"Tradition"

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What exactly is “tradition” in the Catholic Church and why does it have the same authority as the Bible?
 
IGotQuestions said:
What exactly is “tradition” in the Catholic Church and why does it have the same authority as the Bible?
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You have lots of questions, and many people who are willing to answer them. I would suggest you begin your search here:

catholic.com/search/content?filters=

You can search by keyword and find the work of Catholic apologists answering your questions. Here are just a few results from a search of “tradition”:

catholic.com/tracts/scripture-and-tradition

catholic.com/tracts/apostolic-tradition
 
Everyone has traditions, even if the tradition is to read and follow as best as possible the bible.

In the bible, where there is instruction, it’s basis would be the experience from another.

To follow that instruction is to carry on a tradition.
 
IGotQuestions said:
What exactly is “tradition” in the Catholic Church and why does it have the same authority as the Bible?
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It is called Sacred Tradition. The Bible, as you have it today, is a subset and a product of Sacred Tradition.

The list of books in the Bible came from the Tradition of the Catholic Church, based on what was being read in the Churches in the early centuries before a final list was settled.
 
****(name removed by moderator)**/B

Deacon Jeff’s explanation of Tradition is wonderful. I’ve read it twice already. Like when you read a bible passage more than once, you gleen new ideas from it.

I understand about Tradition. I’m pretty well-versed in our faith. Have been studying for about 40 years (whoa!), have taught catechism, belong to different groups, etc. I feel that I know Jesus personally and am hanging on to Him to get to heaven.

But IGotQuestions has a point. I have a big problem with purgatory, for instance. Theological reasons we can’t get into now. So does that make me be not catholic? I could accept on faith, but my brain is having a difficult time. A priest “friend” of mine said not to worry about it too much.

I mean, I understand about passing on ideas orally. But Paul spent 3 years speaking to Peter and the others and coming up with our Christian theology, for intance the book of Romans, if something were of major importance, wouldn’t it have been written down somewhere and included in the bible??

Mathew (maybe Mark as the Deacon said) and the other 3 gospel writers, and Paul and Peter and James and Timoth and let’s not forget our John, all wrote so what Jesus said and did would not be forgotten. Wouldn’t they have written down all the important things? Like when do you baptize, where do you go immediately after death (Paul said to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord).

I’ve never received an answer to these questions. Maybe there is none, like so much else which has to be accepted by faith.

God bless you
Fran**
 
p.s.

The 2nd and 3rd links provided by Michael 1978 are very good but no new ideas for me and they do not answer that basic question of WHY weren’t these important doctrines written down? I believe they should help IGotQuestions and hope he reads all.

Sometimes we refer to the Chruch Fathers. Was our theology handed down to THEM? My adult catechism class refers to them more than to the magesterium of the church. Not that I mind: Augustine, Aquinas, Ignatius of Antioch. Great.

God bless
 
frangiuliano115 said:
But IGotQuestions has a point. I have a big problem with purgatory, for instance. Theological reasons we can’t get into now. So does that make me be not catholic? I could accept on faith, but my brain is having a difficult time. A priest “friend” of mine said not to worry about it too much.

I mean, I understand about passing on ideas orally. But Paul spent 3 years speaking to Peter and the others and coming up with our Christian theology, for intance the book of Romans, if something were of major importance, wouldn’t it have been written down somewhere and included in the bible??

Mathew (maybe Mark as the Deacon said) and the other 3 gospel writers, and Paul and Peter and James and Timoth and let’s not forget our John, all wrote so what Jesus said and did would not be forgotten. Wouldn’t they have written down all the important things? Like when do you baptize, where do you go immediately after death (Paul said to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord).

I’ve never received an answer to these questions. Maybe there is none, like so much else which has to be accepted by faith.

God bless you
Fran
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If there is something you don’t understand in the faith, but are willing to trust the Church anyway, without rejecting the teaching, then you are still a Catholic in good standing. Just because we don’t understand something about the faith, or why the Church teaches something, we can still trust the Church, with her 2000 years of wisdom, and keep trying to learn.

Personally, there are lots of areas of the faith that I don’t feel that I have a good grasp on. But I trust in the Church, and keep striving to better understand.

To you question about everything written down. Absolutely not, we should not expect everything to be written down. The Gospels tell the tale of the life of Jesus from a particular point of view, but even John explicitly states that not everything is included. The letters and epistles are aimed at specific audiences and deal with specific issues the Church is facing at that time. There can be a lot of teaching in them, but that doesn’t mean that everything is covered. Take for example Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus. A large focus is on the ordination of men to the priesthood/bishop and what to look for in a man. It is advice on how to shepherd their flocks and other topics. St. Paul spent many years with these men, so he’s not going to go over every possible scenario with them in the letters. He is going to address the most pressing issues.

Remember, the Church is what Jesus built. The Apostles trusted Jesus and His promise to lead the Church into all truth, since it is the pillar and foundation of truth. So it would be shocking to think they would actually consider writing everything down.
 
zz912 said:
If there is something you don’t understand in the faith, but are willing to trust the Church anyway, without rejecting the teaching, then you are still a Catholic in good standing. Just because we don’t understand something about the faith, or why the Church teaches something, we can still trust the Church, with her 2000 years of wisdom, and keep trying to learn.

Personally, there are lots of areas of the faith that I don’t feel that I have a good grasp on. But I trust in the Church, and keep striving to better understand.

To you question about everything written down. Absolutely not, we should not expect everything to be written down. The Gospels tell the tale of the life of Jesus from a particular point of view, but even John explicitly states that not everything is included. The letters and epistles are aimed at specific audiences and deal with specific issues the Church is facing at that time. There can be a lot of teaching in them, but that doesn’t mean that everything is covered. Take for example Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus. A large focus is on the ordination of men to the priesthood/bishop and what to look for in a man. It is advice on how to shepherd their flocks and other topics. St. Paul spent many years with these men, so he’s not going to go over every possible scenario with them in the letters. He is going to address the most pressing issues.

Remember, the Church is what Jesus built. The Apostles trusted Jesus and His promise to lead the Church into all truth, since it is the pillar and foundation of truth. So it would be shocking to think they would actually consider writing everything down.
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Great points. Love your last paragraph. Reminds me of John 21:25

“And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books which were written.”

Thanks. Will keep pluggin’ away.

God bless you
 
As Catholic we differentiate between Tradition, with a capital T, also called sacred tradition, and tradition with a small t.
Capital T, Tradition, or sacred tradition, is unchanging. These are the teachings of Christ that are passed from generation to generation intact as taught directly to the Apostles. They are protected by the Holy Spirit and entrusted to the the magisterium, or teaching authority of the Church.
Customs, or traditions, with a small t, can change over time and may vary in different localities. While one small community may have elaborate processions and festivals celebrating different feast days, these would be fall under tradition. The transubstantiation during the Mass falls under Tradition.
 
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