Many writers have sought to outline Wesley’s conception of how human beings obtain revelational knowledge. In this regard, the use of what has been dubbed the Wesleyan quadrilateral continues to remain widespread in both the academy and the pulpit. However, this presentation of Wesley’s thought has received severe criticism from the late William Abraham, philosopher of religion and Methodist commentator. He has proposed the creation of a new subdiscipline in epistemology for examining theology. This view has prompted a handful of attempts to extrapolate John Wesley’s epistemology of theology from his various writings. The present essay will contribute to this discussion by examining Wesley’s approach to these questions. In doing so, it explores mainly the function and place of nature in Wesley’s theological reflections. Drawing mainly upon Wesley’s
This article contributes to a new subdiscipline in epistemology for examining theology by presenting a new perspective on John Wesley by exploring the role of nature in his thought. Offering an epistemological–theological interpretation of John Wesley, this article fits well within the scope of
The term ‘epistemology’ refers to theories of knowledge in general. However, in recent years the late Methodist scholar William Abraham (1946–2021) has argued for the creation of a new subdiscipline for examining the ‘epistemology of theology’ which is used to describe the epistemological issues that arise specifically within theology (Abraham
It has been commonplace in epistemology […] to explore in detail the epistemology of particular academic disciplines. The epistemology of science, for example, has received the lion’s share of interest; but attention has also been given to mathematics, history, aesthetics, and ethics. The crucial warrant for these later developments goes back to Aristotle’s insistence […
In this introduction, Abraham highlights a principle which he calls epistemic fit, which holds that epistemological evaluation should be appropriate to the subject. In doing so, he is inspired by Aristotle’s (
Our account will be adequate if its clarity is in line with the subject-matter, because the same degree of precision is not to be sought in all discussions, any more than in works of craftsmanship. The spheres of what is noble and what is just, which political science examines, admit of a good deal of diversity and variation, so that they seem to exist only by convention and not by nature. Goods vary in this way as well, since it happens that, for many, good things have harmful consequences: some people have been ruined by wealth, and others by courage. So we should be content, since we are discussing things like these in such a way, to demonstrate the truth sketchily and in outline, and, because we are making generalizations on the basis of generalizations, to draw conclusions along the same lines. Indeed, the details of our claims, then, should be looked at in the same way, since it is a mark of an educated person to look in each area for only that degree of accuracy that the nature of the subject permits. Accepting from a mathematician claims that are mere probabilities seems rather like demanding logical proofs from a rhetorician. (Aristotle
Guided by this principle (epistemic fit), contributors to the
Whilst studies have been carried out on Wesley’s general epistemological outlook (Long
Albert Outler’s Wesleyan Quadrilateral.
Unfortunately, Outler’s caricature of the Anglican tradition overly simplified his understanding of John Wesley’s approach (Outler
A more detailed analysis of Wesley’s approach to the epistemology of theology is found in a series of published lectures, entitled
Evidence drawn from divine promises
Evidence of the power of God in the lives of believers
Evidence drawn from a personal awareness of divine forgiveness.
In keeping with the principle of Aristotelian epistemic fit outlinedhere, Abraham ‘unpacks the logic’ implicit within each of these points. First of all, (1) he argues that, at Aldersgate, Wesley personally experienced the fulfilment of what he had previously understood to be one of God’s promises to the believer – namely that ‘those who give up the quest for God on the basis of their own righteousness […] and trust entirely in God’s work in Christ’ will experience an assurance, a ‘sense of pardon for past sins’. Hence, Abraham contends that the fulfilment of this promise ‘provided Wesley with evidence of the truth of the gospel’. He wrote:
The argument is inductive and experiential in spirit and informal in structure. Wesley, like many others, had come to experience for himself the fulfilment of a significant divine promise […] We might express the issue more formally in this way: if many people have satisfied to a significant extent the conditions laid down for [
Here Abraham points out that it is not only Wesley’s own experience of the fulfilment of this promise that is significant here but his attention to the fulfilment of this divine promise in a plethora of comparable experiences present in the Methodist revival, which is saturated by accounts of this kind of experience. Hence whilst, individually, Wesley’s experience carries limited significance, the recurrence of the fulfilment of the promise of assurance throughout Christian communities across time and space provides evidence in favour of this divine promise.
