Tradition and Traditions: The Biblical, Historical, and Theological Evidence for Catholic Teaching on Tradition

by Yves Congar, Patrick Madrid (Introduction), Jeff Cavins (Foreword)

The biblical, historical, and theological evidence for Catholic teaching on Tradition. Provides an extensive, non-polemical refutation of the Protestant teaching of "sola scriptura" ( by Scripture alone).

Genres: Christianity, Theology, Religion

536 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

A French Dominican priest who become one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century on the topic of the Roman Catholic Church and ecumenism.

Reviews

[W. Littlejohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't get the chance to read this whole massive volume, but I did read some key sections for an article I'm writing on Protestantism's unhappy relationship with Tradition.

Congar, I believe, articulates an excellent solution to our quandaries with Tradition by suggesting a maternal, rather than paternal image of tradition--tradition nourishes from within, rather than commanding from without, tradition is that into which we are born, which helps teach us how to obey our Father, rather than competing with his authority. Scripture and tradition have a symbiotic relationship in this picture, in which neither can come to us without the aid and mediation of the other.

Of course, as a Catholic, Congar cannot entirely expurgate paternal notions of Tradition, in which it has an alien, authoritarian presence, as in the infallible authority of the magisterium. He comes really close to bridging the gap between Protestantism and Catholicism but ultimately is left straddling the chasm a bit uncomfortably. Nevertheless, this is about as good as it gets on this subject, and every Protestant should read this so they stop making ridiculous straw-man attacks on Catholicism.

[Dylan Kochan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book. One of the best this year and a difficult read. Has inspired a long form review.