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A Wesleyan Approach To Knowledge, Kevin Twain Lowery

Faculty Scholarship – Theology

This presentation explores how Wesley’s philosophical and theological commitments shaped his approach to scriptural interpretation, and how this has particular implications for doing faith integration. Within this presentation, the empiricist tradition is defined and compared with rationalism, Catholic and Reformed/Calvinist views on human nature and divine providence are compared with Wesleyan views, the Wesleyan doctrine of grace is explained, and the roots of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral are traced.

Wesleyan values call for an integrative approach to faith. Knowledge should not be compartmentalized into sacred and secular spheres. An integrative approach to knowledge and faith suggests that we should seek to …

Empiricism And Wesleyan Ethics, Kevin Twain Lowery

Faculty Scholarship – Theology

In this article, the open-endedness of Wesleyan ethics is affirmed; attempts to articulate a system of Wesleyan ethics have been few, and it would be virtually impossible for any single expression of Wesleyan ethics to be regarded as definitive for the tradition as a whole. The fact that Wesleyan ethics is a relatively open field allows it to be developed in a number of ways that can still be regarded as Wesleyan or are at least consistent with basic Wesleyan commitments. Wesley’s allegiance to empiricism is then recalled, and the importance of addressing epistemological questions is stressed. An outline of …

Wesley's Limited Alliance With Lockean Empiricism, Kevin Twain Lowery

Faculty Scholarship – Theology

This paper attempts to sketch Wesley’s relation to Lockean empiricism by identifying the key issues that seem to spark his objections to Locke’s Essay. The purpose is not to evaluate the validity of Locke’s positions per se but to locate the theological commitments Wesley wishes to defend and to scrutinize the philosophical assumptions he makes to support them.