Sources of Our Faith
– Scripture, Tradition, Experience, and Reason
Albert Outler, a renowned Wesleyan scholar and former Perkins Lecturer, noted in John Wesley’s writings that he used Scripture, tradition, experience, and reason as sources for his faith. Therefore, these sources have been termed the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. As United Methodists, we continue in the practice of holding these as sources and criteria for our faith, holding that this faith “was revealed in Scripture, illumined by tradition, vivified in personal experience, and confirmed by reason.” (The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church: 2000, 77) Let us look more closely at these sources and criteria.
Since the time of the early Christian Church, Scripture has traditionally been the overarching guidelines for the creation and furtherance of traditions and the ultimate guide by which experience was tested. The New Testament writers looked to the Hebrew Scriptures for support of the gospel – for helping to understand who Jesus Christ was. Almost 2,000 years later, the United Methodist Church still upholds the Bible as the ultimate standard for theology and the Christian life. “The Bible bears authentic testimony to God’s self-disclosure in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as well as in God’s work of creation, in the pilgrimage of Israel, and in the Holy Spirit’s ongoing activity in human history.” (The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church: 2000, 78) We are able to meet and better understand the Triune God through this living word.
Christian tradition has its roots in Scripture, but it is also a means for interpreting and understanding the Scriptures as certain patriarchs and matriarchs of the faith have understood them. These people, who are a part of the great cloud of witnesses, have much to teach us today. It is through these traditions that the Church has been furthered and perpetuated, and it is through these that we have the scriptural canon. These many acts are a corporate sign of the Spirit’s continued work and presence on earth and in the Church. They show us how the Church should and should not be.
God is still present and working today within the world. Not only is God working corporately, God is also working in the lives of individuals giving them experience of God. Scripture and tradition becomes a part of our experience as we grow in the faith, and our experience conditions the way we view Scripture and tradition. Yet, Scripture and tradition help us to live a more full Christian life for a more full experience of God; thus, Scripture and tradition condition our experience. Often, the experience of other people affects us in such a way as to provide guidance in our Christian experience. The Spirit works in other people, and inspires us to follow the leading of the Spirit as well. We must, however, continually compare our experience to that of tradition and especially Scripture to determine if our experience and the experience of others are true Christian experiences.
Reason is the tool by which we process Scripture, tradition, and experience – how each affects us and how they interrelate. Our rational skills are how we read and understand Scripture, and these skills are how we verify that our traditions and experiences align with the Bible. With reason we attempt to answer our questions of faith and organize our understanding of God and the Christian life. It is interesting to note that the “purpose” of the Old Testament book of Proverbs is:
for learning about wisdom and instruction, for understanding words of insight, for gaining instruction in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity; to teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young— let the wise also hear and gain in learning, and the discerning acquire skill, to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles. (Proverbs 1:1-6, NRSV)
Even Scripture tries to teach skills of reason!
We must remember in looking at these elements that they are all very much intertwined. For instance, Scripture is a person’s writing about their understanding and reasoning of their personal experiences of God and their personal experiences that come out of their own traditions. Scripture becomes the foundation of and, therefore, part of our tradition, and tradition is based on a person’s or group’s rational interpretation of Scripture and their experience. When we study Scripture and tradition (which is done with reason), these elements become a part of our experience. Knowing these are all intertwined, we must continually make sure they are in agreement with our interpretation of God based primarily in Scripture.
For tips on how to use the Wesleyan Quadrilateral to guide Bible Study, click HERE.
