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The place of tradition in reformed theology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2009

Extract

To ask ‘What place has tradition in Reformed theology?’ is to court from many adherents of that theology a vehement reply: ‘None!’ And such an answer is justified: there is ample evidence to show that at the time of the Reformation tradition was rejected. But there is also evidence to show that some elements of tradition were retained, and that in recent years its place has been reassessed. Those three ideas—rejection, retention and reassessment—provide suitable headings for our present study.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Scottish Journal of Theology Ltd 1965

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References

page 294 note 1 e.g. Westminster Confession of Faith, I. vi.

page 295 note 1 See (among others) Tavard, George H., Holy Writ or Holy Church: the Crisis of the Protestant Reformation (London, Burns and Oates, [1959]), especially Chapters III-VGoogle Scholar.

page 296 note 1 ibid., p. 209.

page 296 note 2 The decree adopted by the Council of Trent at its Fourth Session (April 1546) speaks of hanc veraitatem et contineri in libris scariptis et in sine scripto iraditionibus. An earlier draft read ‘partim … partim’, and some scholars have concluded that the replacement of these words by ‘etet’ represents a conscious rejection of the ‘two sources’ view of revelation.

page 296 note 3 Hodge, Charles, Systematic Theology (London, Thomas Nelson, 1873), Introduction, Chapter V. He advances here eight ‘heads of argument against the Romish doctrine’ (Vol. I, pp. 121–30)Google Scholar.

page 298 note 1 I.viii.

page 298 note 2 XXXI.iii.

page 298 note 3 Notably, Hans Küng, Karl Rahner and George H. Tavard.

page 299 note 1 See the Constitution, Munificentissimus Dcus, of 1st November 1950.

page 300 note 1 Calvin: Theological Treatises (Vol. XXII in The Library of Christian Classics. London, S.C.M. Press, 1954), p. 231Google Scholar.

page 300 note 2 ibid.

page 303 note 1 The Report of the Theological Commission on Tradition and Traditions (Faith and Order Paper No. 40. Geneva, World Council of Churches, 1963), pp. 4450Google Scholar.

page 304 note 1 ibid., pp. 16–18.

page 304 note 2 ibid., p. 18.

page 305 note 1 Westminster Confession of Faith, XXXI.iii.

page 305 note 2 Institutes, IV.i.7.

page 305 note 3 ibid., IV.i.22.

page 306 note 1 op. cit., XXI.iv.

page 306 note 2 op.cit., p. 246.

page 306 note 3 ibid., p. viii.

page 306 note 4 op. cit., XXV.iii.