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Cronos: When I replied to your post, I knew where it was going to land. The question in my mind was how far does the Catholic go with tradition and you have answered that very well.

Your answer that the tradition came before Scripture told me everything I needed to know. Because what we know about the Old and New Testaments are recorded in Scripture; any way tradition could have arrived at would have to have been through the Scriptures since the Apostles are long gone.

Therefore to arrive at any tradition that is not based upon the Scriptures would be to conjure them or make them up. This is the danger, for if they can be made up right now then the authority is in the hands of fallible men.

The attack upon Scripture is a sophistry attack and an attempt to undermine the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments since it claims authority outside the Scriptures that God has clearly given. Indeed, isn't that is what Serpent started with "Has indeed God said?" - the M.O. to question the Authority of God and His Word craftily.

So I place the putting of tradition above God's Word and splitting God's Word from the Bible as such .

Turn away from such craftiness as soon as you possibly can. For any such trust outside the Scriptures is sinking sand. Trust upon Christ Himself, for He is the Solid Rock alone.

Further discussion regarding tradition will be fruitless, for you can do nothing apart from Christ.

Your answer that the tradition came before Scripture told me everything I needed to know.

Tell me then of Christians like St. Stephen or others in the first century. The Epistles weren't written yet, nor was the Gospel of John. What did they rely on, then, according to you?

And, I repeat the question -- what do YOU think Holy Tradition is? What exactly?

any way tradition could have arrived at would have to have been through the Scriptures since the Apostles are long gone.

Yes, all of what we know call Holy Tradition does not, cannot contradict scripture and would be based or implied in it.

There is no attack on Scripture of any sort. No one denies the Holiness of Scripture or the inerrancy of Scripture. however, remember that sCripture itself does not say that what is outside scripture (and does NOT contradict it) is wrong.

So, the first point of Holy Tradition is that it should NOT contradict Scripture. And, it does not.

Do you understand that?

Let's repeat this slowly
1. The Scriptures are Holy, inerrant and infallible -- that is Church teaching

2.Tradition and The Church are not above Scripture in any way -- that is NOT Church teaching. As I've repeated ad nauseum -- in no way does any Church teaching or Holy Tradition contradict Scripture. It cannot

3.To me as to The Church, Christ is the WORD of God (Christ is not JUST the Written Word but the WORD)

Name one place where scripture is REPLACED with something from Holy Tradition

I ask you again: what exactly do YOU think Holy Tradition means? I have the feeling that your idea of what we believe in is quite different from what we actually DO believe in (e.g. you not knowing that to The CHurch, Christ is the Word of God and you not knowing that to The Church The Scriptures are Holy because Christ is Holy and you not knowing that to The Church we do not treat anything ABOVE scripture except God Himself

The WORD of God is all encompassing, it is every word that is uttered, that comes from the Mouth of God.