United Methodists stand squarely in the theological center of the Christian faith tradition. We hold to the Bible as the primary source of truth about God, and we have four specific documents in our tradition which we hold to be faithful historical expressions of Biblical truth: The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church and Confessions of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren Church , along with Sermons on Several Occasions and Explanatory Notes on the New Testament, two books by John Wesley (the founder of Methodism) which set forth the beliefs and perspectives of early Methodists. These writings form the basis of our “doctrinal standards,” which contain the following core beliefs: