In the latest issue of in The Wesleyan Theological Journal , Wesleyan theologian Don Thorsen carries out a nice little exploration of biblical authority and theological method. The article, “Sola Scriptura and the Wesleyan Quadrilateral” (WTJ 41:2 (Fall 2006), pp. 7-27), clears up a lot of confusion. Both Sola Scriptura and the Quadrilateral are widely misconstrued, and need to be rescued from that darkling plain where ignorant armies clash by night. Here’s a good question: have these two principles suffered more abuse at the hands of their thoughtless detractors or their clueless defenders?

In case you are not among those who labor under misconceptions of either of these principles, let me sketch the state of play that Thorsen presupposes. In one corner is a version of Sola Scriptura which is so totalitarian that it cannot even admit any relative authorities or interpretive norms to function near it. In the other corner is a version of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral so flimsy and merely procedural that it sounds like nothing more than limp recommendation to take everything into account and let every voice be heard. Described this way, the two principles are set up in advance to clash with each other at the first ding of the bell. No surprise that they seem contradictory, since described this way the two principles are transparently nothing more than projections of conservative and liberal theological postures at their cartooniest.
(more… )