The Wesleyan Quadrilateral and Contemporary Biblical Exegesis

Abstract

How can one discern and apply God’s will and purpose for human life as revealed in Scriptures? Different scholars have answered this question from different exegetical perspectives. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, suggested that any sound biblical exegesis must have four pillars, namely, Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. Wesley’s multifaceted approach to biblical exegesis stresses the primacy of Scripture correlated with tradition, reason and experience. This paper explores Wesley’s interpretative framework and deduces lessons from this methodology for contemporary biblical exegetes. In the process, the study points out some flaws in contemporary interpretative practices and suggests how Christians can avoid these flaws.