Show me this official list of Traditions of your church

Anonymous said:

Show me this official list of Traditions of your church that is equal with the Scripture then I will have an idea what you are saying. 

In a recent article, an anonymous poster made this demand.

Protestants frequently make this request knowing that it is unreasonable.   At first glance, it sounds like a reasonable request.  But it is eminently unreasonable.  And that is why it is difficult to refute.

But maybe you think it is a reasonable request.  Let me show why it is not.

First, it imposes a rule that does not exist.  Nowhere, NOWHERE.  Let me make emphasize that one more time.  Nowhere does there exist any rule which demands that anyone must be able to list all the Doctrines which Jesus Christ taught.
1.  The Catholic Church has never made such a rule.
2.  The Catholic Church wrote the New Testament and there is no such rule in the New Testament.
3.  The Catholic Church is the proprietor of the Oracles of the Old Testament and there is no such provision in the Old Testament.
4.  If such a rule exists, why have the Protestants not made such a a list?  Ask them for a list of all of Jesus' Doctrines and they simply point to the New Testament.  Well, that is where we also point and they claim that we can't.  But the Catholic Church wrote the New Testament, so if anyone has a right to point to the New Testament in support of the Doctrines of Jesus Christ, it is the Catholic Church.

Second, its an unreasonable request because it is impossible.  Lets look at one Doctrine to see what I am saying.  I will use a Doctrine which both Protestants and Catholics agree was taught by Jesus Christ.

The Blessed Trinity.

Simple, right?  Wrong.  The words, "Blessed Trinity" represent a concise summary of multiple Doctrines which are extrapolated by the Catholic Church to make one profound Doctrine of the Nature of God.

1st.  The Doctrine of God the Father.  Before Jesus came, God was not known as God the Father, first person of the Holy Trinity.
2nd.  The Doctrine of God the Son.
a.  Begotten of the
b.  Virgin Mary,
c.  Uncreated and born of the Father before all ages.
d.  Consubstantial with the Father
etc. etc. etc.

Now, maybe you see what I'm getting at.  Scripture Itself says:

John 21:25And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Every Christian Doctrine is composed of many other Doctrines.  Therefore, the list would be never ending.  That is why they don't make one.  Yet, they turn around and insist the Church must make one.


So, this is why they always make this request.  It is what is called a "straw man" argument.  From wikipedia:

A straw man or straw person, also known in the UK as an Aunt Sally,[1][2] is a common type of argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position.[3] To "attack a straw man" is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by replacing it with a superficially similar yet unequivalent proposition (the "straw man"), and to refute it, without ever having actually refuted the original position.[3][4] This technique has been used throughout history in polemical debate, particularly in arguments about highly charged, emotional issues. In those cases the false victory is often loudly or conspicuously celebrated.  

In other words, the straw man is the idea that we must have such a list or there is something wrong.  If we don't have such a list, they say, then there is something wrong with the Catholic Church.

So, how do we respond?

Well, the way I do it is by pointing out that Jesus did not write Scripture.  "What does that have to do with anything?"  You might ask.

Well, there is a false assumption on the part of Protestants, that Catholic Traditions are based upon Scripture.  But they are wrong.  It is the New Testament which is based upon Sacred Tradition.  Let me explain.

Catholic Traditions are based upon the Word of God orally taught by Jesus Christ.  The Catholic Church took these Teachings and wrote them down in the New Testament.  The New Testament is based upon these Teachings (i.e. Traditions).  The New Testament is the Catholic Church's summary of Sacred Tradition.

I hope that makes sense.

Sincerely,

De Maria