How we find our faith in The United Methodist Church
Our United Methodist Book of Discipline states that our questions about the life of faith are best answered by searching four sources: Scripture, tradition, experience and reason.
Scripture
The Bible is the primary source for what we believe. Our doctrines are
grounded in the biblical story of God’s self-disclosure -- in creation; in the
life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; in the activity of the Holy
Spirit; and in the coming of God’s promised kingdom.
Tradition
Our Christian tradition is rooted in the lives and within the works and
testimony of those who have gone before us. Church ritual, creeds, and hymns are
all part of our heritage. The devotional classics and theological writings of
Christian men and women over the centuries form an important part of our
tradition. Christian art also illuminates the sacred story. The lives of the
saints – people we read about in books as well as those we have known
personally – bear testimony to the faith.
Christian experience
Our personal experience of God’s pardoning and healing love is radically
different from intellectual assent to the message of the Bible or to the
doctrines set forth in our creeds. Christian experience consists of our own new
life in Christ as well as our broader human experience.
Reason
We believe that all truth comes from God. Doctrines developed by the study of
scripture, in light of tradition and Christian experience, are submitted to
critical analysis and scientific knowledge. We use our reason to organize our
Christian witness.