Who says so?

 

 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
-- Mark 1:21-28

This reading is the coming Sunday’s gospel lesson (The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany Year B) according to the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL).  There’s a lot of good stuff here.  But something catches my eye that is only peripheral to this text.  It is in the next-to-last line: They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority!  The idea in question is “authority.”

The matter of authority is important in Christian thought.  It relates to the doctrine of Inspiration, of Ecclesiology, and personal decisions.  In a nutshell, the idea of authority asks the question “Who says so?”  Is it God?  Is it the church?  Is it my neighbor?  Is it what I think?  Really, who says so?

John Wesley dealt with the question a number of times.  His thought was systematized in the 1960s by United Methodist theologian Albert Outler.  Though Wesley never used the term, the scheme of Wesleyan theology that deals with authority is something that Outler coined “The Wesleyan Quadrilateral.”  The four sides of that figure represent Scripture, Tradition, Experience and Reason.  All four are necessary, Wesley argued, in determining the authority of a doctrine or idea.

“Authority” is fast becoming an outdated concept.  So many people appear to be abandoning questions like, “What does the Bible say?” or “What does my church teach?” in favor of the egocentric proclamation “It seems to me.”  How did we get to the place where individuals believe that they know all – or all they need to know – in consideration of very important ideas?  These ideas lead to behaviors.   Behaviors define individuals.  “Who says so?” is a vital question to be asked – and answered.

In soon-to-be-published posts, I will consider each of these authoritative ideas of Wesley’s and how they are still a good place to start in our deliberations.