Scripture alone or traditions too? The Bible answers

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Scripture alone, or traditions, or both “somehow” together? The Roman Catholic Church, in its “infallibility,” postulates an incalculable number of ceremonies and teachings that are nowhere to be found in the Gospel. Ultimately, it stands above the Word of God. But this very statement contradicts the claims of the Church of Rome itself.

The Word alone or traditions too?

Does only what the Gospel, the long-written Word, convey, count, or are the traditions of the Church also binding? Naturally, church traditions were added at a time when the Gospel had already reached its conclusion. This is especially true for those traditions that modified the written Word.

When it comes to traditions, the Roman Catholic Church stands out particularly strongly. Its liturgies are virtually overloaded with its own creations of ceremonies and rituals. The formerly Protestant churches can really only be described as “Catholic light” in relation to their traditions, because, apart from the contradictions to the written Word that are already apparent at first glance, the Reformers simply continued a whole range of Roman Catholic traditions. Therefore, the phrase “sola scriptura” was a sign of “good intentions,” but ultimately a mere pretext.

Example tradition concerns the Christmas festival as well as the supposed representation of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ based on the Easter festival (Easter festival – Christmas). It is easy to conclude that Jesus Christ could not have been born on December 25th, but rather a pagan “deity” with various names, depending on the culture and era (Info).

Creator or just collector?

Furthermore, the Roman Church emphasizes its claim to be the author of the Bible. This is usually done in such a way that one gets the impression that this church itself wrote the Bible. In the sense of calling the Bible a book, the church is right. But not in its supposed authorship of the written word. The writings had long been in circulation. What the “fathers” of this church did was nothing more than collect and classify these writings.

The “pioneers” weren’t exactly squeamish in their approach. Fantasy writings existed long before the birth of Jesus Christ, particularly from the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC in the Alexandria area. Parts of these were incorporated into the (Catholic) canon. Apocrypha and even pseudocrypts, intermixed with an Old Testament translated from the Greek Septuagint into Latin (Info).

Reformation Sorted Out

Martin Luther initially did not completely remove these sometimes easily recognizable fantasy writings, but rather rearranged them within the canon and clearly marked them as apocrypha. Later, the books, some of which completely contradicted the Gospel, were thrown out entirely. They contain, among other things, passages with which the Roman Catholic Church justifies or justifies some of its traditions. This particularly applies to prayer to “saints,” i.e., communication with the dead.

Here the Bible is clear, Deuteronomy 18:10-11:
“There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.“

The Book of Tobit, found in Catholic Bibles, contains such a striking “magical” passage in which people can supposedly be “healed” with the bile of fish.

Tradition through excessive arrogance

The traditions of the Roman Catholic Church are correspondingly extravagant to this day. This institution, which preaches modesty and humility but itself demonstrates the exact opposite, even places its own traditions above the written word. The tradition of the Church is above the Bible, according to one of its doctrines. As a supposed justification, the clergy of this church like to cite 2 Thessalonians 3:6:
“Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.“

Since the Church of Rome sees itself as the successor to the Apostles, the Pope is the continuation of Peter’s work, and describes itself, along with its sheep (involuntarily baptized as infants), as the “mystical body of Christ,” it is obvious that even (newly) formulated traditions are binding. This is so in their capacity as an institution guided by the Holy Spirit, infallible in their formulation, and with the “true” representative of Christ on earth, indeed God himself, in the person of the Bishop of Rome. Madness knows no bounds (Info).

The appropriate biblical description in Revelation 17:3-5:
“So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH..“

Blasphemous mouth was announced long ago

The prophet Daniel already saw this boastful blasphemer, which ultimately emerged as the papacy, coming, Daniel 7:25:
“And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.“

And at the time of the apostles, this earthly adversary was already at work, as Paul described in 2 Thessalonians 2:7:
“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”
The one who stood in his way at the time was imperial Rome, where the emperor still held the title “Pontifex Maximus”.

The Bible Itself Shatters Rome’s Traditions

How binding, then, can the pagan insertions referred to as traditions by the Church of Rome be? Just a few statements in the Gospel expose the arrogant presumption of the papacy and shred its wishful thinking of having authority over Scripture and thus over the binding nature of traditions.

1 John 2:20-21:

“But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.“

Believers who read Scripture without prejudice and with hearts open to the Holy Spirit will be guided by the Spirit of God. This also refutes the Roman Church’s thesis that only specially qualified clergy are capable of understanding or interpreting the Word of God. That is, the staff of the Magisterium, consisting of bishops.

1 John 2:24:

“Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning…“

John worked and wrote in the 1st century AD. He was a man of the earliest times and also a companion of Jesus Christ. The gospel was established, written, and fixed in his time. The Old Testament, or Tanakh, reached its conclusion with the last prophet of the Old Testament, Malachi, toward the end of the 5th century BC. What followed until the beginning of Jesus Christ’s ministry is considered the fairy-tale writings of the Gnostics and Hellenistic fantasists. The “temporal gap” between the last prophet of the OT and the first writings of the NT is even described in Daniel chapter 9 (70-year week)..

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.“

The activities of the Hellenists and Gnostics with their philosophies existed long before the first coming of Jesus Christ. Forgers and imitators have appeared in every era. Here and there, there were focal points where paganism was mixed to a greater extent with sound doctrine. These were especially Alexandria and Rome..

1 John 2:27:

In the context of the relevance of human traditions, which are perhaps even placed above the written word, this is the most important statement.
“But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.“

The anointing comes from the Holy Spirit (verse 20). The believer reads the Word of God and is guided by the Spirit of God toward correct understanding and interpretation. This is a serious blow to the Roman Catholic Church, which claims a monopoly on the authority of understanding and interpretation.

Paul also clearly explained to the church in Galatia how to deal with new teachings or those that deviated from the gospel up to his time. For example, in Galatians 1:8-9:
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.“

Here again. The Gospel, the written Word of God, was complete at this point. There was absolutely no room for anything new or modified. This was certainly not the case over the subsequent centuries, with the countless synods and councils of the Roman Catholic Church, at which new and even strange doctrines were established.

“Man is his own master!”

In short: Read the Bible yourself! And never do this without first praying for guidance through the Holy Spirit! What preachers, pastors, or priests dressed in colorful carnival garb say should always(!) be independently examined against the Scriptures. Whether entire churches with their thousands or even over a billion members disagree, it doesn’t matter; only what is written in the Word of God counts. Only in this way can one be on the safe side, even if it entails a certain “loneliness” in the long run.

What was it like at the time of Jesus Christ’s human ministry in our world? Was the masses enthusiastic or rather hostile? Did Jesus Christ have the leading clergy (e.g., the Pharisees) on His side, or did they see them as opponents? Were the prophets of the Old Testament, sent by God, received with warmth and open arms, or were they ostracized, persecuted, and even killed?

Bible verses from King James Version (1611)