Here is a diagram of Wesley's Quadrilateral. For those of you who don't know it, we Salvationists are Wesleyan Arminianists, which means we follow the teachings of John Wesley and Jacobus Arminius. To make a long story short (and obviously very simplified), Arminius taught what we Salvos have termed "Whosoever Will." This is the other end of the spectrum that believes "Once Saved, Always Saved." But Arminius' thoughts are not the subject of my ramblings today. Wesley's are.John Wesley did not ever use the word "Quadrilateral," but in reading his many writings, it is obvious that he believed in a four-fold method of knowing God. Followers have coined the term since. Basically, we believe there are four facets that must be used together to help us know God (and spiritual matters). While each facet in and of itself is good, none should be used without the others if we expect to get a complete and balanced picture of who God is and how he chooses to make himself know to his creation. Understandably, Scripture is the foundation of all the others, but even as important as it is, we still need the other three to keep from developing a one-dimensional or lopsided picture of God.
Scripture: "We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God and that they only constitute the divine rule of Christian faith and practice" (TSA doctrine #1). God inspired the Scriptures. That in itself is reason enough for The Bible to hold the weight it does. Within its pages can be found all true doctrine of the Church, the true image of God, the way to salvation and how to live as a Christian. Everything we believe and experience should have its foundation in God's Word to humankind.
Reason: God's ways are certainly FAR above our ways, but once Holy Spirit is in your life (once you are saved), it is possible, through Spirit-inspired reason, to make sense of those ways. I don't recommend non-Christians trying to understand God's ways, because The Enemy is more in control of their understanding than they think! But with a redeemed mind, we can see truth more clearly and spiritual matters begin to make sense!
Tradition: Here, we are not referring to the traditions of any particular denomination (such as brass bands, penitent forms, "the way we have come to do things," et al), rather the tradition of the early Church; things that were established as foundational from the beginning. For example- when people begin talking about hell not existing (which in some circles is rearing it's ugly head again in TSA), we need only look to what the tradition of the Church is on the subject. From the beginning of the Christian Church the doctrine of hell has been foundational. Tradition keeps us from going astray on the path of Christian faith and practice.
Experience: I find this facet one of the most interesting- certainly the most controversial with those who are afraid of the Charismatic. It is true that some branches of the Pentecostal church put way too much emphasis on this one. But again, we must not throw the baby out with the bath water because there are those who over emphasize any particular facet of our quadrilateral. In fact, I believe our doctrine flows out of our experience (not the other way around as is often taught). For instance: If one does not believe in the gift of speaking in tongues, an experience of speaking in tongues will certainly make one at least re-evaluate their beliefs! God has allowed me to have a wide variety of experiences. I started out in one place, but with each new experience with God I have grown tremendously! As one with a gift of teaching, I have found that actually going through an experience helps me teach it more clearly to others.
I have quite a few thoughts on how Wesley's quadrilateral shows up in our TSA practices- and how many people ignore it as well. Based on response, perhaps I'll eventually write more on the topic.
Can You Hear Me?
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Chilcote has a great illustration of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral that we snuck into the 4th edition of SA101 (hat tip Richrad M for finding it). Here is part of it: In this wind chime image, scripture, again, has central place. It is the foundation, the base, the primary source and criterion for Christian doctrine and life. But scripture itself must be balanced by the counterweight of the chimes (tradition, reason, and experience), all of which are tied directly into the biblical witness. None of these stands, as it were, independent of scripture or of the other norms with which each interacts. Each has its own tone, its own voice that needs to sound out for music to be made. The scriptures actually come to life in new historical settings and cultural contexts as they are "illumined by tradition, vivified in personal experience, and confirmed by reason," as it says in the Book of Discipline (Para. 104, 77). Moreover, the music of these chimes is not produced by their collision. Rather, in most wind chimes, a clapper or ball is suspended from the very center of the base-rooted as it were in the heart of scripture-swinging back and forth among the chimes to strike the tones. This ball is, for me, the community of faith, the church, that is involved in a dynamic way with each and all of these norms related to Christian praxis.
One final touch. The purpose of the wind chime is to make music. If there is no wind, then the chimes stand stagnant, purposeless, and silent. But when the wind blows-when a dynamic force sets the wind chime in motion-then the music begins. The wind in this image is, of course, the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit that, as the Wesleys would say, animates the whole.
When the fresh wind of the Spirit blows, and the church struggles to deal with the issues, questions, and concerns of the day in this dynamic way, the consequence is a song. That music will sound differently, perhaps, in different times and different places because the chimes may be made of wood here, or metal there, or bamboo somewhere else. But the music comes nonetheless from our faithful interaction with God's Word.
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(this is all quote)
grace
stephenC
Wow. Really nice! I love it. Especially that part about Holy Spirit causing it all to work together.
As a religion student at Northwest Nazarene University, I was also given a great illustration of the Wesleyan Quad. It given as the picture of a 3 legged stool sitting on a marble floor. The floor represented God's solid and unchanging word. The three legs had to be of even length, thus representing a balance of tradition, reason, and experience. When these are balanced the stool stands firm and doesn't wobble.
that thing should really be a triangle... reason doesn't exist in religion, it's substituted by the belief in an invisible and incompetent father-figure who doesn't give a shit, or "dog" spelled backwards
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