The Wesleyan Quadrilateral: Reason

 

The final authority in the Wesleyan Quadrilateral is Reason.  John Wesley and the Methodist movement is very much a product of the Age of Reason. Wesley contended that human beings were given an intellect as a gracious gift of God. God therefore expects us to use our minds, along with our other gifts, in ordering our faith. Remember the words of Mark 12:20, in which Jesus says, 

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. 

Jesus here indicates that the mental capacity is as valuable in faith as a person's spiritual ability. True faith is informed by a believer's ability to apply the discipline of reason to religious matters. There appear in news stories from time to time accounts of misguided individuals or groups who have taken an uncritical view of some isolated Scripture passage. They often lift these verses out of their biblical contexts. As a result, they take their interpretation to ludicrous or even dangerous extremes. This all takes place because they don't apply a little common sense — a little reason - -to their practice of faith. 

It is the power to reason which sets us apart from the rest of Creation. It is the ability to reason which marks the passage from immaturity to responsibility. The gift of reason helps human beings to use all the gifts of God in order to help us discern the presence of God.  

The peace of the Lord be with you.

The Wesleyan Quadrilateral: Experience

 

The third side of the Quadrilateral is experience. At first glance, this might appear to be the duplicate of Tradition. In point of fact, though, we use Tradition to talk about that storehouse of faith that belongs to all the Body of Christ Experience refers to the individual's own encounter with God. For there is a sense in which if every other person on the face of the planet shares one set of circumstances, but your situation is different, you are untouched.

In the same way, our heritage understands that each person's unique participation in the faith has validity and authority. Now, that experience will be tried over against the experience of others, or the church as a whole. But, the church claims that every person has it within themselves to make interpretations that are consistent with the individual's understanding of God.

You may remember how John Wesley described his Aldersgate experience in his Journal. It reads in part:

In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society meeting in Aldersgate-Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation. And assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.

You find as you further read that Wesley gives his description for a couple of reasons. Of course, he wants to convey to you as reader the nature of his own experience. You know Wesley much better for having read this quite personal account of a very meaningful event in his life. But you also notice that Wesley is very intentional about describing certain aspects of this episode. He is conveying to the reader that much of what happened to him is similar to what others have undergone in their Christ- encounter. You find that it is similarity of occurrence that gives authority to experience.  

When we hear modern-day witnesses give their personal testimonies, there is no doubt that each person’s account is unique.  And yet, while the details differ the structure is often much the same.  It is not quite “ticking off  he boxes.”  But, having  touchstones with our history gives the witness a sense of authenticity.  I have been cynical in these spaces about the position of “it seems to me.”  However, a corporate perception of “it seems to us” can lend credence to an idea.  When enough people are able to say, “that is how I perceived it,” the authority of corporate experience kicks in.  If a report or view is not in step with the corporate experience, that does not necessarily disqualify that  witness, but it does justify further examination.   God is always doing new things.  But if some novelty appears to be far off the beaten track, the collective experience of the church is an important part of the discerning process.

 The peace of the Lord be with you.

The Wesleyan Quadrilateral: Tradition

 

I have been talking recently about the question of Authority in Bible study and in United Methodist thought.  The second leg of the so-called Wesleyan Quadrilateral is Tradition.  Now, I’ll have to admit that whenever I hear the word “tradition” my head fills with the voice of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof singing that great song Tradition.

Who, day and night, must scramble for a living,
Feed a wife and children, say his daily prayers?
And who has the right, as master of the house,
To have the final word at home?
The Papa, the Papa! Tradition.
The Papa, the Papa! Tradition.

Who must know the way to make a proper home,
A quiet home, a kosher home?
Who must raise the family and run the home,
So, Papa's free to read the holy book?
The Mama, the Mama! Tradition!
The Mama, the Mama! Tradition!

The song carries with it a common perception of tradition.  For many, the term means, “The way we have always done it.”  We have traditions that accompany holidays, birthdays, and vacations.  We eat certain foods, support certain sports teams, drive a particular make of automobile often out of “tradition.”

For the church, Tradition carries a different connotation.  I wrote in an earlier post about Scripture as authority.  Scripture is closed.  We are not going to add any other books to the Bible.  And I seriously doubt that any portion of holy writ will ever be excised.  So, in a sense, scripture is static.  It is unchanging.  It is set.  The church understands Tradition to be the ongoing revelation of God.  As times change, things arise that the Bible simply does not address.

I think all Christian groups would claim to be biblical at their core. But the children of Wesley realize that there are other forces, godly forces, which inform our interpretation of the Bible, or which guide us in our deliberations in those areas where the Bible does not contain explicit instruction. One of those is Tradition. Now, that's  Tradition with a capital "T". This is not talking about going to Grandma's House every Thanksgiving. Tradition is understood in the church as the ongoing revelation of God. Our comprehension is that God did not cease speaking to the church with the close of the Book of Revelation. Rather, God has spoken, inspired, led and revealed the Divine Will to Christians through the ages.

