Tradition Is Equal With Scripture

The Catholic Church’s view on Bible doctrine seems to be subservient to or at least equal to tradition and philosophy.

(80) “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing and move towards the same goal.” Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ, who promised to remain with his own “always, to the close of the age.” (Page 31)

Time and time again, we are warned in Scripture to be cautious of philosophies and traditions. When one starts following tradition and philosophies, and puts them above the Word of God, then they are wrong. Somewhere in the world there has to be a standard, a measuring stick, and it is the Word of God.

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

1 Peter 1:18-19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Notice that it is not through tradition, which is called a corruptible thing, that men are redeemed, but it is through the precious blood of Christ. Tradition and philosophy tend to corrupt and spoil men. When Jesus walked the earth in those days He ran into such a crowd. This crowd was more concerned about tradition and religion than righteousness. These people were called Pharisees, and Jesus used the strongest language against them. He called them hypocrites and vipers. He was not at all impressed by their tradition and philosophies or their self righteousness.

Matthew 15:2-4 Why do thy disciples transgress the TRADITION of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he (Jesus) answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your TRADITION? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

(82) As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, “does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with EQUAL sentiments of devotion and reverence. (Page 31)

If the church does not derive certainty about truth from the Holy Scriptures, and man being full of sin as he is, where does that leave us? Who is to determine what is truth? How is he to determine it? If we cannot rely on God’s Word alone then we are all most miserable. We would do well to discard the Bible, eat drink and be merry. I say, that all men are fallible, and there is only one truth in this world, the Word of God! From it alone, must we receive instructions and truth from God. From it, we can know what men tell us is truth or not.

Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Romans 3:10-12 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Nowhere in Scripture are we told that tradition is equal to Scripture.

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