My understanding of this theological position of the Church is United Methodist use four guidelines when doing theology: Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. Scripture is the foremost and primary source and criterion for Christian faith. Scripture is the source of what is necessary and sufficient for salvation. Scripture contains a dependable account of how God has provided a way of salvation; especially, as revealed through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Tradition connects our past to our present by showing what God has done for and through God’s people. It is important that we look at the teaching and writings of the Fathers of the church such as the apostles, Calvin, Luther, and Wesley. It is also important to see what the ancient Church taught through the years. God has revealed God’s self through tradition as a witness to God’s presence throughout the history of …show more content…
Personal experience is the result of the living relationship with God to which it bears witness. According to Thorsen, “Wesley believed faith relies on the evidence of religious experience and is not a matter of reason alone.” Wesley also believed that experience should be verified by Scripture, tradition, and reason. There are diversities of religious experience, such as outward, inward, empirical and observed. Experience helps to validate our understanding of Christian doctrine, and life. Whatever we believe should be confirmed by reason within the bounds of the scripture by asking ourselves the question, “Is it within reason?” Reason can be useful in convincing the Christian that a revelation is from God. So my understanding of the theological position of the church is that Scripture, tradition, experience and reason all play a part in revealing the core of Christian faith. But Scripture is foremost and the primary source for belief and
If as believers we fail to completely trust the Word of God and form our life under its direction then our witness will become misleading and even confusing. Believer’s effort in diligently understanding, applying and holding full trust to the word of God in all aspects of our life will be instrumental in building our faith. Such a faith will elevate us to enable us rise above the unrelenting wave of our culture’s non-biblical ideologies. Biblical worldview is very important in order to develop a life, which can be emulated by others in diligence, integrity and honesty in the modern society (Tackett, 2014).
Through the close study of two of the aspects shown in the diagram, their contributions allow Christianity to be considered a living religious tradition. The significant contributions of Pope John XXIII, during both his papal and Pre-papal life have had everlasting effects on not only Catholicism, but Christianity as a whole and lead to the sense of Christianity being a living religious tradition. His works include two Papal encyclicals, Mater et Magistra and Pacem in Terris, along with his work being Apostolic Delegate of Greece and Turkey. Moreover, The significant practice of Baptism has further contributed to Christian being considered a living religious tradition as it accounts for the premise of most Christian beliefs to be initiated, especially in terms of salvation and affirming the beliefs in the trinity and following the teachings of Jesus Christ.
From the Catholic observation point, the Church presents two parts: One representing its divine nature as the untarnished body of Christ, and one direc...
United Methodists are not supposed to contradict the church's doctrinal standards, but can "go beyond and expand
From the beginning of Methodism, the organizational structure of John Wesley’s theological aspects solidifies a strong United Methodist Polity that involves The Church’s aspirational mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Through a set of structural rules and regulations that delineate The United Methodist Church every integral part that includes Annual, Central, District, General, and Jurisdiction Conferences, the local church body and structure defines its authenticity and practices. Polity can be defined as assignments and limitations of powers, offices, lines of authority and amenability, and procedures of membership, participation, and representation. Membership vows, ordination procedures, General Conference (the supreme legislative and executive body of The United Methodist Church), the General Boards and Agencies their relations to other parts of the church, Annual Conferences, ministerial pension funds, pastor-parish relations committee, and other organizational entities are the makeup of this vital organism called The United Methodist Church. Included is the ecclesiological terminology practice of creating, ordering, reforming and sustaining the church’s witness and service of
It is from the scriptures in the Bible that when Christians memorize these words and put these words in their hearts, they have memorized promises from God, our one and only authority. Reason can be defined as trying to understand God and the explanation behind his decisions. We can understand God, and reason gives us hope in understanding God through scripture. Reason is a tool that we can use to discern and interpret God’s word, and to gain insight into God’s character and personality.
and experience: the study of God and God’s relation to the world: a system of religious beliefs or
In order to gain a full understanding of the United Methodist Church’s practices and doctrines, it is important to compare and contrast the modern tradition of the Methodist Church to Wesley’s original tradition; by considering Wesleyan-influenced worship specifically relating to Methodist preaching, the Methodist sacraments, order of worship, significance and meaning of various baptism ceremonies, open communion, and the nature of the early Methodist worship service. The Methodist tradition and it’s future has been significantly transformed from its original theology because of controversial challenges, such as: interpretation of scripture, abortion, evolutionary theory, sexism, racial issues, and homosexuality.
