My Analysis of the Bible Part 2B: Tradition

You believe that there is an authority in tradition of the church elders 

You may believe that the disciples and Paul have an authority on accurate church teachings since Jesus is said to have spoken plainly to them and they had direct contact with him. The early church elders who composed the Bible honored this code, therefore giving authority to the Bible itself.

This was the primary argument in the early church elders. Some even made it clear that Peter’s tradition of Rome was more authoritative than anything Paul wrote, as Peter had direct contact with Jesus while Paul merely had a vision (these people became known as Roman Catholics).⁸ This was a feature looked for in canonizing the Bible. But it should be understood that this is certainly not a black and white issue. For instance, you are putting a lot of faith that the disciples who barely comprehended what Christ said were competent enough to produce 100% sound teachings after merely 40 days of instruction.⁹ You are also putting faith in the church elders making correct decisions. For instance, it was not the disciples who chose the canonization of the Bible. While it is unlikely the books chosen were based from corruption, it is still putting faith in those who lived well after the disciples’ time to put together “God’s word.” Also, even if these elders are qualified to distinguish orthodox doctrine from unorthodox, what qualifications do they hold to proclaim any particular work as divinely inspired, let alone 100% accurate? Even in Paul’s letter to Timothy, it is stated “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (NASB, 2 Timothy 3:16).¹⁰ For Paul, “scripture” is certainly not referring to the whole modern Bible, but only Old Testament texts, and perhaps more or less, certainly not the New Testament which was written after Paul’s time (although it could be argued Paul was referring to his own letters as “scripture” as well). But following Paul’s idea of scripture, we must look at what he said scripture is used for: teaching, reproof, correction, and training IN RIGHTEOUSNESS. Not for science or historical accuracy. Modern Christians have turned a set of writings into more than what Paul claimed them to be.

8. The search for Christian authority
In the early centuries of the Common Era when Christians were struggling to define “Christianity,” a sect emerged called the “Gnostics.” Gnosticism is an older idea applied to Christian doctrine organized and made popular by a man named Valentinus, and his particular sect was called “Valentinianism.” While Valentinianism is certainly not orthodox by today’s standards, it is bases Paul’s letters as its authority. Much like how Mormons interpret the Bible, they used extra-biblical guides to “correctly” interpret them. This raised a concern about where Christians ought to put authority for their doctrine and rites. It was argued that the apostolic tradition headed by Peter, the rock on which Jesus was to build his church, was the highest authority. While Paul’s letters were generally seen as authoritative as well, the ultimate authority was given to Peter’s traditions passed down in the Church of Rome. Source: Chidester, D. (2000). Christianity: A global history. San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

9. The forty days after the Resurrection
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Acts 1.3:

“After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”

10. The use of scripture according to Paul
In 2 Timothy, Paul writes to encourage Timothy to hold fast to what he has come to believe. 2 Timothy 3.13-17:

“But wicked people and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” 

For Paul, the inspiration of the Hebrew scripture (the New Testament would not have been around for him to read as a child) is useful in pointing people to Jesus and his role (the spiritual Messiah) and guiding in righteous action. Nowhere does he write that it is useful for perfect historical accuracy or science. While it can be argued that these things are assumed, I would argue that if it was assumed, it was because this was the extent of the historical capabilities of the ancient world. Modern history stands to much higher scrutiny nowadays. While the nature of righteousness should not change in the modern world, our understanding of the world must.