Second objection: “But ‘tradition’ is condemned in the Bible as
contrary to the Word of God (St. Matt. 15:6)!”
Contrary to general Protestant opinion, tradition is actually praised in
Scripture: “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which
you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter” (2 Thes. 2:15).
Christ acknowledged the Jewish tradition of the authority of the seat of
Moses and commanded His listeners to obey it, even though such a seat is
not mentioned in the Old Testament (St. Matt. 23:1-2). Oral preaching was
the medium by which the Gospel spread before the New Testament was
written: Acts 2:42; Rom. 10:17; 1 Cor. 11:2; 15:3; 2 Tim 2:2; 1 Pet. 1:25.
St. Paul received the following words of Christ orally, “It is more blessed
to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35) for such words are not recorded in the
Gospels. Were the early Christians, therefore, victims of false prophets
preaching the “commandments of men” simply because they received the
Gospel orally? Such an assertion would be ridiculous. Stephen Ray, a
convert from Evangelical Christianity, makes the following interesting
point:
“As an Evangelical, when I read the phrase ‘word of God’ I would
automatically plug in the word ‘Bible;’ this, however, is not at all the
meaning usually intended in the Bible itself. Roughly nine out of ten
times, ‘word of God’ is referring to the spoken word, not the written
word (e.g., 1 Thes. 2:13). The spoken words, the oral tradition, were
also the very ‘words of God’.”²
What was condemned by Christ in St. Matt. 15:6 (and by St. Paul in
Colossians 2:8) was not tradition per se, but those traditions, whether
doctrines or practices, which made God’s word and commandments
ineffective. Christ Himself observed all the noble traditions of the Jews,
such as the Pasch and all the liturgical festivals with their appurtenances,
songs and ceremonies. It is the Church, as the indefectible teaching
authority established by Christ (St. Matt. 16:19; 28:18-20), which
determines what is or is not authentic Tradition.
Other verses that speak laudably of Christian tradition include:
2
Stephen K. Ray, Crossing the Tiber, Ignatius Press, 1997 Ed., p. 30.
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