Tevye: Because of our traditions, we've kept our balance for many, many years. Here in Anatevka, we have traditions for everything: how to sleep, how to eat... how to work... how to wear clothes. For instance, we always keep our heads covered, and always wear a little prayer shawl that shows our constant devotion to God. You may ask, "How did this tradition get started?" I'll tell you!
[pause]
Tevye: I don't know. But it's a tradition... and because of our traditions... Every one of us knows who he is and what God expects him to do.
-from Fiddler on the Roof
What is tradition? Or better, what is Christian Tradition? The late, great church historian, Jaroslav Pelikan once wrote: “Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.”
The Church lives with the perpetual danger of falling into dead traditionalism on the one hand and embracing the novelty of the latest fad on the other. We all can think of many of the mainline churches that (on paper at least) affirm the orthodox, Christian Faith, but in their words and actions reject that same Faith they claim to confess. Not surprisingly, these dead traditionalist churches are rapidly dying. Moving down the street we encounter what appears to be a very lively, contemporary church offering rock band with sentimental, repetitive lyrics, casual dress and atmosphere, small groups for most every demographic, and trite, warm-and-fuzzy sermons. Life may be found there, but little if any Biblical depth. Certainly no drowning hazard here. There’s no reason to doubt that these people genuinely love Jesus, but what do they know and believe about this Jesus? They usually lack grounding in the great creeds of the church and their unstructured, entertainment-driven conception of worship is indicative of a theology that really needs to mature.
So, how do we navigate a course to avoid both the Scylla of dead traditionalism and the Charybdis of immature evangelicalism? The answer is likely to be found in the activity of the Third Person in the Holy Trinity. Without the Holy Spirit’s working through the means of grace (Word of God, prayer, and Sacraments), every “traditional” church will end up in dead traditionalism. Without the Holy Spirit’s showing us the vibrant Faith and Biblical teaching of saints, martyrs, and ecumenical councils, every church based primarily on feeling, casualness, and shallow teaching is likely to end up embracing all kinds of heterodox teachings and practices. One Reformed pastor stated it something like this. We need the “heat” of the “charismatic” churches and the “light” of the “traditional” churches to avoid either freezing to death or walking in darkness.
Since we are seeking a definition of Christian Tradition, I would like to propose one: “Christian Tradition is the living faith of a Gospel-transformed people, on a Bible-guided journey toward the future, directed by God’s Holy Spirit who in times past moved and led prophets, Apostles, Church Fathers, reformers, martyrs, and ecumenical councils and who continues to move and lead His Church forward today.” This definition can certainly be improved by minds wiser than mine, but it is at least a step toward understanding, teaching, and maintaining a solid Christian Tradition in our day.
[pause]
Tevye: I don't know. But it's a tradition... and because of our traditions... Every one of us knows who he is and what God expects him to do.
-from Fiddler on the Roof
What is tradition? Or better, what is Christian Tradition? The late, great church historian, Jaroslav Pelikan once wrote: “Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.”
The Church lives with the perpetual danger of falling into dead traditionalism on the one hand and embracing the novelty of the latest fad on the other. We all can think of many of the mainline churches that (on paper at least) affirm the orthodox, Christian Faith, but in their words and actions reject that same Faith they claim to confess. Not surprisingly, these dead traditionalist churches are rapidly dying. Moving down the street we encounter what appears to be a very lively, contemporary church offering rock band with sentimental, repetitive lyrics, casual dress and atmosphere, small groups for most every demographic, and trite, warm-and-fuzzy sermons. Life may be found there, but little if any Biblical depth. Certainly no drowning hazard here. There’s no reason to doubt that these people genuinely love Jesus, but what do they know and believe about this Jesus? They usually lack grounding in the great creeds of the church and their unstructured, entertainment-driven conception of worship is indicative of a theology that really needs to mature.
So, how do we navigate a course to avoid both the Scylla of dead traditionalism and the Charybdis of immature evangelicalism? The answer is likely to be found in the activity of the Third Person in the Holy Trinity. Without the Holy Spirit’s working through the means of grace (Word of God, prayer, and Sacraments), every “traditional” church will end up in dead traditionalism. Without the Holy Spirit’s showing us the vibrant Faith and Biblical teaching of saints, martyrs, and ecumenical councils, every church based primarily on feeling, casualness, and shallow teaching is likely to end up embracing all kinds of heterodox teachings and practices. One Reformed pastor stated it something like this. We need the “heat” of the “charismatic” churches and the “light” of the “traditional” churches to avoid either freezing to death or walking in darkness.
Since we are seeking a definition of Christian Tradition, I would like to propose one: “Christian Tradition is the living faith of a Gospel-transformed people, on a Bible-guided journey toward the future, directed by God’s Holy Spirit who in times past moved and led prophets, Apostles, Church Fathers, reformers, martyrs, and ecumenical councils and who continues to move and lead His Church forward today.” This definition can certainly be improved by minds wiser than mine, but it is at least a step toward understanding, teaching, and maintaining a solid Christian Tradition in our day.
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