Page History

Scanned PDF Version of this Document

1.The old alternative between "scripture alone," on the one hand, and "scripture and tradition," on the other, is obsolete. Ever since the Enlightenment, when the Bible came to be considered from a consistently historical standpoint, it has become ever clearer that the New Testament itself is a work of tradition. So instead of saying "scripture," one must say "early tradition," and instead of saying "scripture and tradition," one must say "early and later tradition."

2. But why can't the confessions agree in appealing to early tradition as norm? Because early tradition -- iei.e., the New Testament -- is not unified enough to function as a norm. Far from grounding the unity of the church, it is really the basis of the plurality of the confessions (Käsemann).

...