Tradition. 16
Relatum, "to seek out any strange and impertinent sense, nor confirm it by confused allegations of the Scriptures, but fetch the truest sense indeed out of the Scriptures themselves."
12. The infallible and determining judgment of all controversies of faith is in Christ's own person, or in the Holy Ghost, so far as He speaks unto us in the canonical Scriptures. "He," says Tertullian, De praescriptione, "sits at God's right hand, but He has sent His deputy, namely, the power of the Holy Spirit to work upon the hearts of the faithful."
"We must have judges sought out," says Optatus contra Parmenianum, "but since earth affords no judgment of this matter, we must seek a judge in heaven. But what need we knock at heaven, since we have here a testament in the gospel? An earthly father, feeling himself near death, and fearing the contention of his sons after his death, calling some witnesses, he transposes his will out of his dying breast into lasting parchment. If so be now contention do arise among the brethren, do they run to their father's grave? No, but seek out his will and testament, and he who sleeps in his tomb speaks lively out of the silent parchment. He whose this testament is, is in heaven; therefore His will is to be searched out in the gospel as His testament." "This controversy," says Saint Augustine, De nuptiis et concupiscentia, lib. 2, cap. 33, "requires a judge. Then let Christ be the judge, let Himself speak who it was that His death did profit, and with Him let the apostle also judge, because in the apostle Christ speaks." And, De gratia et lib.o arbitrio, cap. 18, "Let the apostle
John sit as a judge between us."
Tradition
1. The fathers, by the name of tradition, do sometimes understand the doctrine received in the primitive church, taught by the apostles, and recorded in their writings. "If it be taught in the gospel," says
Cyprian (Epist. 74, ad Pompeium), "or contained in the epistles or Acts of the Apostles, that converts from heresies should not be baptized, but only have imposition of hands in sign of repentance, let this holy and divine tradition be observed."
2. They do sometimes call that an unwritten tradition which is contained only in the sense of the Scriptures, and not in the words.
And to this manner of speaking are referred all things gathered by analogy or proportion. Augustine says (De Genesi ad liter., lib. 10, cap. 23) that "Baptism of children is an apostolic tradition." Yet (De bapt., Contra Donatist, cap. 24) he proves it out of the Scriptures. So holds he that denial of rebaptization unto heretics is "a tradition unwritten according to the words, but written in sense and foundation." Wherefore one and the same tradition may be both written and unwritten; written in sense, unwritten in words.
Tradition is by Vincent of Lérins used for the whole sum of catholic doctrine, founded and grounded upon and in the Scriptures; not containing any doctrine of faith without or besides the Scriptures, because he holds the Scriptures the perfect and all sufficient rule for us that can be. Yes, moreover, he adds that the tradition of the church is to be followed only in the chief questions that are the foundations of the whole Christian faith and doctrine.
3. By the name of tradition are very often meant customs in things of lib.ty, or ecclesiastic rites, that is, rules concerning things and actions of comeliness and government only, not pertinent any way to divine worship, or the articles of faith. And these for the more esteem of order in the church are called apostolic, as the Grecian idols for their
more reverence were said to come down from Jupiter (Acts 19). And Epicurus's book, de organo judicandi, was called Διοπετής, that is, à
Jove lapsus, or fallen from Jupiter. And the porch in Jerusalem called Solomon's after the common opinion (John 10:23), whereas indeed, Herod built it. "Every province," says Jerome (epist. Ad
Lucinium), "thinks their fathers' precepts to be apostolic doctrines."
And in Aggae, c. 1: "But the sword of God strikes them for other things also, which they have invented, and feigned of themselves as apostolic traditions, being without all allowance and testimony of Scriptures." And in Tertullian, tradition is taken for any custom of what original soever. "Do you not think," says he (De corona milit., ca. 34), "that it is lawful for any Christian to invent and institute what agrees with God, assists discipline, and helps unto salvation?"
The fast of Wednesday and Friday is called an apostolic tradition (Canon. Apost. 68 and Epiphan. Haeres. 75), and yet we find it seldom or never observed in the catholic church, which shows that it was apostolic only in name, and not in deed.
