Wesleyan Quadrilateral

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The Wesleyan Quadrilateral is a methodology for theological reflection that is credited to John Wesley, leader of the Methodist movement in the late 18th Century. The term itself was coined by 20th century American Methodist Albert C. Outler in his introduction to the 1964 collection John Wesley (ISBN 0195028104).

Upon examination of Wesley's work, Outler theorized that Wesley used four different sources in coming to theological conclusions. The four sources are:

• Scripture - the Holy Bible
• Tradition - the two millennia history of the Church
• Reason - rational thinking
• Experience - our personal and communal journey in Christ

In practice, at least one of the Wesleyan denominations, [The United Methodist Church], asserts that “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. Scripture [however] is primary, revealing the Word of God ‘so far as it is necessary for our salvation.’” (The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church-2004, p. 77).

See also

• Prima scriptura
• Sola scriptura

External links

• [The Wesleyan Quadrilateral in John Wesley] by Albert C. Outler
• [The Wesleyan Quadrilateral in the American Holiness Tradition] by Leon Hynson
• [John Wesley on the Authority & Interpretation of Scripture] by Scott J. Jones
• [Rethinking the Wesleyan Quadrilateral] by Paul Wesley Chilcote
• [What are the Wesleyan Distinctives that Shape & Inform Christian Higher Education Today?] by William M. Greathouse
• [Spiritual Geometry: Evaluating the Wesleyan Quadrilateral] by Vic Reasoner
• Wesley and the Quadrilateral: Renewing the Conversation (1997, ISBN 0687060559) by Gunter, Campbell, Jones, Maddox, & Miles
• [Our Formative Foursome: The Wesleyan Quadrilateral and Postmodern Discipleship] by Elaine A. Robinson
• [Our Theological Task (with explanatory links for Scripture, tradition, reason and experience) from the 2004 United Methodist Book of Discipline]

 

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