Let's Put On Our Thinking Caps

John Wesley, credited with founding Methodism, revolutionized theology by formulating the quadrilateral process which applies Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience to the task of discerning ultimate issues. Growing up in such a theological climate made it seem only natural to go beyond the Bible in quest of life’s meaning, etc, an attitude which has contributed to a growing disparity of opinion with those who claim sola scriptura (I personally know of no one whose worldview consists solely of Scripture). I’m wrestling with my ability to articulate what’s going on here because it is becoming increasingly fashionable and popular to justify one’s claim to being a Christian on the basis of familiarity with the Bible—more to the point, the New Testament, with an even narrower focus not upon the gospels but the epistles and Revelation. The problem I see with this is that Christianity, then, becomes something that really has nothing to do with the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth because it is so deeply grounded in the dogma and creed of the early church and its emerging institutions. This is what allows someone like George W. Bush to claim that he is a born-again Christian while simultaneously defiling and desecrating the Christ by nearly everything he says and does. It saddens me how quickly intelligent, thinking people literally throw the baby out with the bathwater by dismissing Jesus’ enlightenment because they find the Church to be disingenuous. If there is some way to encourage a more genuine exploration of Jesus’ revelation to humankind through the implementation of something like Wesley’s quadrilateral process, that is what I envision my calling to be.