Concerning the second point, (2) Abraham (
I want to explore […] a different network of arguments from divine power, namely, an argument from conspicuous sanctity or holiness in others and an argument from what Wesley would have called the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit. The evidence in this case goes beyond any signs of grace in our own lives and focuses on the power of God to produce holiness and supernatural phenomena […] essentially it is an abductive argument to the best explanation. (p. 43)
Here Abraham contended that where Wesley encountered ‘conspicuous’ instances of holiness in the lives of believers or extra-special ‘charismatic phenomena’, he considered these to be evidence of God’s reality. Hence, ‘suppose we meet someone who exhibits’ the kind of perfect sacrificial love found in the gospels; then ‘our scepticism about God may be checked, and we may well be drawn to believe in God’ (Abraham
Finally, (3) Abraham (
Wesley provides an explicit theory to undergird his claim of possessing knowledge of God. He insists that what is at stake is nothing less than perception of the divine. Just by our ordinary physical senses we perceive the world around us, so by means of our spiritual senses we perceive [
At this juncture, Abraham complements his discussion of Wesley’s thought by bringing it into dialogue with contemporary writers such as Alvin Plantinga and William Alston (Abraham
William Abraham’s portrayal of Wesley’s Epistemology of Theology.
Abraham’s reception is shaped unduly by a desire to bring Wesley’s thought into dialogue with the work of Reformed epistemologists such as Plantinga. Unfortunately, this leads him to neglect Wesley’s conception of ‘preventing’ (later called ‘prevenient’) grace (Campbell
All that is wrought in the soul […] all the drawings of the Father […
Furthermore, this preventing grace is not limited to the prevenient work of God in the heart and mind of the sinner. It is shed abroad in the world: ‘all the light of nature so called’ including the ‘general knowledge we have by the light of nature’ flows ‘from preventing grace’ (Wesley
In a chapter entitled ‘John Wesley’ in
The fact that he made unique moves with respect to knowledge of God attests to the value of the epistemology of Theology as a distinct arena of epistemological enquiry, to which this volume bears witness. In fact, once we follow Wesley’s line of argument, we detect a very bold suggestion: there is an entire dimension of reality that humanity is unable to know by reason or experimentation this invisible world of God and spirits is only accessible as a free gift of God. (Koskela
Here Koskela emphasised the central role of faith, or what might be termed the appropriation of divine revelation, in Wesley’s epistemology of theology. Thus, unless someone has faith, they cannot know God. Proceeding from this premise, Koskela outlined what he considers to be Wesley’s epistemology of theology (Koskela
Koskela argued that Wesley grounded our knowledge of God in divine revelation and testimony because he believed that we do not have access to this knowledge unless God reveals himself (Koskela
We can observe this in Wesley’s esteem for the writings and example of the early church […
In addition to the vital subsidiary role played by the faith of the church in mediating the divine revelation,
Throughout his life Wesley recognized three basic dimensions of faith: assent to the cognitive contents of Christianity, trust in Christ alone for his salvation, and (drawing on Heb 11:1) the perception of [God]. (p. 466)
Of these, Koskela deems religious experience, which he terms the direct perception of God, to be the most significant. Wesley’s direct perception of God at Aldersgate offered him a tangible confirmation and assurance of what he already knew conceptually (Pratt Morris-Chapman
In summary, Koskela considers that Wesley prioritised divine revelation, God’s testimony (Old and New) recorded in the divinely inspired scriptures, the corporate faith of the church, the direct perception of God in religious experience and the testimony of Christian people to God’s power over the centuries (
Koskela’s portrayal of Wesley’s Epistemology of Theology.
Thus far, we have illustrated Koskela’s understanding of the central sources for Wesley’s epistemology of theology. However, whilst wanting to affirm much of Koskela and Abraham’s account, their analyses are fundamentally deficient as they fail to incorporate the role played by nature in Wesley’s thought. It is to this aspect that we now turn.
Many commentators have recognised the important place of science and reason in Wesley’s theological thought (Felleman
I wished to see this short full plain Account of the visible Creation directed to its right End: Not barely to entertain an idle, barren Curiosity, but to display the invisible things of God, his Power, Wisdom and Goodness. (p. iii)
Here, Wesley considers that a knowledge of God’s goodness, wisdom and power is visible in the natural world (Wesley
Before commencing a discussion of the survey, it is essential to recognise that in this work, Wesley often abridges, paraphrases and edits other sources to suit his purposes.
