08 TRADXTIO?o [?00K I. delivered by/P..?o/red wr/t?s. St. Paul delivered them to the Corint? ians, that "you keep the ordinances (traditions) as I delivered them to you," ! Cot. xi, 2. And St. Paul and his associates delivered to the Thessalonians, by word and epistle, the traditions, or doctrines of Christ. 2 Thess. ii, 14; 'fii, 6. Whenever we have sufficient evidence tha? any other doctrines were delivered by the inspired writers thin those contained in their writings, we will cordiafly receive them. But �as for the various traditions delivered by other persons, either in &he apostolical age or since that time, of which we have no account in Scripture, except a command against receiving them, we must reject all such from having a part in our religious creed. And the (?hurch of Rome cannot adduce a single article of religion, or ordinance of wor- ship, which she has derived from oral tradition, that is not contrary. to or inconsistent with some part of the written word. Therefore it can- not be of God; for it is impious to say he has commanded his servants to teach one thing with their pens, and a contrary thing with their mouths. Indeed, there are three kinds of traditions spoken of in Scriptme, viz., the traditions of men, which St. Paul condemns, (Col. ii, 8,) and oilr Lord also. Mark vii, 9. There were traditions touching things indifferent, or those which were of a temporary or local nature; such as the frequency of communion, the temporary ordinance respecting marriage given to the Corinthians, and, fmafly, traditions by inspira- tion, which were sirst communicated orally, and afterward were com- mitted to writing, and are comprised in the New TesMment. 3. Besides, we have no reason to doubt that all that was delivered by the apostles of any importance was committed to writing. And al- though, when Paul wrote to the Corinthians and Thessalonians, he mentions the traditions that were form?iy delivered to them by word or epistle, we have no account in Scripture that any.important troths were omitted either by the evangelists or the other writers of the New Testament. That the word which St. Paul preached orally was slier- ward written by' St. Luke, we learn from undoubted history, or from tradition, if this word is more pleasing to our Roman Catholic brethren. This is recorded by Ireneus and Eusebius in the following words :-- "But Luke, the follower of Paul, wrote in a book the gospel which was preached by Paul."* Ireneus says in the same chapter, thnt "the gospel which the apostles preached, afterward by the will of God, they delivered to ns in the Scriptures, that it might be the foun- dation and pillar of our faith."t It was a tradition still, not in its modern ands ecclesiastical sense, but in its primitive and natural sense. Nor were those things which were written done by accident, as some Roman Catholics say; they were written under the immediate provi- dence of God, so as to be entitled to as much credit as if Christ had written them with his own hand, as is clearly declared by Augustine in the followi_ng words :---" For as many of his actions and sayings as
- " Lucas autern eectator P&uli, quod &b illo prmdicabatur Evangellure, in libra con-
didit."-:-lrm., lib. iii, c. 1. Az?ar 6 axolovOor Hav?s, ?-o ere' ?r?vs ?p?ropoov eva7?e?u?v ev B?fiZ?. ?ar?Oero.--E?. Hi?t. ]?l., lib. v, c. 8. t "Eungelium quidera tunc preecaniaverunt, postes veto per Dei voluntatem in $cripturis nobis tradiderunt, /undamentum et colunmam fidei nostrm futunun.'*-- Irehair, h?. iii, c. 1, p. I 7 �
