Owen Thomas professes: "Tradition can also mean what the Roman
Catholic Church calls the secret tradition, namely, that part of the
apostolic tradition which was not committed to writing, but was handed down orally by the apostolic bishops." He adds: "There is no historical foundation for the existence of such a tradition."
The declaration at the Council of Trent in 1564 concerning "the unwritten traditions" possibly confirms Thomas' interpretation of the Latin view concerning what has been handed down (i.e., tradition). Did not Trent also decide that the Bible does not contain all things necessary for salvation? Or maybe I should say, all things formally necessary for salvation. From one Catholic source, we read:
"The Roman Church, however, does not depend solely on literary and
historical evidence; it depends on its own consciousness of its belief,
and it must be admitted that the analysis of this consciousness can be
subtle" (John McKenzie, The Roman Catholic Church, p. 212)
The same book also states: "The Council of Trent admitted frankly that
the Roman tradition contains propositions which cannot be found in the Bible.
It countered the Protestant charge by asserting itself, so to speak; it denied that either in the Bible or in its own traditions is there any affirmation
that the Bible is the sole source of revealed truth . . . An unresolved
question in contemporary theology is whether the Council of Trent meant
that Scripture and tradition are two sources of revealed truth.
Certainly the Council did not mean that they are two unrelated sources.
The weight of opinion in Roman theology since the Council of Trent has
been that the Council did mean two sources. The Bible is superior in
dignity, but tradition is superior in completeness" (McKenzie, 212-213).
Of course, Catholics have told me that Owen Thomas' depiction of Catholic tradition is not correct: they say Catholic tradition is not secret or hidden. Below, I include the statement from Trent (Session IV):
This [Gospel], of old promised through the Prophets in the Holy Scriptures,[1] our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, promulgated first with His own mouth, and then commanded it to be preached by His Apostles to every creature[2] as the source at once of all saving truth and rules of conduct.
It also clearly perceives that these truths and rules are contained in the written books and in the unwritten traditions, which, received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ Himself, or from the Apostles themselves,[3] the Holy Ghost dictating, have come down to us, transmitted as it were from hand to hand.
Following, then, the examples of the orthodox Fathers, it receives and venerates with a feeling of piety and reverence all the books both of the Old and New Testaments, since one God is the author of both; also the traditions, whether they relate to faith or to morals, as having been dictated either orally by Christ or by the Holy Ghost, and preserved in the Catholic Church in unbroken succession.
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Tradition and the Roman Catholic Church
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8 comments:
Hi Edgar,
This post brings back a lot of memories. The issue of Scripture and tradition—especially within Catholicism and the Church Fathers—was one of my major topics of study in the first decade of the 21st century. Major points of contention included sola scriptura vs. prima scriptura; formal sufficiency vs. material sufficiency; inherent tradition vs. constitutive tradition; and importantly, the issue of the development of doctrine.
In your post, you wrote:
==Of course, Catholics have told me that Owen Thomas' depiction of Catholic tradition is not correct; they say Catholic tradition is not secret or hidden.==
I would agree with the above assessment. Though a few individual Catholic theologians have argued for the notion of disiplina arcani, a consensus of informed Catholic theologians have rejected the constitutive/hidden/secret doctrine of tradition, opting instead for the views of the material sufficiency of Scripture and inherent tradition.
Directly related to these issues is the fact that Trent rejected the partim...partim view of Scripture and tradition (revelation is partly in Scripture and partly in tradition), and instead accepted the et understanding (revelation is in Scripture and tradition).
Before ending, I would like to recommend the following threads:
FIRST
SECOND
THIRD
Grace and peace,
David
Hi David,
Thanks for the clarification and additional links. While I don't get to interact with all your comments, I still appreciate your spirit, research, and fairness.
All the best,
Edgar
I don't see that there is revelation in tradition. That is in tradition after the end of the Canon of the bible. No tradition that is in place outside of Scripture is revealed as coming from God, no matter how it is looked upon. That doesn't mean it is wrong for tradition to have it's place in worship, but none come as a revelation of God.
