Tradition Remix

Posted by PJ King

Tradition.

The word has such depth and meaning, so many uses and connotations. It seems to always bring either love or hatred with it - and always strong conviction.

There are two standard responses to dead traditionalism. The first response is perhaps the one with which you are most familiar - the rejection of all tradition. I see this attitude from Baptists who often proclaim, "We have no creed but the Bible.¹" I don’t believe this sort of rejection is actually possible, though. Ponder with me the definition of tradition: it is the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs. In its basest sense, tradition means teaching. To reject all tradition would require the rejection of all kinds of teaching. This would also include the exclusion of the Bible which we have, in part, due to tradition.

Rejecting all tradition is also arrogant. To think that you (or your peers) know and understand all things better than the whole collection of Christian history is foolish. In any case, the total rejection of tradition is both impossible and wrong.

The second response - embracing dead traditions - I find equally as bad as the first. When I visit a church filled with tradition, I find myself pondering the meaning of the traditional aspects of the service. When I ask congregants the purpose of some of the elements observed, I often receive these typical responses:

• “I don't know.”
• “That's just what we do.”
• “Doesn’t everyone do that?”

Presumably, the leaders of the church would be able to answer my questions, but dead traditions are dead when the practicing congregation does not understand the intended teaching. If the purpose of the practice had been passed down as prudently as the procedure, then the tradition wouldn’t be dead in the first place.

The problem with both responses is that they consider all tradition to be equal, instead of distinguishing between the useful and the useless. Rather than rejecting all tradition, or practicing dead tradition, we should practice "living traditions," where churchgoers understand both the historical and modern reasons for the practice. Communion is an excellent example of a living tradition: Christians (should) understand what Christ did at the last supper and how that affects us today. Living traditions are glorious!

I propose that the proper response to dead traditionalism is to bring the traditions back to life. Once a tradition's meaning is understood, it can either be rejected as teaching something false, or embraced as true and worthy of observation. If the teaching behind a tradition cannot be defined, then it should be ignored and no longer practiced.

If you are part of a church that uses traditions you do not understand, then it is your duty to seek out the meaning to the motions. Church leaders, also, should be careful to teach (and re-teach) the purpose of your practices.

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¹ If the BF&M isn’t a creed, I don’t know what it is.

What is your experience with dead traditionalism, or traditions in general? Leave a comment below.