1. 1. Tradition We cant just use the Bible we also need the Apostolic traditions mentioned and commanded in it. Copyrighted material that appears in this article is included under the provisions of the Fair Use Clause of the National Copyright Act, which allows limited reproduction of copyrighted materials for educational and religious use when no financial charge is made for viewing.
2. 2. The Protestant Position On Tradition In Mk 7:1-13 and again Matthew 15:1-9 Jesus condemns tradition of the elders. Protestants view these two texts as the wholesale condemnation of all tradition. But this is a misunderstanding of what Jesus meant when he spoke about the tradition of the elders. Jesus goes on to say, So, for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God (Mt. 15:6) Jesus was condemning the Mt. 15, Korban rule. Under this scheme, Jews could donate all their money to the temple treasury as a pious act of almsgiving. This would allow them the excuse of being unable to help their parents if they should become infirmed or poor. Thus they were able to ignore Ex. 20:12 Gods fourth commandment to honor your mother and father.
3. 3. Human or Apostolic ? While we must guard against merely tradition, the Bible contains numerous references to the necessity of clinging to apostolic tradition. Paul tells the Corinthians, "I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you" (1 Cor. 11:2), He then commands the Thessalonians, "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 Thess. 2:15).
4. 4. 2 Thess. 3:6 He even goes so far as to order them, "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is living in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us" (2 Thess. 3:6). To make sure that the apostolic tradition would be passed down after the deaths of the apostles, Paul told Timothy, "and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." (2 Tim. 2:2). In this passage he refers to the first four generations of apostolic successionhis own generation, Timothys generation, the generation Timothy will teach, and the generation they in turn will teach.
5. 5. When Was the Bible Written? It took about 1100 years The writings are from about 1000 B.C. (Before Christ) And continued until 100 A.D. (Anno Domini in the year of the Lord) Before that time Biblical stories were passed on by word of mouth, oral tradition. It would be unthinkable, by both Protestants and Catholics, to exclude these oral traditions on Biblical accounts because they werent written before they were passed on to future generations.
6. 6. Church Fathers The early Church Fathers, who were links in that apostolic chain of succession, recognized the necessity of the traditions that had been handed down from the apostles and guarded them scrupulously, as the following passage shows. "Papias {60-130 AD}, a hearer of the Apostle John, affirms, [There are] other passages of his in which he relates some miraculous deeds, stating that he acquired the knowledge of them from tradition"
7. 7. Twenty Seven Books Gods word come to us through Jesus and has been preserved and faithfully taught by the Catholic Church. Thats why we Catholics have the same 27 New Testament books that the Protestants, Mormons and Jehovahs Witnesses have in their Bibles. The Catholic Church received from God the revelation that these books are inspired. Over the next few centuries the Catholic Church fixed the exact cannon of these books. The Bible is a Catholic Book.
8. 8. Are Traditions Good When you understand that Jesus condemned the traditions of the elders because they undermined Gods commands then you have to say those traditions are bad. By the same token you have to agree that the traditions of the apostles are good because they bring us closer to God. Does everything have to be written? Lets see what John the Evangelist tells us:
9. 9. John 21:25 Jn. 21:25 But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Lets close with this question. What need would anyone have to ignore the Bible, the Apostles and the traditions of the Church?