Deep Roots, Wide Branches: Reason

In Open, take a nerdy deep-dive with us this week as we wrap up our Deep Roots, Wide Branches series with the last branch of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral: Reason. We'll take a look at our theological task from the Book of Discipline—to approach theology with critically and constructively, individually and communally, contextually and incarnationally and practically.

In Mosaic and the Sanctuary services, Pastor David wraps up our series on the Wesley Quadrilateral. We come to the final element: reason. It’s different from scripture, tradition, and experience because it’s the tool that enables us to bring all those pieces together. We think of reason as the thing that separates humans from the rest of creation. We are self-aware and can examine our behavior, our surroundings, our influences, and decide what is the best thing to do. Reason can give us great confidence in our actions, but it can also lead us to some scary discoveries about ourselves and the world around us. We can trust that the God who is always with us, who is as close to us as our very breath, will guide us and sustain us in whatever comes about. It’s not reason versus faith, it’s reasoning with faith. It’s also recognizing that the most profound truths of our faith are things that defy reason-able explanation. In circumstances we might find confusing, we can use reason to draw upon scripture, tradition, and experience to trust in an unfailing God.

Unfortunately, we had an issue with our live-stream in the Sanctuary after the service and were unable to share that link here. You can still watch that service on Facebook here.