Scripture and Tradition: What the Bible Really Says

Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology

by Edith M. Humphrey, Craig Evans (Series Editor), Lee McDonald (Series Editor)

In some of the church's history, Scripture has been pitted against tradition and vice versa. Prominent New Testament scholar Edith Humphrey, who understands the issue from both Protestant and Catholic/Orthodox perspectives, revisits this perennial point of tension. She demonstrates that the Bible itself reveals the importance of tradition, exploring how the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles show Jesus and the apostles claiming the authority of tradition as God's Word, both written and spoken. Arguing that Scripture and tradition are not in opposition but are necessarily and inextricably intertwined, Humphrey defends tradition as God's gift to the church. She also works to dismantle rigid views of sola scriptura while holding a high view of Scripture's authority.

Genres: Theology, Nonfiction, Biblical Studies

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2013

About the author

Edith M. Humphrey (PhD, McGill University) is the William F. Orr Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is the author of several books, including Grand Entrance: Worship on Earth as in Heaven and Ecstasy and Intimacy: When the Holy Spirit Meets the Human Spirit. She has also authored numerous articles on the literary and rhetorical study of the Bible.

Reviews

[Stephen Bedard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a thought provoking book. Having spent time in churches heavily critical of tradition, I appreciated this reasoned approach. Well worth reading if you are wrestling with the role of tradition in your faith.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I've known Edith Humphrey for years and consider her a friend. I was also provided a copy of the book by her publisher and asked if I would review it online.

"Scripture and Tradition" is a thoughtful discussion of the relationship between the Christian Bible and the traditions that preceded, shaped, and interpreted it -- and that continue to interact with it. "Tradition" has been as much misunderstood by its defenders as by its critics and has been a source of tension between Catholic and Protestant believers for years. Prof. Humphrey is up-front about her own spiritual and theological commitments -- Orthodoxy, via Anglicanism and the Salvation Army -- but is a knowledgeable guide who walks readers through the issues in an even-handed manner. Her writing is accessible to thinking Christians and often pastoral in tone, but this is not necessarily a book for beginners: some technical terms and concepts are explained while others are not.

Prof. Humphrey begins by outlining how the language of "passing on" and "receiving" tradition is often subtly masked in modern translations of the Bible. She then demonstrates how the Christian faith as a whole is an experience of living tradition: the New Testament itself testifies to the importance of the "handing on" of the faith from reliable witnesses and shows evidence in its pages of the impact of tradition on the formation of Scripture. The "Great Tradition" of the Apostles continues to guide understanding in faithful and reliable ways and the incarnation of Jesus himself is a mediation from God to humanity:

"Indeed, the essence of a *person*, if we are to go by the pattern set down by the tripersonal God, is to communicate beyond boundaries, reaching out to the other. Indeed, the central act of God in our midst, the Incarnation, shows us that God knows very well how to 'translate' one thing -- even *himself*! -- into something else without a loss of integrity." (Scripture and Tradition, p.112)

Care for the value of "what has been handed on" does not have to lead down the path of "dead tradition," then. Properly understood as the reliable transmission of the faith from person to person, tradition can help guard the community against unhealthy innovations while allowing for fresh promptings from the Spirit.

If you are looking for a book to help you re-think the place of tradition and Scripture in the Church, you'll find this a fine place to start. I came away with a fresh appreciation for both the ancient and the living, and I expect many other readers will too.

[Jimmy]

This is a book that explores the relationship between Scripture and tradition by Edith M. Humphrey, a professor of the New Testament at Pittsburg Theological Seminary. Although written largely with an Evangelical Protestant audience in mind, Humphrey is currently Eastern Orthodox though her upbringing was in the Salvation Army. There were things with the book that I agreed and disagreed.

The Good

The biggest take away for me is the fact that Christians must not have an over-reaction and assume that all church tradition is automatically a bad thing that undermines the Gospel. Scripture does not support the case that every tradition is automatically wrong or that something is wrong on the basis that it’s oral in its transmission. I also learned that there are several different approaches among Protestants concerning the relationship between Scripture and tradition. For instance, in talking about Anglicans she gave the illustration of a tricycle with the main wheel representing Scripture and tradition and reason as “supporting” back wheels; she also talked about the Methodists’ so called “Wesleyan Quadrilateral” of Scripture, tradition, reason and experience.

Further Thoughts

I wished she could have talked more about her doctrine of the Bible more, seeing that the title is “Scripture and tradition.” For instance, how does her stance for or against the sufficiency of Scripture shape one’s view of the use of traditions? While she does go over what the Bible has to say about “traditions,” that is, things handed down orally, I wondered how does this shape Scripture’s relationship to “tradition” once the Canon of the New Testament was closed in her view and her arguments in support of it. I suppose she would allow a larger role of the place of traditions than I would.

Over all I enjoyed the book even knowing before hand I wasn’t gong to agree with everything she said. I certainly won’t be a knee-jerk anti-traditionalist, or accept everything in the name of Church history either.

NOTE: This book is provided to me free by Baker Academic and Net Galley without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

[Rick Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humphrey has given us an excellent tool for finding in the Bible the "great tradition," and for sorting out the difference between the very important and the less important. She clarifies how tradition is understood and attested in the New Testament writings. Most interesting is her location within the canonical text of references to oral traditions. She thereby redeems the notion of an apostolic oral tradition running alongside the New Testament, and identifies an immensely important qualifier to the Reformation slogan of Sola Scriptura. One wishes Humprhey had gone beyond the four cases in church history examined in chapter six of "mutable traditions." Perhaps we will findthose in other writings. Nonetheless, she makes very clear that within the New Testament the mutability of aspects of the tradition is authorized.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a great deal that readers will find helpful in this book enabling us see how we must read the Scriptures as the church, and that as the church in all ages. However, in this reviewer's opinion, the author does not deliver the goods when it comes to proving that tradition is somehow some other or extended authority with or alongside scripture.

[Chuck Arturo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent and approachable book from a scholarly perspective, but you need not be a theologian to understand. I would recommend to any Christian that is only aware of a post-reformation view of scripture.