With confidence and humility, we must enter the conversation of integrating various disciplines in order to understand God and His interaction with His world.
But How do we begin to integrate various disciplines with discernment while keeping their integrity intact?
In our Theology 1 class, The Wesleyan Quadrilateral, has been suggested as a way to do integration with confidence and humility.
The quadrilateral is not an endorsement of Wesleyan view, but a simple tool to utilize in our Theological Method.
All of these essential elements of knowledge (Scripture, reason, tradition and experience) are found in the writings of
Clement of Alexandria,Athanasius,
Augustine,
Anselm,
Aquinas,
Catherine of Sienna,
Luther,
Calvin
and even J.I. Packer. (Porter, 195).
Scripture is on top as the highest authority, with God as the direct source.
"Scripture is the fully inspired Word of God, it is the primary and regulatory source of authority for understanding God, his works, and his relation to his works (Porter, 195).
So tradition, reason and experience are not additional or competing resources--but Scripture itself speaks of additional sources at the believer's disposal. (Porter, 195)
Tradition is in the middle, a supplemental source of knowledge that helps us learn from mistakes, share wisdom, and uncover blind-spots.
"Tradition may be understood as a record of the consensual interpretations of Scripture and the consensual doctrinal formulation of Christian believers across the span of church history."(Porter, 195)
"Consulting church tradition...can...help us escape our historical situatedness. This cloud of witnesses can lead us to uncover contextual blind spots and historical idiosyncrasies. ...Tradition plays a clarifying role by awakening us to...(our) historical biases" (Porter, 195)
Reason is on the left, a supplemental source of knowledge, by which we intellectually organize, interpret, choose and build knowledge.
"(to Wesley) reason was the natural or organic means that the Holy Spirit utilized to move the human mind to intellectual understanding" (Porter, 196)
"Reason helps to clarify terms and organize thought...reason provides the logical norms involved in valid forms of reasoning...reason can be utilized in the rational defense and confirmation of one's conclusions" (Porter, 196)
Experience is on the right, a supplemental source of knowledge, which allows us to be affected, reflect, learn, practice, confirm, enjoy, wrestle-with and daily live the Scriptures from God.
"Wesley primarily thought of experience in the sense of a conscious, inner awareness of the Spirit's work in the regenerate life" (Porter, 197)
"This kind of conscious, experiential awareness does not seem to be a source of substantive knowledge, but rather it appears to be a form of religious experience that serves as an experiential confirmation of the truth of biblical doctrine" (Porter, 197)
So What?
So, supplementing the truths of scripture with the knowledge of tradition, reason and experience can powerfully integrate our faith into Reality.Reality is our daily life. It consists of constantly integrating these sources of knowledge, both intentionally and unintentionally. Conversation between the lower three shed further light on the eternal truths set forth in Scripture, which in turn form our Reality.
But how does this help us answer these questions...
- Who is right? Can I share my views with someone who disagrees with me?
- Is faith blind? Can I trust in reason, and still trust in God?
- Am I too emotional? Can I bring psychology into my faith?
- Will it matter if I participate in church, or just be non-religious? Can I forsake (or learn) from tradition, and still have faith?
- What if I don't "feel" God? Can I use my daily experience to guide my faith?
*Porter, Steve. "Wesleyan Theological Methodology as a Theory of Integration" Journal of Psychology and Theology, 2004, Vol 32., No. 3, 190-199, Rosemead School of Psychology. Biola University.
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