TRADITION

BASIC R.C. BELIEF

One source of Divine revelation, the other being Sacred scripture. During

the years between the beginning of the Church and the completed scripture,

people relied on the Apostles' oral teachings. Then, as cultures were

growing, they felt that the Bible was not able to meet their needs, so

tradition was developed to meet the demands of men of all ages. This

teaching authority resided in the pope and authorized theologians. Because

of this, tradition became a meaningful part of life.

Cardinal Bellarmine said that when the Universal Church observed one of

their practices that was not in Holy Scriptures, they were constrained to

say that it must be a tradition from Christ or His Apostles.

POST VATICAN II

"The sacred synod encourages the sons of the Church who engage in biblical

studies constantly to renew their efforts; with complete dedication and in

accordance with the mind of the Church. Sacred theology relies on the

written Word of God, taken together with Sacred Tradition" (DEI VERBUM,

Vatican II document).

From DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION ON DIVINE REVELATION, Vatican II, Sections 9,10.

"There exist a close connection and communication between sacred Tradition

and sacred Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same divine

wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tends toward the same

end. ... Sacred Tradition and sacred scripture form one sacred deposit of

the Word of God which is entrusted to the church.

From SIMPLICITY, John Michael Talbot, page 54. "Care must be taken, though,

that the Scriptures not be studied in isolation from the ongoing teaching

of the church. True, we have the Spirit of God within us to guide and

direct us. We have an objective body of teaching in the Scriptures. But

remember: it was the church that authenticated these Scriptures, and it is

the teaching office of the church which provides the commentary or the

instruction to interpret these biblical documents. A balance must be

maintained between tradition and Scripture.

CHRISTIAN COMMENT

In order to make God's Word meaningful, the Holy Spirit was sent to be the

Infallible Teacher of the Church; He can interpret scripture for any

culture. Before the New Testament scriptures were available, Christian

teachers used available epistles and the Old Testament. In II Thessalonians

2:15, the word tradition means teachings, and Paul states these were "by

word or epistle." The epistle was the Word of God, and Paul's oral teaching

was based on Old Testament scripture (Acts 26:22).

Roman Catholic tradition not only adds to the Word of God, it severely

alters it.

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