4. Some of the fathers inclining unto some heresies did make much of unwritten traditions. So Justin (Dial. cum Triphone) defends the heresy of the Chiliasts by apostolic tradition. So was Irenaeus deluded with traditions, for he held that Christ did live 50 years, which he says he received by tradition from the apostles. So Clement of Alexandria (Stromat., lib. 1) says that "God's workmen have a double husbandry, written and unwritten. And no marvel, for this man will have the Gentiles saved by philosophy." Irenaeus (lib. 3, cap. 2) and Tertullian (De praescriptione) do both testify that the old heretics held the same opinion of traditions, which nevertheless they both do confute. So Eusebius (de praeparat. Evang., lib. 1, cap. 8) dreamed that the apostles taught something in words, and other some in writings; and some things more excellent they reserved for
the perfect only. Tertullian, himself being fallen into Montanism, gave himself over unto new prophecies and traditions.
5. The ancient fathers, speaking of these traditions, do oftentimes contradict themselves. So does Basil: "We preach," says he (li. de
Spir. san., cap. 27), "and observe some things out of the written word, and other some which we have received by mystical tradition from the apostles." And says that "Both these have like force and efficacy unto godliness." But (Regul. morall. 8 and 26, epist. 80) he does not stick to say that "The Scriptures contain all things needful to salvation."
So Chrysostom (in 2 Thess., homil. 1): "It is a tradition, inquire no further." But (in Psal. 95, hom. 1): "If we preach anything without Scripture, our auditory will be most uncertain what to think, now assenting, now doubting, and sometimes plainly rejecting as frivolous the words they hear." Thus he contraries himself. And again
(Serm. de sancto & adorando Spir.): "If you hear any say, I have the Holy Spirit, and yet he speaks not out of the gospel, but of his own fantasy, he speaks of himself, and the Holy Ghost is not in him." And a little after: "If any of those that are said to have the Holy Ghost, do speak ought besides the gospel of themselves, believe them not, but follow my doctrine."
6). The Roman Church does not acknowledge the traditions which the ancient fathers called apostolic; and if it does acknowledge them, yet it is not certain that they are the apostles'. Thrice dipping in baptism is now out of use, talked of in Tertullian, de coron. mil., cap.
3, and Basil, which also the 4th Council of Toledo did disallow.
Standing at prayers upon the Sundays between Easter and Whitsuntide now is quite forgotten, yet it was an old tradition. In Epiphanius, by tradition, no man may marry after a vow of
singleness, and yet he allows those which burn to marry, thinking it less evil to have one vice than many, though papists now do control him, making a nullity of such marriages. Neither use they nowadays to cause the newly baptized to taste milk and honey, nor to cause the baptized of discretion to fast the week after their baptism, nor to fast
Wednesday and Friday, yet were all these traditions. But let us hear Cassander's mind herein: "There are three kinds of rites," says he
(106), "whereof the first is of such as were not of such moment as to bind unto the strict keeping of them, as those were in Tertullian and Jerome, of tasting milk and honey after baptism, as also not kneeling on the Lord's Day, nor upon all the 50 days between Easter and Whitsuntide, but praying standing, which old custom both held apostolic, and instituted in the Council of Nicea, c. 20, as also confirmed by the divine custom of the churches. For all this has no sign or token of the use thereof remaining among us. For we make no difference now between Sunday and weekday, only upon some solemn fasts the deacon exhorts us to kneel. Also, the fast of Wednesday and Friday was once most religiously observed, which days Epiphanius says were 'By the apostles, appointed for holy assemblies.' But this Wednesday fast is now almost forgotten among the Romans, unless it be that some provinces and some private men do upon this day abstain from flesh. And the Friday fast is changed into only abstinence from flesh, as also almost the whole Lent, which abstinence yields a vain show of the true and ancient fasting, since it brings unto many rather change of dainties, and greater excess of luxury, than any restraint of bodily wantonness." Thus much
Cassander.
Therefore, the present Church of Rome can show no consent of the catholic doctors for those unwritten traditions, which it has set down as necessary to salvation.