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And here’s why.
All Catholic beliefs can be found in the
Bible either plainly or by an indirect
indication. A quick example is that the
Bible teaches that there IS God the Father,
God the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Bible
also says that God the Father, God the Son,
and the Holy Spirit form the Holy Trinity.
Nowhere in the Bible can you find the word
Trinity and yet ALL CHRISTIANS, Catholics
AND Protestants alike, believe in the Holy
Trinity.
Rejecting Tradition
for the Bible Alone (or Sola Scriptura)
is not taught anywhere in the Bible. In the
Second Letter of St. Paul to the
Thessalonians, Scripture points out to an
authoritative Church and tradition:
"Therefore, brethren, stand fast; and hold
the traditions which you have learned,
either by word or by epistle"
(2 Thess 2:15).
This is the clearest Biblical support for
oral tradition. This passage is significant
in that it shows the existence of living
tradition within the Apostolic teaching;
that believers are firmly grounded in Faith
by adhering to these traditions; and that
these traditions are both written and oral.
There are more.
In
1 Cor 11:2,
"I praise you brethren that in all things
you are mindful of me: and keep my
ordinances as I have delivered them to you."
The word often translated "ordinances" is
also translated "teachings" or "traditions."
Here Paul is commending the keeping of oral
tradition and extolling the believers for
having done so ("I praise you …"). This
passage also states that the Apostolic oral
tradition has been clearly maintained.
In
2 Thess 3:6,
"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."
Here Paul addresses
the disciplinary problem posed by the
distortion of Paul's own teaching or, more
likely, by a forged letter
(2 Thes 2:2)
and the type of teaching dealt with in
2 Thes 2:1-15.
Add to that the belief of some members of
the community that the second coming as
imminent or the new age of the Lord to be
already here
(2 Thes 2:2)
, and had apparently ceased to work for a
living, contrary to Apostolic teaching of
selfless labor for others.
In
2 Tim 1:13-14
, "Take as your norm the sound words that
you heard from me, in the faith and love
that are in Christ Jesus. Guard this rich
trust with the help of the holy Spirit that
dwells within us."
In
2 Tim 2:2
, "And what you heard from me through many
witnesses entrust to faithful people who
will have the ability to teach others as
well."
When there were
significant disagreements, they did not
simply open their Bibles, which at that time
did not exist, to decide who was right. They
had councils, which were made binding
decrees
(Acts 15:1-19)
.
The very books of the Bible had to be
determined by the Church, and that didn’t
happen until the late fourth century.
Therefore, human tradition and authority
were necessary for us to even have a Bible
today.
Sacred Tradition reminds the Church of what
the faithful have constantly and
consistently believe and how to properly
understand and interpret the meaning of
Biblical passages. Tradition tells the
reader that the Bible is a very important
book, which contains God’s Revelation to
man. It also explains to the reader how it
has always been understood and practiced by
believers from the very beginning. |