The primary source for our Christian beliefs and practices is the Bible. The Book of Discipline (2008) states that, “United Methodists share with other Christians the conviction that Scripture is the primary source and criterion for Christian doctrine” (The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2008, ¶104). In article V of the Articles of Religion we find the statement that the Holy Scriptures contain “all things necessary to salvation.” In Scripture, we find the story of humanity’s fall, redemption, and restoration. We see our own story played out over and over in the lives of women and men seeking to know God in a real and meaningful way, and sometimes failing miserably in the process. But throughout the narrative, we see God’s continual action and involvement in the lives of men and women as God works toward “paradise restored.” Through it all we are challenged to be followers of Christ as we come face to face with God incarnate. From beginning to end, Genesis to Revelation, we read of God creating, redeeming, and sustaining God’s creation. But we also hear our call to participate in this narrative. We find that the story is not just of some ancient people and their journey, but it is a journey in which we play an active role. We find that we are called to belief and to action; belief in the Triune God revealed in scripture and action that reflects our understanding of who that God is and who that God would have us be.
How do we determine if our understanding bears any hint of truth? For this we turn to the remaining elements of the quadrilateral – tradition, experience, and reason. It is through these that various faith communities, seeking ways to live out their faith in ways that are true to their beliefs, have developed. From the earliest of times, men and women have sought to interpret the Word of God. The interpretive lens through which they look, shaped by their own tradition, verified by their own personal experience, and passing the tests of their own reason have left us with very diverse ways of understanding God. For me to ignore the voice of my contemporaries and those who have gone before is the height of hubris.
This leaves me with something of a dilemma. The diversity of human tradition, experience, and reason leads to the inevitable conclusion that all attempts at knowing God are subject to the individual human condition. We are all subject to the effects of our unique brokenness that leads to varying responses to, and apprehensions of, who God is and who God would have us be. How then do we justify the elevation in our discourse of one person’s interpretation/revelation over that of another? Maybe the answer is, “We don’t.”
For me, the beginning of “the answer” is recognizing how the interconnectedness of our beliefs might provide a richer understanding of how we judge what we believe. In his book, He Is There and He Is Not Silent, Francis Schaffer in his discussion of the Trinity speaks of “unity in diversity.” Could it be that the diversity of human tradition, experience, and reason is not an obstacle to truth, but an ultimate consequence/benefit of the infinite God making Godself known in and through God’s finite creation?
Maybe I’ve created more questions for myself than I’ve answered, but I think that’s the nature of our theological quest: exhaustible creatures seeking to know the inexhaustible God.
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