You know that we are part of a Creation that is constantly changing. For example, those of you who were receiving your education over ten years ago, did your vocabulary tests include the word "microchip?" Did your education include the concept of "information superhighway?"  I held a funeral recently for a man who grew up riding a horse-drawn carriage. He can remember the first automobile that ever drove through this county. And he died having seen people walk on the moon. In such a Creation, we desperately need the fresh, ongoing leadership of our God. As God is revealed to the Church rather than to individuals, we call that revelation Tradition. This would include the writings of the Patriarchs of the Church. It would include the work of the great Ecumenical Councils. It would even include, I hope, some of the deliberations of General, Jurisdictional, and Annual Conferences. Now, you might have to look hard to find that in some conference meetings I have seen. But I trust, by the grace of God, that it is there.

Tradition asks the question, "How has the church always viewed this?" We trust that the accumulated knowledge of the church has a kind of validity. Sometimes, that knowledge must change. "The world is flat.'* "The sun revolves around the earth." "Women just aren't called to preach." Errors, some of them of long standing, when exposed, must be addressed by a transformation of Tradition. Another way of saying that is, "We have been inspired by God."

Tradition includes the way we do things. It involves the liturgy of the church, our hymns, and approach to rites of passage and other transitions in our being. Tradition is not the acts themselves. That's tradition with a little "t". Tradition is how the way in  which we do things reflects the revelation of God.

It has been said, somewhat cynically, that the seven last words of the church are "We never did it that way before." We should certainly be cautious about becoming too entrenched in particular behaviors. But we must also remember that there are doctrines that have stood the test of time. Wesley's concept of Tradition keeps us from being swept away by every fad or novelty that comes along. Tradition in the church is the accumulated knowledge and revelation of two thousand years of faith history.  As we appeal to the authority of Tradition, we affirm that God still speaks, leading Kingdom people day by day.

The peace of the Lord be with you.

The Wesleyan Quadrilateral: Scripture

 

In speaking of authority, John Wesley always began with Scripture.  In due course I will look at his writings concerning the authorities of Tradition, Experience, and Reason.  But Wesley always started with the Bible.  In considering the illustration of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, it is important to note that this is not an equilateral figure.  The most important, the foundational concept, in the eyes of Wesley is Scripture.  He considered searching the scriptures to be a Means of Grace – one of those gifts of God whereby people are drawn close to the Lord. 

Wesley wrote in his Preface to Standard Sermons:  I want to know one thing the way to heaven; how to land safe on that happy shore. God Himself has condescended to teach the way; for this very end He came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be "homo unius libri" (a man of one book).

Let me be quick to say that this statement of Wesley’s was one of priority.  Wesley was a learned man, a prolific author himself, and a great reader of books –both classic and contemporary.  His statement above is as if to say, “If I have only one book, let that book my Bible.”   In the style of his day, Wesley’s writings – and his sermons in particular – contain copious scriptural references.  On the matter of authority, Wesley believed that no behavior that could not be proven by scriptural direction was fit conduct for Christian people.

We remember that there are two volumes of writing that United Methodists claim as “Doctrinal Standards.”  The first is The Standard Sermons of John Wesley (sometimes referred to as John Wesley’s Sermons, or John Wesley’s Standard Sermons.)  The second work is lesser known but carries equal weight alongside the Sermons.  That work is John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes on the New Testament  (sometimes referred to as simply Notes.  This is a commentary on the whole New Testament composed by Wesley.  So important were his studies and observations on this part of the Bible that this publication is set forth as what United Methodists believe.

Now, there is obviously a caution to be observed in relation to cherry-picking (plucking a particular verse or portion of a verse in order to support a position), proof-texting (making a statement and then appealing to scripture for backing.  Genuine biblical examination will take a biblical verse or idea and look for life application, rather than taking a position and scraping through Leviticus and Obadiah for justification) or biblical literalism (First, remove the log  from your own eye... – Matthew 7:5). 

For Wesley, and for his spiritual heirs, Square One for Christian thought and discipleship behavior is always asking the question, “What does the Bible say?”  And that doesn’t mean, “What does an isolated verse say?”  Those small, out-of-context readings have been used to defend slavery, anti-Semitism, the oppression of women and a host of other undesirable behaviors.  Literalists who employ such a methodology need to ask themselves, “Have I ever eaten barbeque?  Have I ever worn a garment made of two different fabrics?  Have I ever done any labor on the Sabbath?”  If a person is going to claim some of the Bible literally, they are stuck with the entirety of scripture.  If they are going to claim room for interpretation, then other students of the Bible deserve the same consideration.  People will sometimes ask me, “What is the biblical position on… such-and-such subject?”  My answer is, “Well, you start with ‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…” and you conclude with “The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.’ "  It takes a familiarity with all that is in between to make an informed statemen.

The Bible is a complex document.  It cannot be plumbed in a sitting.  Or a lifetime.  But its basic tenets form the foundation of our faith.

The peace of the Lord be with you.

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.