The Wesleyan Quadrilateral
“Homo unius libri.” If ever someone asks you what one of the most striking characteristics of John Wesley is, this famous Latin phrase would be a more than appropriate response. Wesley often described himself as, “Homo unius libri,” or, “A man of one book.” Interestingly, Wesley was one of the most well-read men of his time and was reported to have had a library of over 1,000 books. He read everything from theology, philosophy, politics, medical and scientific writings of the day to poetry and art. While Wesley may have been far from isolated in exposure to merely a single book, nonetheless, he was self-proclaimed, “Homo unius libri.” And that book was the Holy Bible.
For this installment, I thought we would tackle the United Methodist art of interpreting scripture. Albert Outler was one of the premier John Wesley historians, and his writings in the mid-20th century have had a significant impact on our denomination’s understanding of John Wesley, and our application of his approach to theology. While Wesley himself never laid out a formal “method” for his theological approach, Outler identified an underlying consistency with Wesley’s method, and termed the phrase, “The Wesleyan Quadrilateral.” Outler posited that Wesley had a four-fold approach to understanding the theological and incarnation implications of God as revealed through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth: Scripture, church tradition, human reason, and personal experience. This quadrilateral method of understanding our place in God’s creation lies at the heart of how the United Methodist Church has developed its own theological foundations as a denomination, and it is the method that the church encourages its clergy and laity to use when discerning the voice of God in our midst. Before breaking down the process involved, this statement from the United Methodist Book of Discipline, as authored by Outler, offers a good explanation of what is meant with the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, “Wesley believed that the living core of the Christian faith was revealed in Scripture, illumined by tradition, vivified in personal experience and confirmed by reason.”
Remembering that Wesley was a man of one book, with over 1,000 books in his personal library (and remember, this was before electronic books, so he had over 1,000 books on shelves in his home) offers us insight into how the Wesleyan quadrilateral works. For Wesley, and for United Methodists today, the theological task begins and ends with the Holy Scriptures. They may not be the only part of the equation, but they are the foundation, and the gaging mechanism. While Wesley may have read other books, it was clear that all other books, for Wesley, were measured up against scripture. The quality of the writing, the meaning behind the writing, and the validity of the ideas expressed for all other books were measured against scripture. In that same way, scripture is the lens through which Wesley and Methodists see the world, and understand its relationship to God. In one of Wesley’s more famous quotes, he makes it clear that while he may begin and end with scripture, there are moments in-between where other things must come into play.
"To candid, reasonable men, I am not afraid to lay open what have been the inmost thoughts of my heart. I have thought, I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God, and returning to God: Just hovering over the great gulf; till, a few moments hence, I am no more seen; I drop into an unchangeable eternity! 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. Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone: Only God is here. In his presence I open, I read his book; for this end, to find the way to heaven. Is there a doubt concerning the meaning of what I read? Does anything appear dark or intricate? I lift up my heart to the Father of Lights: — “Lord, is it not thy word, ‘If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God?’ Thou ‘givest liberally, and upbraidest not.’ Thou hast said; ‘If any be willing to do thy will, he shall know.’ I am willing to do, let me know, thy will.” I then search after and consider parallel passages of Scripture, “comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” I meditate thereon with all the attention and earnestness of which my mind is capable. If any doubt still remains, I consult those who are experienced in the things of God; and then the writings whereby, being dead, they yet speak. And what I thus learn, that I teach.”
This quote from Wesley, used as part of the preface to Wesley’s standard sermons, reveals Wesley’s devotion to the promise and faithfulness of scripture. But it also reveals that there are moments when the plain scriptures fail to offer plain clarity. In those moments, rather than giving up on the endeavor, Wesley would, “…consult those who are experienced in the things of God…”. In these words we receive a hint about where the other 3 aspects of the quadrilateral come into play. The traditions of the church, as celebrated through the experience and reason of people of God throughout history allow the scriptures to speak to each generation, on behalf of the living God.
Scripture acts as the bookends of the theological task. It begins the process while church tradition, human reason and personal experience clarify the questions, and scripture then offers a final check and balance. An important aspect of this method however, is to remember that Wesley was historically part of the reform movement of protest in the church. As a priest in the Church of England, not the Roman Catholic Church, Wesley stood in a tradition that questioned the traditions, experiences and reason of early expressions of the church. Consequently, he came to differing interpretive conclusions as to the revelation of God through Jesus. And this is where we find the relative rub, not of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, but of biblical interpretation in general.
One of the favorite short-cut questions to evaluate the orthodox commitment of a Christian is to ask them, “Do you believe Scripture to be inerrant (without error)?” The nature of this question immediately reveals the problem of human finiteness, with relation to understanding God. While one person might mean, “The bible came to us direct from God’s mouth (by way of Holy Spirit entranced human hand) and its absolutely clear, ”another person might mean, “The bible has come to us with a faithful witness to God’s revelation by way of Holy Spirit guided human writings, but lacks absolute and obvious clarity, thus relying on other Holy Spirit guided discernment to complete our understanding.” In both of these scenarios, the person can assert that scripture is essentially without error. However, only one of these scenarios leaves room for the reality of interpretive error. To claim that scripture’s inherency also demands that it is universally clear, is to either ignore 2,000 years of church history, or to claim that 100% of those that come to different conclusions from some standardized orthodoxy are not mistaken, but false prophets. While certainly, there have been historical figures that have purposefully perverted the scriptures meaning in an effort to promote evil in the world, I (and I feel safe asserting that Wesley would agree with me) would assert that many theological dissonants were thinkers that simply drew upon different experiences, or different foundations of reason (which is usually highly influenced by one’s own experience) and innocently came to different conclusions in the midst of scriptural mystery.
Thus the reason for this discussion. The United Methodist Church, in the tradition of John Wesley, has often been very clear and upfront about its interpretive approach to understanding Scripture. Some of the conclusions of the United Methodist Church contain nuances that are different than what has become the general Western Evangelical Theological Orthodoxy. As a result, the question is often levied against the United Methodist Church, “Does this denomination value or order itself according to scripture?” The answer is unequivocally; Yes! Our very method of theological discernment begins and ends with scripture as a foundation and a check and balance. However, we also openly embrace the reality, that while scripture may come to us as God intends, it is not always painfully clear, and human (and even the “church’s”) interpretation of God’s Word is not inerrant. Thus, our denomination is rooted and ordered through a living-breathing understanding of scripture in relation to evolving church traditions, human experience, and reason. New discoveries in science, changing social contexts, and new political expressions have always impacted the context of human experience and reason, and traditions in the church. We come from a long line of reformers and protesters, in light of injustice in the world, where doors in the kingdom of God are closed to the very people that Jesus came to shower with mercy and love. It is not a lack of appreciation for scripture that lies at the heart of the United Methodist theological expression, rather, it is our intense devotion to the one sufficient book of God’s revelation, in an ever changing library of social context, that demands we continue to engage the world through the lens of scripture, so that the gospel of Jesus can continue to speak into an ever hurting world. Like Wesley, the world desperately wants to step on to the happy shores of heaven. Our goal in the United Methodist Church is to continue to translate “the way” to heaven to all those hearing through new languages of experience in our midst.
The United Methodist Church: “Ecclesia unius libri”
