Among the three tools wesleyans use to interpret Scripture, TRADITION, EXPERIENCE and REASON, TRADITION and EXPERIENCE are in many ways the easiest. In using experience the Church TELLS us what Christians, even Christians in our particular denomination have thought and done for generations, even centuries. Or in using experience, our own FEELINGS tell us what to do or think about what Scripture says. These are hard to miss.

But REASON is often overlooked. Ironically, this partly because reason is automatically at work, under the surface of everything we think and do and partly because reason has taken a bad rap in our culture in the past few decades.

First, at some level, without reason we can't even read SCRIPTURE, even hear TRADITIONS, or even understand our EXPERIENCES! So the role of reason is often invisible to us like water is "invisible" to fish and air to us.

Second, culture has become relativistic, abandoning most claims to "truth." Without these fixed points the "levers" of reason become useless in a world of "fake facts," and never used to resolve contradictory accounts of almost everything. Consequently, reason is surrendered in favor of power.

So we don't have to be philosophers to recognize the important role of reason in our faith. Free Methodists are intentionally committed to affirming it.

In our time together, we want to consider a few examples of what can be called both the negative use and the positive use of REASON in faith. We will remember that like TRADITION and EXPERIENCE these can never be sufficient for faith. But we will also see that they may very well be necessary."

Jim’s Background:
B.S. Physics M.I.T., Ph.D. Metaphysics/Philosophy of Science.
Taught philosophy including apologetics and logic for 35 years at multiple colleges and universities.
Missionary in Africa & Ordained elder in FMC since 1975. Attended SBFMC since 1978.