Philip, while I agree with you, please keep in mind that Catholicism via the Council of Trent evidently does believe that tradition partly constitutes divine revelation. But we seem to believe that Christian tradition now appears in written form although you could say Witnesses have ways of doing things that are based on Scripture, but not directly in the Bible, if that makes sense.
Yes that makes sense. I just don't view what we do as a divine revelation. That is any tradition that has started from the time that God's Kingdom has been established. We know the preaching work is based on Matt 28:19,20 and other scriptures. But the aspects of it like counting our time which is basically tradition isn't by a divine revelation. That is how I see it.
I see things that way too--we had an article or QFR some years ago that explained matters that way. For example, the Bible progressively gave revelations about the seed of Abraham, but our increased understanding of Romans 13 is not like divine unveiling about the seed. Counting time is another practice based on the Bible, but not explicitly mentioned there. But like you, I do not see counting FS time as a problem.
Owen Thomas asserts that Catholic Tradition is a "secret tradition" that was never written down and that there is "no historical foundation" for such a tradition. This reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of what Sacred Tradition means in Catholic theology. The Church does not teach that Tradition is some hidden or esoteric knowledge passed down in secrecy. Rather, Sacred Tradition refers to the teachings of Christ and the apostles that were transmitted both orally and in writing. This includes the Church's interpretation of Scripture, the liturgy, the development of doctrine, and the teachings of the Church Fathers.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) explains this clearly in paragraph 78:
"This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct from Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it. Through Tradition, 'the Church, in her doctrine, life, and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes.'"
Thus, Tradition is not some hidden, obscure knowledge but the living transmission of the faith handed down from the apostles through the Church.
The claim that the Council of Trent in 1564 affirmed that Scripture is incomplete and that tradition contains truths not found in the Bible is also misleading. The Council of Trent did not assert that tradition is in opposition to or outside of Scripture, but rather that Scripture and Tradition together constitute the full deposit of faith. The Council affirmed that both Scripture and Tradition are essential for understanding divine revelation, as both originated from Christ and the apostles.
The Council of Trent explicitly stated in Session IV:
"It also clearly perceives that these truths and rules are contained in the written books and in the unwritten traditions, which, received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ Himself, or from the Apostles themselves, the Holy Ghost dictating, have come down to us, transmitted as it were from hand to hand."
This demonstrates that Tradition is not a separate or contradictory source of revelation but is integral to the proper interpretation of Scripture and the preservation of the faith as received from the apostles.
The argument that Catholics believe in "two sources" of revelation, with Tradition being "superior in completeness," is another misunderstanding. Catholic theology teaches that Scripture and Tradition are not two competing sources but two interdependent aspects of the same divine revelation. The Church teaches that divine revelation is transmitted "through both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition" (CCC 80). Both Scripture and Tradition come from the same divine source and are interpreted by the Magisterium (the teaching authority of the Church) under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
As St. Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter." This verse clearly indicates that the early Christians were to adhere to both the oral teachings (Tradition) and the written teachings (Scripture) handed down by the apostles. The Church has always understood this to mean that both are essential for preserving the fullness of the faith.
The comparison of Catholic Tradition with practices in Jehovah's Witnesses, such as counting time or the development of understanding in Romans 13, does not hold up. Catholic Tradition is not based on human practices or interpretations that develop over time but is grounded in the teaching of Christ and the apostles. It is the living transmission of faith under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses, such as counting “field service” time, are not comparable to the apostolic Tradition preserved by the Catholic Church, which has been recognized and affirmed throughout history by Church councils, Church Fathers, and the consistent teaching of the Magisterium.
The arguments against Sacred Tradition as presented by Owen Thomas and others reflect a misunderstanding of Catholic teaching. Catholic Tradition is not a "secret" or extrabiblical knowledge but the living transmission of the apostolic faith. The Council of Trent did not claim that Tradition is superior to Scripture but affirmed that both Scripture and Tradition are essential for understanding the full deposit of faith. These two are not contradictory but complementary, together forming the foundation of Christian doctrine as transmitted by the Church. This understanding is grounded in Scripture, affirmed by the early Church, and remains a central tenet of Catholic theology today.
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