It would seem that Methodism was not a very easy way to heaven. Its followers would dress plainly and attend religious meetings as often as they could, were very God-fearing. An ex-Methodist, James Lackington, satirized Methodism in his memoirs by mocking how he and his wife would attend meeting three times a day (26). Rather, the tenet that caused this mockery was that of the Justification of Faith. The tenet that faith only would finally get one into Heaven negated the necessity of good works. To many it seemed to give freedom to people to commit all the crimes they wanted because it would be all right in the end since they had faith. This is what made people feel that Methodism was an easy but false road to Heaven. An astronomer said that for Whitefield's belief that there were as many ways to heaven as there were doors to his chapel he believed was misleading and directing people to hell. This also to many seemed a hypocritical belief, and that many criminals and people who meant ill would put on the coat of Methodist piety to be safe. In Henry Fielding's story The Female Husband, Mary who would marry women in the guise of a man in order to steal their fortunes was a Methodist. To Fielding this would account for her lack of remorse when she was punished and went to jail. Fielding also wrote "Shamela's" mother as a whore sending her daughter Whitefield's sermons. In Tale of a Tub, Swift made the Methodist character admit that inspiration could not be always demonstrated (39) and that he was much like Jack, the fanatical brother.

The fact that Methodists made a habit of sending unordained preachers (laymen) to preach in public made the mockery worse. There were many cases of unordained preachers entering churches, snubbing the pastors, and winning over congregations or "prejudicing people against their proper pastors" (28). The fear of Methodists winning over congregations led people to fear another century of religious strife like the previous one with Puritan fanaticism. There were fears that Methodism would gather enough followers to begin a holy war. This made the enthusiasm of Methodism seem more and more like fanaticism. People would insist that enthusiam would only undermine religion and society all over again. Others would fear that through Methodism Roman Catholicism and the Pretender would attempt to take the throne (not a completely irrational fear when King James II made a deal with the Presbyterians against the Church of England).