Scripture and Oral Tradition

Have you ever been told that Scripture is more binding than Tradition?  Most non-Catholics are under the misconception that Catholics put too much stock in Tradition and that Tradition is not binding as the written word.  They point to the“human precepts” and “traditions of men” that Jesus warned against (Matt. 15:9, Mark 7:5-9). They couldn’t be more wrong.  Jesus was speaking of the Pharisees and scribes who were living hypocritical lives and placing their traditions above the word of God and the spirit of the Law.

Whereas, we know that the Scriptures are the written word of God, they do not explicitly encompass all of God’s truth.  This is the false doctrine of Sola Scriptura, which is not even supported by Scripture itself.  In fact, the Bible explicitly teaches the Catholic Church's position that the Word of God is contained in both Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

St. Paul tells us that we are to hold fast to the traditions taught by the Apostles – either by an “oral statement or written letter” (2 Thess. 2:15, 2 Thess. 3:6, 1 Cor. 11:2).  He goes on to say in 1 Tim. 3:15, that the Church is the “pillar and foundation of truth.”  He doesn’t say that the bible is the pillar and foundation of truth because it hadn’t been compiled yet and much of it hadn’t yet been written.

In one of the many passages where Jesus relayed his authority to the Apostles, he promised them that there were many things they needed to know but could not hear at that time.  He also promised them that the Holy Spirit would guide his Church to ALL truth about the things that were coming (John 16:13-15).

As we have seen, the importance of Sacred or Apostolic Tradition – even when compared to the Scriptures - is confirmed by the Scriptures themselves. There are traditions, however, that may be disciplinary and others that are cultural and not necessarily binding to the faith. Some of these might include wearing head-coverings during mass, feast days, advent wreaths, or other customs.