Why Does The Catholic Church base some of her doctrines on tradition
instead of basing them all on the Bible?
Did Christ not tell the Pharisees that holding to tradition they were
transgressing the commandments of God? (Matt.15:13, Mark 7:9)
I. Observe that in the Bible there are 2 kinds of tradition:
a) human
b) divine
II. Observe that when Christ accused the Pharisees He was referring to
the "precepts of men" (Mark 7:7) to their human traditions.
"Well did Isaias prophecy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from
Me;
and in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine the precepts
of
men.' For, letting go the commandment of God, you hold fast the
tradition of men, the washing of pots and of cups; and many other
things you do like these." (Mark 7: 6-8)
III: Christ wanted divine tradition preserved preserved and honored
because He made it part and parcel of the Christian deposit of
faith-- as the Apostle Paul affirmed:
"Stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether
by word, or by our epistle." (2 Thess. 2:14)
"And we charge you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to withdraw yourselves from every brother who lives irregularly,
and not according to the teaching received from us. For you
yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; for we were not
unruly while with you, neither did we eat any man's bread at his
cost, but we worked night and day in labor and toil, so that we
might
not burden any of you." (2 Thess 3:6-8)
IV. This divine tradition to which Paul refers--this revealed truth which
was handed down by word rather than by letter--is the tradition upon
which, along with the sacred Scripture, the Catholic Church bases
her
tenets of faith
---as the primitive Christian Fathers affirmed:
"These traditions of the Christian name, therefore, so numerous, so
powerful, and most dear, justly keep a believing man in the
Catholic
Church." (St. Augustine)
V. The New Testament itself is a product of Christian tradition. Nowhere
in the New Testament is there any mention of a New Testament.
Taken from: The New Testament (Revision of Challoner-Rheims Version)
Edited by: Episcopal Committe of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine
Taken from: The Catholic Church has the Answer
Authored by: Paul Whitcomb
.
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