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Essay / Reflection on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral - 1909
The term Wesleyan Quadrilateral is a theological method used to study the Scriptures. Theologian John Wesley was believed to study the scriptures of the Bible using three lenses, hence the name the Wesleyan quadrilateral. These three goals are tradition, reason and experience. While quad means four and tradition, reason, and experience are just three terms, they each communicate a way in which Scripture can be studied, which is why the term scripture completes the quadrangle. It is important to study Scripture using the Wesleyan Quadrilateral because Wesley was known as a cogent theologian and his views on Scripture lasted for over two centuries. The Wesleyan Quadrilateral is still relevant today because it provides a method for discovering the things of God, ourselves, and allows us to know who God really is. For the purposes of this reflection paper, I would like to summarize the four components of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral and then personally reflect on each term and how it relates to the Christian theologian. The first component of the Wesleyan quadrilateral is Scripture. The term scripture used in the Wesleyan quadrangle refers to the word of God. The word of God is found in the Bible. It is from the scriptures of the Bible that when Christians memorize these words and put them, reason can be defined as an attempt to understand God and the explanation of his decisions. We can understand God, and reason gives us hope of understanding God through Scripture. Reason is a tool we can use to discern and interpret God's word and to better understand God's character and personality. God's nature is eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, and supernatural, and reason provides a perspective through which to observe God's behavior through His nature. “God is not irrational” and there is a reason behind everything he does (WQL 5). Reason is a valuable tool for the Wesleyan quadrilateral, but reason does not hold