Tradition is not nullified by "exceptions"

[MarcoPolo]

I have heard some Protestants point out varies ECF “objections” or “different understanding” of things like Mary’s Immaculate Conception. Something like Papal Infallibility or Mary’s Perpetual Virginity would fall in this category too.

But what I was thinking, is how in the early Church, there were Christians who had varying ideas

• Not all early Christians named an identical Canon of Scripture
• Not all said Christ’s Divine and human nature were united
• Pelegius’ understanding of Scripture lead him to deny original sin was transmitted from Adam and Eve
• And more!

Yet these same Protestants embrace these Traditions (if you are willing to call them such). So objections do not diffuse that Tradition. In fact, it is often through these objections that the understanding of the one deposit of the faith is settled…by the Church! Do you agree?

 

[reggieM]

Yes, I agree. That’s exactly how it works. Through disagreements from Catholic thinkers, the Church called together Councils to settle the matter. It was the authority of the Church that was able to resolve the problem.

Protestants benefit from the results of those disagreements and they accept the decisons of the Council of Nicea, for example. But there was a major debate over fundamental issues about the Trinity.