The Value of Tradition by Joseph Harvey Waggoner

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Sep 21, 1876

The Value of Tradition.

By Joseph Harvey Waggoner

Originally the word tradition signified that which was delivered or transmitted, without regard to the method of transmission. So Paul speaks of traditions by word or by letter; in its common use it has now lost a part of that meaning, being confined to that which is handed down orally. In theology the distinction is made between scripture and tradition: Scripture is that which was written by inspiration, or at the dictation of inspired teachers, as part of the book of Jeremiah; tradition is that which was handed down orally, or, if written at all, written by uninspired men as they received it from uninspired men. Tradition is of value in a state of society where writing is unknown, for then it is the only means of transmitting important events, and, in the absence of writing, people train their memories and take great pains to deliver oral messages with accuracy; but as writing comes into use they learn to depend on that, and place little or no dependence on oral transmission.

The unreliability of oral tradition was early felt by those who were ignorant of writing, and they invented systems of hieroglyphics for recording events. Difficult as was this method of transmitting thoughts, it proved to be far more valuable than verbal statements. Many historical facts are now laid open to the world by their means which were long ago lost as matters of tradition.

Most of the traditions handed down by the church are now written, but their authority is not thereby increased, for the following reasons: 1st, they were not written by inspiration; 2d, they were not written at the dictation of inspired teachers; 3d, they were written long after the death of those inspired teachers whose views they pretend to give; 4th, they were written by interested parties, as we may learn from the disagreements among the writers; 5th, very much of that which has come down to us in that manner has been proved to be spurious—not written by the men whose names it bears; 6th, very much of that which was written by the uninspired men whose names it bears has been corrupted by designing men through whose hands it has passed.

Some may think that the Scriptures are liable to the same objections, but that is not so. Traditions were not received by early Christians as inspired or of authority, and therefore no great pains were taken to extend them, by copies in different languages, or to keep them pure, as was the case with the Scriptures. People do not take great pains to prevent the corruption of that which has no real value. In after time they were revived and claimed as authority by those who had the greatest opportunity to corrupt them to suit their own purposes. Tradition is shut out of the faith of the Christian church because it is so easily perverted to the use of interested parties. Paul wrote to Timothy that the Holy Scriptures are given to thoroughly furnish the man of God to all good works. The Holy Scriptures mean the sacred or inspired writings. There can be no “unwritten scriptures,” as that is a contradiction of terms, being equivalent to “unwritten writings.” The “holy writings” thoroughly furnish us to all good works.

Whatever else may be said or thought of the Roman Catholic church, they are generally consistent with themselves; any view held by Protestants of the unreliability of tradition does not affect them, because they believe the church and its head are infallible, and, therefore, inspired to define doctrine to the people. And to them whatever is given by the church is of equal authority with the Scriptures, being the teachings of the Spirit of God through the church. Believing thus, if the Catholic rejected the tradition given by the church, he would be inconsistent. But Protestants cannot be consistent with themselves and accept tradition as of any authority whatever. He who accepts tradition to any extent is inconsistent if he stops short of the Catholic church.—J. H. WAGGONER in Daily Mercury, Salem, Oregon.