I subscribe to a Wesleyan mailing list, and the topic at the moment is Preterism. It seems that Preterism has infiltrated its way into the Wesleyan tradition. Interestingly enough, many blame Preterism on Calvinism:
In reply to:[color:"blue"]Which preterists do they side with? Most preterists I know of are of the Reformed persuasion, and they divide into two groups: "full" preterists (John Noe, David Chilton, Kelly Nelson Burks), who believe the second coming happened in A.D. 70; and "partial" preterists (R.C. Sproul, Kenneth Gentry, Keith Mathison, Gary DeMar), who believe the events of A.D. 70 only prefigured a "final coming" of Christ which is still future. DeMar makes the most coherent argument, but most partial preterists come across as rather confused and inconsistent because they want to keep their distance from the "radical" full preterists, whom they consider heretics.
As a Wesleyan, I must confess that I find it amusing to watch these people argue with each other. The nature of Reformed theology is such that if one embraces a preteristic interpretation of eschatology, the logical outcome is full preterism. This is an uncomfortable fact which partial preterists refuse to acknowledge and, as a result, some of them (particularly Gentry and Mathison) have adopted a most uncharitable attitude toward those they call "hyper-preterists."
In reality, preterism is just a reverse form of dispensationalism, so I would question whether the dichotomy between "the preterists" and "the dispensationalists" is valid. I tend to see the two different approaches to eschatology as incarnational/covenental (more consistent with a Wesleyan perspective and, IMHO, more in keeping with Apostolic Tradition) and systematic/dispensational (most prevalent in Reformed and fundamentalist circles).
What are your opinions on this? From what I've read, most Reformed theologians prefer amillennialism.
Most of the Reformed Tradition do take either a A-MIl or Post-Mil view of things as we believe this is what the Scripture clearly teaches. There have been many in other traditions (and even in Reformed circles) that have taken the different views. Here is a link to several articles that may assist you in your study for truth. Select Eschatology.
