Wesleyan Quadrilateral

The Wesleyan Quadrilateral is a four-part theological framework used by eighteenth-century British minister John Wesley to reflect on the Christian faith. While the philosophy originated with the teachings of Wesley—a co-founder of the Methodist Church—the term itself was not coined until the 1960s. The Wesleyan Quadrilateral is a representation of the four “sides” of Wesley’s views on Christian thought—scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. Although the symbolic image of a four-sided shape makes it seem as if the four elements carry equal weight, Wesley emphasized biblical scripture as the primary basis of Christian truth.

Background

The religion of Christianity was founded about two thousand years ago and draws its beliefs from the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians believe Jesus was the son of God, born to a human mother, and who suffered, died, and was resurrected to free humanity from sin. For nearly 1,500 years, Christian religious thought was dominated by the Catholic Church in Rome and administered by the pope, the leader the Church. In 1517, a German priest named Martin Luther took issue with some of the practices of the Catholic Church and called for reforms. The movement he sparked became known as the Protestant Reformation and resulted in several Christian denominations splintering away from the Church in Rome.

In 1527, King Henry VIII of England requested permission from the pope to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so that he could marry a new wife. When the pope refused, Henry simply broke England’s ties with the Roman Catholic Church and formed the Church of England in 1534. As opposed to more radical Protestant denominations, the Church of England maintained much of the religious doctrine of the Catholic Church and was viewed as a “middle way” between Catholic and Protestant teachings. By the mid-seventeenth century, the Church of England had evolved into a denomination known as Anglicanism.

Overview

John Wesley was born in England in 1703. His father was an Anglican priest and his mother was a devout religious teacher who regularly read the Bible to her children. While students at Oxford University, John Wesley, his brother Charles, and several others co-founded a Christian group that focused on Bible study, prayer, and charitable work. Their strict adherence to rules and methodology at first earned them the derisive nickname “Methodists,” but the group turned that criticism around by accepting the name as its own.

By 1735, John Wesley was an ordained Anglican minister and was on his way to the British colony of Georgia in North America. During a terrifying storm at sea, Wesley experienced a crisis of faith when he feared for his life while noticing a group of German immigrants seemed calm. The immigrants, part of a Protestant denomination known as the Moravians, told Wesley that they had trust that God would see them through the ordeal. The experience made Wesley realize his own faith was not as strong as he believed and led him to search for answers to his dilemma.

After two years, Wesley returned to England, still dissatisfied with his spiritual progress. In 1738, Wesley claimed to have a revelation while listening to a sermon on biblical scripture. He believed he had achieved a complete trust in God and was inspired to share his message with fellow Christians. Together with his brother Charles and a fellow member of his Oxford Christian study group, Wesley formed a denomination that would eventually split from Anglicanism and become known as the Methodist Church.

In keeping with his meticulous nature, Wesley’s works contained detailed outlines of his religious philosophy and his attempts to find truth in the “heart and mind” of God. In 1964, Methodist scholar Albert Outler examined Wesley’s reflections on faith and God and devised a diagram to illustrate the concept. Outler called his idea the Wesleyan Quadrilateral after a geometric figure that has four straight sides that meet at four points. The four sides of the quadrilateral were meant to illustrate Wesley’s four main points of faith: scripture, tradition, reason, and experience.

Wesley viewed scripture—defined as the sixty-six books of the Protestant Bible—as the ultimate authority in the search for religious truth. Methodists, like most Protestant denominations, believe the Bible was written under the direct inspiration of God and the words found within are sacred and complete. All Christian doctrine flows from the word of God as written in the Bible. In later years, Outler said he regretted using the term quadrilateral to describe his idea because it gave the impression all four elements were equal. In reality, scripture is the most important source of faith in Wesleyan theology.

After many generations of biblical study, the traditions that survive the test of time then become the next tool to help Christians examine their faith. Scripture is still the definitive guide for such reflection, as traditions that agree with the words found in the Bible are incorporated into religious study. The traditions that are inconsistent with scripture are passed over and left behind.

Wesley believed scripture was the primary source of faith, but he also wrote that to fully comprehend the word of God, humans needed to view scripture through the lens of reason. Reason helps Christian interpret and understand scripture, thereby unlocking the truths found within the words. To Wesley, reason was not a distinct human quality, but was rather a divine gift from the Holy Spirit. While reason was essential to understanding God’s intentions, it was not enough to produce faith on its own; however, it did make the process easier.

The final element of the quadrilateral is considered to be experience. In this context, experience is how Christians perceive scripture and faith on a personal level in the paths they have walked in their own lives. Wesley believed experience was the second-most-important element necessary to discover Christian faith. Tradition and reason may present the truth found in scripture, but personal experience is what leaves an indelible mark.

Bibliography

Campbell, Ted A. “The ‘Wesleyan Quadrilateral’: The Story of a Modern Methodist Myth.” United Methodist Church General Commission on Archives & History, January 1991, archives.gcah.org/bitstream/handle/10516/5736/MH-1991-January-Campbell.pdf?sequence=1. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

Fairchild, Mary. “Methodist Church History.” Learn Religions, 12 Apr. 2019, www.learnreligions.com/methodist-church-history-700976. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

Garland, F. Richard. “Source of Faith (A Hymn on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral).” Discipleship Ministries, 2019, www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/source-of-faith-a-hymn-on-the-wesleyan-quadrilateral. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

Gingerich, Barton. “What Do I Need to Know About the Anglican Church?” Christianity.com, 2019, www.christianity.com/church/denominations/the-anglican-church.html. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

“Glossary: Wesleyan Quadrilateral, the.” United Methodist Church, 26 May 2015, www.umc.org/en/content/glossary-wesleyan-quadrilateral-the. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

“John Wesley.” Christianity Today, 2019, www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/denominationalfounders/john-wesley.html. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

Thorsen, Donald A. D. The Wesleyan Quadrilateral: An Introduction. Emeth P, 2018.

“Wesleyan Quadrilateral.” Theopedia, www.theopedia.com/wesleyan-quadrilateral. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.