2- TRADITION
- The "Bible" is the written word of God;
- The "Tradition" is the word of God
becoming real in the life of the Church. The Tradition is the word of God lived and
preached in the Church.
This Tradition is transmitted "orally", and often it is
printed (Luk.1:2). In Christ's time there was no printing, so, very few people could read
anything from the Bible... and the Gospels were not yet written... and they were very good
Christians those in the Catacombs, without the New Testament written!... and, in fact,
until the sixteenth century very few books were written.
Some Protestants argue they only have the Bible, and no Tradition. But they deceit themselves, because the way they celebrate worship is usually Tradition, very different from one denomination to another... the services and songs of the Lutherans are different of those of the Methodists or Pentecostals... they understand and live the Sacraments in very different ways from denomination to denomination, but the same denomination practice them usually in the same ways, as a Tradition taught by the founder or leaders... and that's Tradition.
Every branch, or denomination, or cult add to the Bible the scriptures of their founders or leaders. And these added scriptures are often very important, usually the ones followed by the denomination or cult to carry their religious services and to guide the actual life and stile of their members. Look at Holy Scriptures
For the Lutherans, for example, the Bible is the Holy Scripture... however what rules and regulates their rituals, administration, and the practical way of life is the "Book of Concord" and their many rules and regulations of their synods.
The same rule is applicable for each one of the many Christian Denominations... it is actually what the Catholics call "Tradition", and it is what actually makes the difference between one Christian Denomination ant other.
The same rule applies to each Branch or Denomination of Judaism, Islam, or Eastern Religions.
For the Cults, these secondary scriptures are still more important, affecting even more the actual way of the cult, and the life of every member of the cult. Some of the cults even "use" the Holy Scriptures just to get approval or privilege to their cult doctrines, though often those doctrines are way off the real Holy Scripture they quote:
For example:
The Mormons: They use the Bible as their Holy Scripture, but also the "Book of Mormon", "Doctrines and Covenants", and "The Pearl of Great Price"... and they are in open contradiction with the doctrines of the Bible, as we discuss in the chapter of Mormons. Even to the Bible, Smith added 125 verses in the New Testament, and changed a total of 1,475 verses in the Bible. So, it is the Bible, but it is not the Bible!... and the final analysis of the Mormons shows that most doctrines of the real Bible are changed: For example, Mormons believe that The Father is one God, Jesus another God, the Spirit another God... three Gods!... and neither one was eternal, the three of them had a beginning, like you and I... and you and I can become a god, just like the Father or Jesus Christ!... and so on... totally contrary to what the real Bible teaches!.
The Moonies: It is even worse. They use the Bible as a Holy Scripture, but to make a mockery out of it: Jesus Christ is a perfect man, but he is not God, he was the bastard offspring of Zechariah and Virgin Mary... For the Moonies, their actual scriptures are the "Divine Principle", and the "Outline of the Principle", of Moon, and the Bible is used for their purposes, to attract Christians, and to make believe that their believes are based on the Bible...
The Jehovah's Witnesses, use the Bible, but as translated by Knorr, "The World Translation", in which the verses to the deity of Christ, the immortality of the soul, ant the eternal hell are changed, to support the ideas of their founders about Jesus, who is not God as far as the Witnesses is concerned, the Holy Trinity is seen as a demonic doctrine, the Holy Spirit does not exist...
There are good and bad Traditions as there are good and bad interpretations of the Bible
There are many good Catholic Traditions:
1- The Gospels, and the teaching of the Apostles were oral traditions, now
written down (Luk.1:1-4, 1Cor.11:2, 15:2, 2Tes.2:15, 3:6).
2- The Ecumenical Councils,
are also traditions written down, to clarify doctrines: There have been 22
Ecumenical Councils in the Church, after the first one described in the Bible in Acts 15,
all presided by the Pope, exercising the power given by Jesus to him and the Church, in
Matt.16:19, and 18:18.
- The first Council, in Jerusalem, to establish the position of the
Jewish and non-Jewish people in the Church (Act.15, Gal.2).
- The second in Nicea, now Iznik, (in 325 AC), to declare that
"Jesus is God", a doctrine denied by Aryanism.
- The third, in Constantinople (381), to declare that "Jesus is a
man", being denied by Apollinaris, and to declare that the "Holy Spirit is
God", a doctrine denied by some Christians.
- The forth in Ephesus (431), declaring that Virgin Mary is the Mother
of God, a doctrine being denied by the Nestorians.
-The last one, the 22nd., well known, is the Vatican II, in our days,
with 16 beautiful documents (1962-1965).
3- Teachings of the "Popes", and Founders and Leaders of the different Denominations.
- There have been 262 Popes since St. Peter until the present, John
Paul II. Some of them have been public sinners, most of them holy, and all of them "infallible",
when they speak "ex-cathedra", on dogma and faith, with the power given by Jesus
to Peter and his successors in Matt.16:19: "Whatsoever you shall bound on earth shall
be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in
Heaven"... and when they declare a "Dogma of Faith" is to be believe by
every Catholic.
- Some Protestants cry out, only the Bible!... but the teachings of
Luther, Calvin, Smith, Baker, etc. are very important for the members of that
Denomination, and important for all Christians to know... the Services and Sacraments and
songs are different from denomination to denomination according to their traditions...
and, in fact, most Lutherans read the Bible as taught by Luther, the Adventists as taught
by Helen White, the Methodists as taught by Wesley, etc., etc...
See Holy Scriptures and
Traditions of all Religions.
The book of Henrici Denzinger, "Teachings
of the Church", is an excellent compendium of the teachings of the
Ecumenical Councils and the Popes, with good referral indexes. The "Bible"
and the "Denzinger" both should be at hand for any Christian:
- For example, the Denzinger presents the "5 dogmas on Virgin
Mary" as promulgated in the Councils:
... 1- The Mother of God: In the Council of Ephesus, 431.
... 2- Always Virgin: St. Siricio, 392, Council of Lateran, 649.
... 3- Immaculate Conception: Pius IX, 1854.
... 4- Assumption: Brought to Heaven in Soul and Body: Pius XII, 1950.
... 5- Mother of the Church: Paul VI, Vatican Council II, 1964.
4- The "Writings of the Fathers of the
Church", let us know the problems and glories of the Church of their
time, long before the separation of Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants (like another
Acts). See Fathers of the Church
5- The "Liturgical Books", of
old times, are very interesting to see how Christians worshiped in different times and
circumstances, and learn from them.
6- The "Lives of Saints":
Each Saint is the word of God made life, by so different people in so many
different circumstances... they are an excellent source to stimulate and help us to be
Saints, because they were human and sinners, like you and I... and they became Saints!...
you and I can also be Saints... like St. Augustine, St. Therese, St, Francis, St.
Catherine, St. Ignatius, St. Dominic, St. Jerome... so many thousands, and in so different
lives and circumstances... any Christian who is not a Saint, is an idiot!.
The Bible is the written Word of God, the Lives of the Saints is the
Word of God made flesh in so many ways!.
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