Tradition vs. Sola Scriptura
Sola scriptura is a short-lived idea which means “Scripture only”. Before we get into scripture, which is rich with verses that encourage divinely appointed tradition, Let’s review take a quick digression into a philosophical view of tradition, then we will look into the theologically view support in Holy Writ.
Philosophical Perspective
First, we must understand, what is man? Well we know man is made of two parts. Man is material (physical flesh) and man is spirit (soul, emotion, life). God created man to be in unison, that his spirit and body be as one. Sin has corrupted this adhesion, yet God still promotes it by the promise of giving our spirit another new body. There must be something sacred about having a material being.
What was so special about man that differed from angels and animals? Angels are pure spirit, and animals are pure material. Man, at the time, was the only living entity that unified the material and spiritual into in. Christ had not been Incarnate yet, and the Trinity at the time was only spiritual, and all the rest of creation, save man, was without spirit but only material.
This is why man longs for physical expressions of spiritual things. He himself was created to be physical and spiritual, not separating the two but endorsing the way God intended man to be.
Theological Perspective
First, let’s respond to the anti-tradition sediment which is derived from misinterpretation of Holy Scripture. Matthew 15:3 speaks of breaking God’s commandment to follow the tradition of men. Naturally, anything that digresses us from following God’s commandment, tradition or not, should be forbidden. It wasn’t forbade because it was tradition, it was exiled because it was prioritized above God. Same goes for Mark 7:9. Colossians 2:8 warns us of seductive philosophy of men’s tradition. This doesn’t tell us to abstain from tradition, but to be wise in which we accept as tradition.
Here begins the verses in the Bible which help coax us along to the unison with the spirit and the flesh that God intended. 1 Corinthians 11:2 remains one of the must deliberate passages in scripture that demands we hold to tradition, “Hold fast to the traditions I handed to you”, written by Paul mind you. But what are traditions? Traditions can be written, such as the Bible, or spoken, according to 2 Thessalonian 2:15, “Hold fast to Traditions, whether oral or by letter.” Some people will say that letters aren’t the same thing as the liturgy of the Bible. They aren’t? I thought the majority of Paul’s writings were…letters. Some may not realize this, but Ephesians, Corinthians, etc., the proper title is Letters to the Ephesians and Letters to the Corinthians, etc.. Since when has something spoken become less meaningful than if it were written?
But what about those three verses that advise us to abstain from tradition? They were meant for man’s tradition, not the Church’s. In fact, the Bible denotes that we are to shun those who don’t act according to tradition; “We instruct you, brothers, in the name of (our) Lord Jesus Christ,to shun any brother who conducts himself in a disorderly way and not according to the Tradition they received from us” [2 Thess 3:6]. Traditional acts don’t have to be enumerated for us to know whether they are appropriate or not. An example, if I said Jesus Christ loved every child He met, will you contest to this because it isn’t written, or by knowledge of who Christ is, is it safe to deduce this. We know there is more to Christ, although it isn’t specifically written (John 21:25). Same goes for tradition. Paul says to act according to tradition, even if it is just orally passed on.
But isn’t spoken tradition frail? No. Not if you believe in Mark 13:31. Even Paul records a saying of Jesus not found anywhere else in the Bible (Acts 20:35). How do you suppose St. Paul knew of what Christ had said if it wasn’t in a liturgical Bible? He must have heard it by word of mouth, in Oral Tradition. Remember, the Bible is inspired by God, so that must mean that that Oral Tradition blurb that Paul came by held the same holy inspiration, else it wouldn’t have made it into Sacred Scripture.
The Church is the only one that has the validity to claim to support this passage in 2 Timothy 1:13, “Follow my words, guard the truth.” And, “I assure you this, that what you have heard, has been entrusted to faithful men” (2 Timothy 2:2). Christ doesn’t call for text, but the message of truth to be passed on despite the means of its delivery.