In the introduction to his compendium, Wesley (
I must apprise the Reader that I have sometimes a little digressed by reciting both uncommon Appearances of Nature … And yet this is not properly a Digression from the main Design I have in view. For surely in these Appearances also the Wisdom of God is displayed. (p. v)
Here, Wesley clarifies that the purpose of this work is to present a summary of the available knowledge concerning the natural world and illustrate how this reveals knowledge of God. As a result, Wesley states that he will unashamedly engage in what appear to be digressions throughout this work precisely because he intends to give
Wesley begins in volume one with contemplation of how the human body reflects the wisdom of God. Here he finds it displayed in the body’s ‘remarkable’ design (Wesley
How admirably has God secured the Execution of his Original Sentence upon every Child of Man Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return. From the moment we live we prepare for Death. (Wesley
Here, in his reflection on the human body, Wesley finds confirmation of the creation narrative and obtains insights concerning God’s character from the creation. However, before closing this section, it is essential to highlight that Wesley also acknowledges the limits of human reason. For example, in his discussion of human conception, he admits that how ‘seeds’ whether ‘male or female’ grow in the womb ‘abundantly transcends the highest reach of human understanding’ (Wesley
Wesley proceeds from here to discuss how the four fundamental elements, ‘earth, water, air and fire illuminate the character of God’ (Wesley
Wesley obtains similar insights from the abundant provision of water through rain, rivers and seas. Citing the natural historian Noël-Antoine Pluche, he reflects upon how the course of a river illustrates the character of God’s love. For example, the generosity and provision of God is emphasised when the ‘All wise’ creator ‘showers’ the earth with water. From the mountain tops to the valleys below, this brings life by providing water and increasing food production. This system’s abundance, provision and harmony should assure believers of God’s ‘gracious’ character (Pluche & Humphreys
In addition to the illumination of God’s great mercy and generous love, Wesley also discerns the extraordinary greatness of the almighty in the waves and movements of the tides. Concerning the former, he notes how waves ‘surge from world to world’ in a ‘spectacle of magnificence and terror’ which fills the ‘mind and amazes the imagination’ with an awe for the ‘almighty’, who in his ‘wisdom’ controls them all with a ‘power absolutely incomprehensible’ (Wesley
The Wesleyan hexalateral.
The given
The relation we bear to God as our creator which was partly discovered by the light of nature is made nearer yet and more dear and engaging by that entirely new distinction in the One God revealed to us under the different characters of Father Son and Holy Ghost and by the unspeakable blessings we derive from their several offices and operations. This distinction utterly incomprehensible in itself could never have been known to men but by revelation. Nor could we have conceived it in any degree had it not been discovered to us under the semblance of such relations as are familiar among men as that of a Father and a Son and the Spirit of a man which is in him. (p. 231)
Here Wesley (
Since both reason and Revelation show there is but one God we can own and worship but one. And since that one God is set forth to us in scripture under three distinct relations and accordingly represented by distinct personal names and characters and operations and offices therefore we worship but one God with this distinction of his own making not of ours. (p. 233)
In sum, whilst Wesley believes knowledge of God is possible from nature, it is through the ‘gospel revelation’ that a complete theological ‘knowledge’ is obtained (Wesley
In the given discussion, it is clear that Wesley does afford a role to nature in his epistemology of theology. Perhaps the best possible summary of his position is found in the preface to this work: the natural world ‘display[
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As a result, Outler mistakenly believed Wesley was seeking to enhance the ‘Anglican triad’ which utilised scripture, reason and tradition.
This notion of God’s preventing grace extends beyond the concept employed by the reformers (Campbell
A detailed account of Abraham’s own approach to the epistemology of theology may be found here (Pratt Morris-Chapman
Here Koskela is right to observe that although Wesley has often been interpreted as conflating divine revelation with scripture, he did recognise that the incarnation of God in Christ offers the most complete knowledge of the divine reality.
It should be acknowledged here that Wesley’s reverence for the Church of England vacillated during the course of his ministry; his decision to ordain Thomas Coke offers a powerful example of this (Maddox
There has been a tendency within Wesleyan scholarship to emphasise Wesley’s affinities with the High Church and Evangelical streams within the Anglican tradition (Danker
Anyone who actually picks up these hefty volumes can obtain empirical evidence that Wesley believed the created, natural world furnishes Christians with a knowledge of God.
This is true in many of his publications (Pratt Morris-Chapman
Wesley’s decision to publish these volumes (three times) demonstrates his interest in the natural world and, moreover, his redactions indicate that these writings are reflective of his own opinions.