Jimban107
The famous Broadway Play, “Fiddler on the Roof” takes place at a time in history when Jews still observed many ancient traditions. In the play, a young man asks his Jewish neighbor Tevye, for the hand of one of his daughters in marriage.
The word “tradition” comes from the Latin word meaning “to hand on”. It can be used in two senses. First, it can be used to refer to the PROCESS by which religious faith and practice are handed on from one generation to another. Thus we speak of ORAL tradition and WRITTEN tradition. Second, it can be used to refer to the CONTENT of what is handed on. Thus we speak of ESSENTIAL tradition and NONESSENTIAL tradition.
At first, Tevye objects, because Jewish tradition says that only matchmakers can arrange marriages. But, eventually, Tevye agrees and allows the young couple to marry anyway. This episode raises some questions about tradition. What is it, and how does it work?
God revealed Himself to the prophets and the apostles not just for their sake, but for the sake of all people - even people not yet born. From this arose the need to transmit God’s word to others. The handling down of God’s word to other people became known as “Tradition” or better phrased as “oral Tradition”. Some of these “oral Traditions” were later recorded in writing. These writings became our Scriptures. Many people do not realize that large sections of the Bible began as oral Traditions. These sections were handed down by word of mouth for years before they were actually written down.
Faith is something that can not be taught - it must be caught. Tradition is a total process that includes not just the Word, but also includes witness and worship. An excellent description of this “total” process is found in the Acts of the Apostles. Luke describes the activity of new converts to Christianity: “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles (the Word), and to the communal life (witness), to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers (worship)”
As to Scripture, the Gospel passages itself suggests that the Word was passed on orally for a long time before it was recorded. For example: Matthew says that after Jesus rose from the dead, the guards at the tomb were paid to say that the disciples had stolen Jesus’ body while they were asleep. Matthew then adds, “this is the report spread around by the Jews to this very day” (Matthew 28:15 {TEV}. The words “to this very day” indicate the lapse of a considerable period of time between the original event and Matthew’s recording of it. A similar reference occurs in Matthew 27:8 (“That is why the field even TODAY is called the Field of Blood.”).
Only a portion of oral Tradition was recorded in the bible. Take the Gospel again, John concludes his Gospel saying “There are many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25). Also, in John 20:30, it states: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of (His) disciples that are not written in this book….”. This important to remember because it shows that oral Tradition about Jesus continued in the church AFTER the Gospel was recorded. (Many faiths still believe if it is not in the bible, it is not important and should not even be considered). Also, 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”.
In the Catholic Church, tradition is broken down into two categories: “Essential and Non-Essential” traditions. For instance, the tradition that Catholic priests can not marry is an example of a nonessential tradition. It can be changed if the Pope so desires. On the other hand, the Tradition concerning our stand against abortion is an example of an essential Tradition. It can never be changed. Ultimately, it is the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit that decides if a tradition is essential or nonessential. Non-essential traditions are usually established by the church for various reasons - THESE NON-ESSENTIAL TRADITIONS CAN BE CHANGED. ESSENTIAL Traditions are considered to come from those beliefs which were passed down to us by the Apostles, or other reputable witnesses, but not necessarily contained in the bible. For the most part, these APOSTILIC TRADITIONS are not otherwise contained in Scripture, but nevertheless, very important to our Catholic faith…
It is a fact that many other faiths condemn Catholics for including Traditions in our faith (Ref Mat 15:3) instead of using the Bible ONLY as our reference in matters of faith. Perhaps if they understood the difference between essential and non-essential traditions, they would better see where we are coming from. I doubt if any of these criticizers have any idea of what the Catholic Church lists as essential and non-essential traditions - but they are quick to condemn us for even mentioning Traditions in matters of faith.
Now please know that I am not finding fault of those who do not understand where we are coming from, but am only stating that we probably should do more in opening up our communications with others. so that they will have a better understanding of why we, as Catholics, respect the Traditions of the Apostles and those handed down to us by our church leaders. I do know, from personal encounters, that some Protestants use Mat 15:3-9 when they say that Catholics are wrong in using Traditions as part of their faith. The word traditions, with a small “t” is taken strictly out of context in that passage, as it was used in the sense of “human traditions“ and not Apostolic.
I had an encounter with a Baptist Fundamentalist (Yep) regarding traditions. He prepared a booklet that condemned Catholics use of traditions, but only used Mat 15:1-6 (where the Pharisees broke the commandment of God for the sake of “their” man-made tradition) as his reference. I confronted him with 1 Cor 11:2 “I commend you because you remember the Traditions even as I have delivered them to you” and 2 Thes:2-15 - “Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the Traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.” I then asked him if he would include these in his pamphlet - he wouldn’t do it. Now that really tells me something about Fundamentalists.
