the language of covenant when talking about the baptism of infants, do not seem to have a particularly developed view of covenant theology. It seems when talking about "covenant", less of the focus is on the history of the Biblical covenants, and more on the covenant we have with God today.
Ordo Salutis more than
Historia Salutis if we could put it another way. It seems that would fit with their Arminian soteriology, God has established the covenant of grace with all men, and baptism is the sign and seal of that, but our faith along with our submission to baptism is the way in which we accept the covenant of grace and claim the blessings of it.
To use a quote I took from Richard Watson, a Methodist theologian, via Wikipedia:
But as the entrance into the Jewish Church was by circumcision, so the entrance into the Christian Church is by baptism. Hence its administration is here prescribed to those who are made disciples, and as such disposed to become formally the members of Christ's Church. Hence it derives its federal or covenant character, and is rightly considered as a mystery or sacrament. Of the blessings of this covenant it is the SIGN, holding forth the washing away of sin, and the pouring out of the Holy Ghost; and it is the SEAL, inasmuch as, being administered under the command of Christ, it is a constant PLEDGE of his unchangeably gracious intentions to those that believe and are baptized; while our submission to this rite is that act by which we accept and make ourselves parties to this covenant of grace and salvation, claiming its blessing, and binding ourselves to fulfil its conditions.
So the focus is not only on God's gracious actions, but also on our actions in being part of this covenant. This fits with the practical bent of Methodism, which sees zeal and dedication to God as very important. The Covenant Prayer is seen as us renewing our covenant with God at the start of each year, which I believe they would see baptism as the sign of.
Here is an example of the way covenant would be spoken about in a methodist context, with some connection and application drawn to baptism.
