Wesleyan Church Calls Emergency Session, Articulates Stance on Inerrancy

INDIANAPOLIS-- Following unprecedented interest and controversy caused by recent archaeological discoveries related to Christian origins, most notably the Gospel of Judas, the Wesleyan Church convened an emergency session to articulate its stance on inerrancy. Representatives from all North American districts and 13 different nations were present at what is being called the 1st Council on Faith and Praxis. However, unlike similar evangelical meetings in the past to define inerrancy, like the Chicago Statement on Inerrancy, the Council on Faith and Praxis seeks to go further and ‘nail down touchy areas of belief and practice.’ Leo Menhelt, head of the newly formed Department of Faith and Doctrine, explains:

“There is so much more at stake here than the Bible. Those kinds of questions are old hat. We as Wesleyans like to be on the cutting-edge of things, so we’ve taken it up a notch. For years there has been a running joke in our churches and conferences that the Discipline of the Wesleyan Church is the “Blue Bible.” Well, let’s just say it’s not a joke anymore.”

In a decision that many see as the logical culmination of years of church practice, the 1st Council on Faith and Praxis defines the Discipline of the Wesleyan Church as “infallible in respect to Christian belief, church administration and Christian life.” It further defines the Articles of Religion as “the interpretive matrix through which Holy Scripture should be approached, understood, and taught” and articulates the guidelines concerning the individual’s life and practice as a “sufficient and binding addendum to the teachings of Scripture regarding the life of a professing Christian.”

Critics have already protested what they feel is an unwarranted appropriation of power and authority, with many detractors decrying its allegedly ‘un-ecumenical nature.’

“This kind of negative thinking, although unfortunate, is understandable, and not altogether unexpected,” Menhelt retorts. “However, the concerns of ecumenicity are unfounded. After all, we had Wesleyans from California present at the Council, and who voted in the affirmative no less. If that’s not ecumenical, I don’t know what is.”

Some highlights and peculiar additions of the decisions of the Council to be included in the next printing of the Discipline include:

- All decisions of Councils on Faith and Praxis are considered infallible and binding. This applies both retroactively and for future Councils.

- Susannah Wesley and Phoebe Palmer will both henceforth be termed ‘co-sanctificatrix.’

- Since the descriptive terms ‘Arminian’ and ‘Armenian’ are often ignorantly confused when used to refer to one’s theological stance, the entire population of Armenia will be considered Wesleyan by proxy.

- The hymns of Charles Wesley, though not inspired, can and should be used authoritatively for the strengthening of local churches.

- Potlucks can be considered sacramental, so local pastors can have more time for their preaching on the quarterly Sundays generally devoted to the Lord’s Supper.

“It’s a new era in our church,” Menhelt exclaims. “We’re really looking forward to what we can do now that we have an authoritative guide that isn’t open to debate and interpretation. I for one am glad that if someone has a tricky question for me about drinking or dancing, I can hold up the Discipline and know I’m right. That gives me a really good feeling that honest intellectual and cultural dissent just can’t beat.”