But why tradition? Because tradition is long held and bares the tests of time; but most sincerely, because the Bible doesn’t propose tradition, but makes it an amendment. Tradition has surpassed almost two centuries and is still holding strong solely because it declares truth. We can’t just say that tradition is old or out of custom nowadays; tradition has more validity, since we are told to follow it, than we ourselves have as individuals trying to decipher the Bible (2 Peter 1:20). Why? Because the letters aren’t made for private interpretation, in addition to them being difficult and hard to grasp (2 Peter 3:15-16).
Remember, God’s eternal word is the word that is preached to us (1 Peter 1:25).
Faith comes from what we have heard (Romans 10:17). No where in scripture does it declare sola scriptura. But faith comes from hearing the word, the word passed on by tradition. Speculate with me. Christ died in about 36 Anno Domini (A.D.). The last book written to be asserted in the Bible was around 98 A.D.. The Bible was canonized in 391 A.D. during Constantine’s reign. In the nearly 300 year gap, aside from the Old Testament, how did people conduct themselves as Christians? Remember, the story of Christ is centered in the New Testament which hadn’t been collaborated yet into the final addition of the Bible. It was tradition that perpetuated Christianity. They were held fast by the words preached, not by paper and ink (1 Corinthians 15:1-2).
Jesus appointed the men with the tradition passed onto them to go into the world and preach God’s word (Mark 16:15).
Spirit first guided Oral [divine] Tradition which the Bible is a byproduct of. St. Paul told man to “hold firm to the Tradition that [he] handed to you” (2 Thess 2:15). In fact, Christ tells us to follow divine Tradition in Matthew 23:3 “do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you to.” We know that this is means to follow authority, because Jesus quotes verbatim Mary whom told the servants at the wedding of Cana to follow Jesus because He had authority, “His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatsoever he tells you’” (Jn 2:5). Mary could say ‘do whatsoever He tells you to” because Jesus had authority; and Jesus could say the exact same thing “do whatsoever they tell you to” because the Pharisees, by Tradition, had divine authority. If it were not divine, Jesus would not have told the people to obey and do “whatsoever they tell you to”. When Christ said “you follow your tradition contrary to God’s law” he was speaking of the Pharisees, when He said “but don’t do what they do” (Mt 23:3). Here is how it is translated properly, “Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you to (Jn 2:5, 2 Thess 2:15- divine Tradition), but do not follow their example (Mt 15:3- men’s tradition). For they preach but they do not practice.” Christ is speaking of two traditions, one Godly, one ungodly.
Jesus understood the necessity for tradition. Christ didn’t command that His disciples only follow the Torah, but they should also obey as authority the tradition of the Pharisees, for they spoke with traditional authority (Matthew 23:2-3). If Christ said it, I can only but conform to it. It’s not conceding. It’s not sin. It’s the Word of God.
In the first book of John, we read whom John calls antichrists, and why they are such; “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of our number; if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number” [1 Jn 2:18-19]. John says they are the antichrist because they went out from us in desertion. John says those who are the antichrist are the ones that left the Church, the Church that is “the pillar and foundation of Truth” [1 Tim 3:15]. This is why the Church [Magisterium] is needed, because it is the foundation of truth. If Scripture alone were enough, than Acts 8:30-31 wouldn’t make sense; “Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone instructs me?’ So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.” This is why the Holy Spirit says the Church is the pillar and foundation of Truth [1 Tim 3:15] because man cannot interpret Scripture privately [1 Pt 1:20].
“The teaching of the Church has indeed been handed down through an order of succession from the Apostles, and remains in the Churches even to the present time. That alone is to be believe as the truth which is in no way at variance with ecclesiastical and apostolic tradition” Origen in Fundamental Doctrines, 230 A.D.. St. Origen wrote this before the Bible was canonized and introduced to Christianity.
“Let us note that the very tradition, teaching, and faith of the Catholic Church from the beginning, which the Lord gave, was preached by the Apostles, and was preserved by the Fathers. On this was the Church founded; and if anyone departs from this, he neither is nor any longer out to be called a Christian” St. Athanasius in Four Letter to Serapion of Thmius, 360 A.D.
Your’s,
Drew Castel.
