Sunday, January 11, 2009

Where does theology come from?

Where do you find out about God? Does knowledge of God come from books? Does it come from parents? Does it come from thinking really hard? Does it come from reflecting on our own life and experiences? Wesleyans have answered this question with a Yes. Theology comes from all these things--Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. This means that we know about God from our Bibles, Christian history, thinking and reflection, and life experience. They are all "sources."

But what about when these sources are in conflict? What if my experience of God is different from yours? What judges between our beliefs? Wesleyans affirm that Scripture is a theological "norm." This means that Scripture is the judge of all other sources of theology. If my experience of God is out of step with Scripture (like feeling God is a Cowboys fan), then I submit to Scripture.

2 comments:

Arnie Buehler said...
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Arnie Buehler said...

I do believe that in scripture he is a Los Angeles Angels Fan but really does not care for the New Jersey Red Devils, at least that is what I was taught in my Theology classes. But then again I am not Wesleyan either, only by marriage.