So you can see that the bible does not contain all that Jesus did and said. That is why we need Tradition.
Sacred Tradition is the revelation of God to His people via the Holy Spirit. Scripture does not take the place of Tradition but finds it’s source in the same wellspring of revelation. The two with the Magisterium (teaching authority of the Church) make up our single deposit of faith. So, in short, both Scripture and Tradition are the Word of God and therefore inspired so as not to be dismissed…God Bless…teachccd
What are some examples of things that Jesus did or said that aren’t in Scripture but are just solely Sacred Tradition?
For one, the concept of the Holy Trinity, of which Jesus is an integral part, is not explicitly defined in Scripture.
rocketrob
To aid in the interpretation of Scripture, and to preserve other truths not contained in Scripture.
Indeed! There are other examples of things not explicitly taught in Scripture, such as the nature and importance of the sacraments, how Our Lord wanted the apostles to go about the missions, the hypostatic union, the Mass, the goodness of marriage in the Christian Age, the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, etc. Also, more fundamentally, Our Lord chose to found a visible Church and to preserve her from error by the Holy Ghost, which is a good reason in itself to think that we need more than Scripture to know God’s will and do it. Finally, as others have pointed out, when others have tried to seperate themselves from the Church and the very sacramental worldview of Catholics with all that it entails (not only the preservation of the sacraments themselves, but also the goodness of physical creation, the centrality of having a visible Church and clearly distinct central authority, as a sign of God’s own authority, and the mystery of the Incarnation itself), they have fallen into all kinds of errors regarding these and other things, precisely in improperly interpreting the Scriptures. That so many strong disagreements exist among Protestants about central issues was a major reason for my own return to the Church.
In a nutshell, Tradition includes the Scriptures. Without Tradition, we would not know which writings would be inspired and which would not. Second, those parts of Tradition beyond the text of the scriptures illuminate the intended meaning of the authors of scripture. Tradition reveals truth in scripture and scripture in turn sheds light on Tradition.
We must be careful not to omit some traditions from the Jews the Church has continued.
It is actually a Protestant Tradition that once the Bible was complete Tradition would no longer be necessary.
Scripture is inspired and profitable for teaching. Nowhere does Paul say that Scripture is the sole source for teaching.
The early Church, like Paul, did not have a “New Testament” to refer to. They had oral tradition and a handful of letters. Our Fathers did their best to select those writings which they felt to be inspired and save them for all time that we may use them profitably for teaching.
I only asked this question because of the Scripture verse that one of the users brought up. All of God’s Authority is One and the Same…Three interdependent legs of the same Authority just like the Trinity…Its amazing how clear God makes things through the use of numbers.
Very good…just wanted to make sure. Sounds like your studying and RCIA program is paying off. I (perhaps like yourself) converted from a different faith tradition several years ago. It will be my 10 year anniversary as a Catholic when you are confirmed.
Monogamy is not prescribed by scripture, but by the teaching authority of the Church.
What about Jesus’ teaching on divorce in the Sermon on the Mount?