The ’Ndrangheta (uhn-drang-geh-tuh) is not a household name, unless your household happens to be in Calabria, a region in southern Italy where this Mafia-type organization arose in the nineteenth century. Though not as well-known as the Sicilian mob—who brought us such familiar names as the Gambino Crime Family, John Gotti, and the (fictitious) Corleones from The Godfather—the ’Ndrangheta is one of the most powerful organized crime groups in the world, smuggling drugs, trafficking arms, and laundering money throughout Europe, Australia, and the Americas.
As part of an ’Ndrangheta tradition, an inductee’s finger is pierced with a needle or palm cut with a knife. A drop of his blood falls on a prayer card of Saint Michael the Archangel (see Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9; Revelation 12:7), the patron saint of the ’Ndrangheta, which is then set on fire and partially burned as the criminal boss, following tradition, declares, “As fire burns this image, so too will you burn if you taint yourself with dishonor.”1
the cheese-rolling festival
The ’Ndrangheta aren’t the only people with traditions, of course. Cultures, nations, political and social organizations, and religions exude tradition. Depending upon how broadly one defines the term, tradition can be practiced by small groups, individual families, or individuals.
And they can seem strange, too, with everything from La Tomatina in Spain (where, once a year, in the village of Buñol, participants gather in the town square and throw tomatoes at each other); to sky burials in Tibet (where the deceased are left outside on mountaintops for vultures to eat); to the yearly Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake in England (where participants chase a 7-to-9 pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down a 200-yard hill).
Christianity, too, like all religions, has its own traditions, some directly rooted in Scripture, some indirectly, and some barely. What is concerning in all of this is that traditions can twist or distort biblical truth to where they actually work against it.
Surely, Jesus was referring to something like this when He said to the religious leaders, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition” (Mark 7:9)2 and that they were also “making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down” (Mark 7:13). Or, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3).
Years later, the apostle Paul cautioned the church, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8). And the apostle Peter said, “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18, 19).
What were they warning about in regard to tradition, and what can we learn about those warnings for ourselves today?
tradition in Christianity
Scripture does not oppose tradition. Ideally, the Bible is the source for it. After all, Paul did write, “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle” (2 Thessalonians 2:15), and “Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you” (1 Corinthians 11:2).
Tradition can help us remember key biblical and spiritual truths, making them more real to us now. After all, who now was there when Jesus was crucified? That is why the tradition of the Lord’s Supper—the drinking of the fruit of the vine and the eating of the bread—was specifically given to us by Jesus, who said, after breaking bread, “Take, eat; this is my body” (Matthew 26:26) and then, with a cup of wine in His hand, said, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (verses 26–28, RSV3). This was a tradition handed down (the Greek word often used for “tradition” is paradosis, which means “a handing down”) directly by Jesus Himself.
Other traditions, like Christmas—the most well-known and public tradition in Christianity—is not directly rooted in anything biblical. It points to, of course, the birth of Jesus, which was depicted in Scripture (Luke 2). But the biblical texts themselves, either in Luke or elsewhere in Scripture, say nothing about Santa Claus, Christmas trees, the giving of presents, and the other common aspects of the holiday, which are—as is the holiday itself as a whole—rooted in paganism, not in the Bible.
“Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ,” writes Eve Watling from Newsweek, “Romans exchanged gifts, sang songs and decorated their homes with evergreens. Instead of Jesus Christ, though, Saturnalia celebrated the Roman god Saturn. In fact, December 25 was the winter solstice on the Roman calendar, the shortest day of the year.”4
This fact might not make Christmas wrong, as long as people understand what’s behind it. And indeed, Christmas can make people think about the birth of Jesus, which is good. But this holiday also shows how easily biblical traditions can be melded with man-made ones that can work against truth. Though Christmas doesn’t necessarily do this, how often is Christ hidden behind gingerbread houses, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and jingle bells?
corban versus the Word
This reality helps us better understand Jesus’ concern when He said to the Jewish leaders that they were “making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down” (Mark 7:13). Which tradition? The Bible is explicit: “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12), the fifth of the Ten Commandments. Somewhere in antiquity, however, a man-made tradition arose, and instead of helping their parents financially, merely by pronouncing the word “corban” over whatever money they were to give their parents, the Pharisees could bring the money to the temple, enriching themselves but violating God’s law in the process.
Jesus confronted them, saying: “But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do” (Mark 7:11–13).
Many “such things you do”; that is, through human tradition they nullified the commands of God. What makes this so bad is that often these traditions are done in God’s name. Worse, over time, people come to view a human tradition on the same level as the Word of God, which, though problematic enough in and of itself, becomes tragic if that tradition violates the Word of God, as it did with “corban.”
traditions, the Bible, and the church
False tradition can be a big deal too. The Protestant Reformation (which began in the sixteenth century) was fueled by, among other things, the battle between Rome, and those who eventually became Protestants, over tradition. Protestantism claimed sola scriptura, the idea that all the truth necessary for one’s salvation and spiritual life was either explicitly or implicitly taught in Scripture, and that Scripture alone (sola scriptura)—not tradition, nor tradition and Scripture together—had to be the standard for faith and practice.
Though not against tradition, Protestants argue (at least in principle, if not always in practice) that all tradition must be subservient to what the Bible teaches. As The Westminster Confession of Faith expressed it: “The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.”5
In contrast, though claiming adherence to the “Word of God,” Rome defines the “Word of God” (what it also calls the “living Word”) in a way that includes tradition. Based on various texts, including John 21:25: “There are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (RSV), practices with no scriptural foundation—such as praying to Mary or baptizing infants—are made as sacred as if commanded by Scripture itself.
Says one Catholic source: “Most of the beliefs and practices found in Sacred Tradition have their basis in Scripture, but some do not. Catholics’ belief that Mary was assumed into heaven is an example of a Sacred Tradition that has no reference in Scripture. The Assumption of Mary was nonetheless an important belief in the early Church and that is why it has been passed on through the generations as part of Sacred Tradition.”6
sola scriptura
The assumption of Mary has no “reference in Scripture,”7 and yet is a Sacred Tradition? This is precisely what most Protestants shun.
The elevation of Mary, like so many man-made traditions, can easily weaken, confuse, or even hide biblical truth. For example, now believed to be in heaven, Mary is also deemed th “Coredemptrix and Mediatrix of all Graces” and the “most perfect human Advocate”8 on behalf of Catholics, who pray to her. This tradition is not only unbiblical, it is heresy. According to Scripture—and not Scripture and tradition—Jesus alone is our Redeemer (Galatians 3:13), our Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5), and our Advocate (1 John 2:1).
Protestants have protested, and rightly so, these and other man-made traditions, though they, too, have to be careful that their own traditions as well don’t conflict with Scripture. After all, unless the Word of God, the Bible, is the key source of tradition, and the final authority on judging tradition—where can it lead?
Maybe not to blood dripping on a burning prayer card of Saint Michael the Archangel, but, still, to practices that are not only unbiblical but, even, anti-biblical.
Clifford Goldstein is the editor of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
