Church Matters: Retrieving the Great Tradition

Ses s i on 4: Chur ch Mat ter s and Go i ng Back to the Future 89

B. The Great Tradition was grounded in a deep creedal affinity.

The rule of faith, indeed, is altogether one, alone immoveable and irreformable. The rule is: to believe in only one God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, and His Son Jesus Christ, born of the virgin Mary, crucified under Pontius Pilate, raised again the third day from the dead, received in the heavens, sitting now at the right [hand] of the Father, destined to come to judge the living and the dead through the resurrection of the flesh.

~ Tertullian, c. 207 (cf. David W. Bercot, ed. A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs . Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998, p. 28).

1. The Scriptures require a traditional orthodox theological screen in order to determine their meaning: No one is free to exegete the text to deny the historically orthodox faith of the Church.

2. The creed captures the essence and core of the faith without interfering with contextualization within culture and further illumination by the Spirit. Wherever it will be manifest that the true Christian rule and faith are, there likewise will be the true Scriptures and the correct expositions thereof–and all the Christian traditions.

~ Tertullian, c. 197 (cf. David W. Bercot, ed. A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs . Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998, p. 147).

3. Tozer’s claim is literally true when it comes to theology: “Nothing new matters” in terms of Christian faith.

4. The Church felt its role was to guard the apostles’ deposit not to invent new meanings on the old story.

C. The Great Tradition recognized that no decision important to Christian faith and practice occurred separate from the authority of the Church.