For centuries now Christians have claimed to possess the special revelation of an omnipotent, loving Deity who is sovereign over all of His creation. This special revelation is in written form and is what has come to be known as The Bible which consists of two books. The first book is the Hebrew Scriptures, written by prophets in a time that was before Christ, and the second book is the New Testament, which was written by Apostles and disciples of the risen Lord after His ascension. It is well documented that Christians in the context of the early first century were used to viewing a set of writings as being not only authoritative, but divinely inspired. The fact that there were certain books out in the public that were written by followers of Jesus and recognized as being just as authoritative as the Hebrew Scriptures was never under debate. The disagreement between some groups of Christians and Gnostics centered on which exact group of books were divinely inspired and which were not. The debate also took place over the way we can know for sure what God would have us include in a book of divinely inspired writings. This ultimately led to the formation of the Biblical canon in the next centuries. Some may ask, “Isn’t Jesus really the only thing that we can and should call God’s Word?” and “Isn’t the Bible just a man made collection of writings all centered on the same thing, Jesus Christ?” This paper summarizes some of the evidences for the Old and New Testament canon’s accuracy in choosing God breathed, authoritative writings and then reflects on the wide ranging
Following this, God determined acceptable evidence in support of His desired outcome, which is the second step involved in the constructivist theory. Through His word, as stated in John 1:12, God deemed that acceptable evidence was that those who trust and believe in Him are His children. In addition to creating acceptable evidence, God planned learning experiences for mankind and provided instructions on how to obtain His desired result; thus, displaying the third step in the constructivist theory. Although, as stated in Hebrews 12:7-11, these learning experiences consist of hardships and tribulations, children of God trust in Him and understand that through all things He is good. This is further supported through His word, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8).The purpose of mankind’s learning experiences is to facilitate the acquisition of God’s desired result, which is an integral component of His planned sanctification process for His
Pope John Paul II once said, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth – in a word, to know himself – so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.” (Fallible Blogma) Based on this significant and powerful quote, one can infer that faith and reason are directly associated and related. It can also be implied that the combination of faith and reason allows one to seek information and knowledge about truth and God; based on various class discussions and past academic teachings, it is understood that both faith and reason are the instruments that diverse parties are supposed to use on this search for truth and God. There are many stances and viewpoints on the issues of faith and reason. Some believe that both of these ideas cannot and should not be combined; these parties deem that faith and reason must be taken as merely separate entities. However, this writer does not understand why both entities cannot be combined; both terms are so closely compatible that it would make sense to combine the two for a common task. Based on various class discussions and readings, there are many philosophers and theologians who have certain opinions regarding faith, reason and their compatibility; these philosophers include Hildegard of Bingen, Ibn Rushd, Moses Maimonides, and St. Thomas Aquinas. The following essay will examine each of the previously stated philosopher’s viewpoints on faith and reason, and will essentially try to determine whether or not faith and reason are ultimately one in the same.
To forsake a God-given gift is not a good idea. God gave his word to the world. From Scripture, his word, comes revelation and understanding of not only who he is, but also who we are in him. Living without the knowledge and wisdom of Scripture would only lead to an unscrupulous and impure life. God gave his word to the world for a reason, and that gift should not be taken lightly. Through it he reveals the desire he has for the lives of his people. Because it is God’s word, Scripture is a guide that his people need to live by.
While some people may believe that science and religion differ drastically, science and religion both require reason and faith respectively. Religion uses reason as a way of learning and growing in one’s faith. Science, on the other hand, uses reason to provide facts and explain different hypotheses. Both, though, use reason for evidence as a way of gaining more knowledge about the subject. Although science tends to favor more “natural” views of the world, religion and science fundamentally need reason and faith to obtain more knowledge about their various subjects. In looking at science and religion, the similarities and differences in faith and reason can be seen.
Our faith as Christians should be in the ability to hold firmly and trust in the revelation of God’s word. Revelation must not be ignored. The Faith “surrounds” our reason with three key elements in mind, which are focused on human life, and God’s mysterious existence and power. Faith is justified in our reason and not just a state of mind to fill the void of reasoned knowledge. I believe there is a special knowledge that is centered and leads us to truth---and reason toward our obligations, commitments and how dedicated we are in Christ. He will certainly open the path of life for those who faithfully believe the inner testimony and followed his word.
power. The reasons for studying the Bible will also be discussed along with scriptures and