From: creps@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Steve Creps)
Subject: Re: Tradition (was Re: Second parousia in the past?)
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 21:15:12 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.135830.20076@doug.cae.wisc.edu> nabil@cae.wisc.edu (Nabil Ayoub) writes:
>>        GET SOLA SCRIPT
>
>I retrieved this article and read it. It did not impress me a whole lot (for
>example, the author said that St. Athanasius was Greek! It is well known that
>he is a Copt or an Egyptian. I've read some articles that claim that he was
>black! I am not sure about this but certainly he was not Greek, but he was
>fluent in speaking Greek). I could not find any solid argument that denies
>that "Sola Scripture" is in clear contradiction with John 21:25 or denies
>the authenticity of Tradition.

   Hi Nabil,

   I too read this essay a few months ago, and did not find any
convincing arguments in it for Sola Scriptura either.  The quotations
used in it are taken out of their proper context, for when they do
support use of Scripture, I believe the author of the essay has
misunderstood their purpose, which was not to promote Scripture as the
sole authority of teaching, but rather to denounce those things which
contradict it (anything that contradicts Scripture also contradicts
Tradition, as Scripture is a subset of Tradition).

>Here is another verse that supports the authenticity of Tradition :
>
>   Acts 20:35    "I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that
>   you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that
>                              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>   He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
>   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>To put things in context, St. Paul is speaking to the elders of the church
>of Ephesus. The underlined part of the verse is quoted by St. Paul. To the
>amazement of the anti-Tration folks, this proves that it is authentic since
>this quote cannot be found anywhere in any of the four gospels. Morover, St.
>Paul did not hear it firsthand, but it was probably passed to him by another
>disciple. This is Tradition, pure, plain and simple! Scripture is an essential
>part of Tradition, but it is not the whole thing. So in terms of set theory,
>Scripture is a subset of Tradition.

   Here is a repeat of some verses I've posted here before, for the
benefit of those who have only recently subscribed to this list.

     1 Corinthians 11:1-2
          "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.  I praise you
     because you remember me in everything and hold fast to the
     traditions, just as I handed them on to you."

     2 Thessalonians 2:15
          "...Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the
     traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement
     or by a letter of ours."

     2 Timothy 1:13-14
          "Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from
     me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  Guard
     this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells
     within us."

     Also see 2 Thessalonians 3:6 and 1 Corinthians 15:1-3.

   Note that 2 Timothy was addressed to Timothy in his capacity as a
bishop, rather than to the faithful in general (lest someone argue
that it shows that the Holy Spirit makes infallible the private
interpretations of all Christians).

--Steve

-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Steve Creps, Indiana University
creps@silver.ucs.indiana.edu
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU