Remarkable Convergence of Opinion about the Importance of Church Tradition

[sirach2v4]

Wow, it’s nulla scriptura now?

The Bible is the foundation of our faith. This doesn’t mean that it is the only thing that informs faith, but it is the bedrock on which that faith stands.

The authors did not say “nulla scriptura” nor did I. Their statements were hypothetical.

Jesus told the apostles to “preach” and that’s what they did. It was very successful.

Jesus didn’t tell them not to write, and they got around to that, too.

 

[sirach2v4]

Hmm, I gather from this that I agree with the Orthodox position on this issue. It seems that it really comes down to the way the word Tradition is being used. Ive always thought of Tradition as encompassing everything that came down to us from the Apostles, “either by word of mouth or by epistle.” Does the Catholic Church only use the term to describe the unwritten portion?

I don’t think there is a strong distinction about the unwritten portion in reality, but they are usually spoken of separately, for practical purposes, to distinguish them and hold them both up.

The are distinct enough, in Vatican II’s Verbum Dei, to merit a designation that they are both sources of Divine inspiration. It is common to be stated in the reverse, that divine revelation consists of tradition and scripture.