How was the Bible formed? (Written Tradition – Part Three)

“Holy Spirit, Soul of my soul”  (Fr. Joseph Kentenich – Founder of the Schoenstatt Movement)

Holy Spirit, you are the soul of my soul. I humbly adore you. Enlighten me, strengthen me, guide me, comfort me.  And as far as it corresponds to the eternal plan, Father, God, reveal your desires to me.  Let me know what eternal Love desires in me.  Please let me know what I need to do.  Let me know what I must suffer.  Let me know what I must accept, carry, and bear with quiet modesty and prayer. Yes, Holy Spirit, make known to me your will and the will of the Father.  For all my life, I do not want to be anything other than a perpetual, continual Yes to the desires and will of the eternal Father God.  Amen!

Introduction:

The oral tradition is a testimonial about the formative process of the formation of the Bible. Traditions have long existed in two ways, from generation to generation, either orally or as a written text. In one way or another, this already explains the structure and formation of the Bible. As a first step, early Christianity used only oral transmission methods. By word of mouth, they spread the teachings and exploits of Jesus, as well as their beliefs and lifestyle. But then, the religion still formed and required proof of some stories that the spoken word could not always give. This statement, in one way or another, is the cause and the starting point for a study of how and in what way oral and written traditions affected each other in the early church.

HOW WAS THE BIBLE FORMED? WRITTEN TRADITION…

We had already seen in the part one and two this event and oral tradition in the Holy Scriptures. However, as time went on, those things written are going on events and oral traditions. However, it did not mean that the oral tradition ended at this point because it was written (written tradition). On the contrary, it was carried on alongside. The written tradition was not that it was going on for us in the future. But in those Christian communities at that time.

Paul had already evangelized and established the community in Thessalonica; in other words, they first learned the Good News through oral tradition. Then, Paul had moved to another place; here it appears that the Thessalonians were waiting for the second coming of Christ and that there was already a crisis in the community. Some of them had died, and the other brothers had their questions on the subject. Paul had to answer these questions that he had not previously discussed with the Thessalonians. In this way, the Thessalonians experienced the oral and written traditions at the same time.

Later, various fragments of the oral tradition were written, but only to serve the contemporaries of that moment. Written tradition did not have its place because no one decided it or stated that: “ 2000 years in the future, people are to know about this.” On the contrary, both events and oral traditions were written for the audience of the time in question or the contemporary audience.

The early church in the case of written documents such as Gospels. The written document did not mean a total rejection of oral tradition. Two methods of transmission coexisted for a long time. So, what’s the purpose? Because and how is this the case? That this is for its purposes and due to early Christian writing. It was also for its preservation and distribution. Written texts were produced to record and standardize accounts of the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and to circulate that information throughout the Christian movement.

One of the most important must consider other reasons for this preview question is the inter-community communication by letters especially. These written accounts, including letters and Gospels, would have contributed to maintaining common beliefs and practices among different Christian communities and providing a foundation for teaching new converts. One more of those reason due to the necessity of special needs. The Gospels and other early Christian writings were often written to address the specific needs and concerns of particular Christian communities or audiences.

Written tradition means the continuation of the role of the oral tradition. As we may remember before that written Gospels were fundamentally based on the earlier oral traditions about Jesus. They compile and organize the stories and sayings that were in circulation. The written tradition is also the continuous transmission of the oral tradition and very close to the last one. Even after writing the Gospels, oral storytelling, sermons, and liturgical practices continued to play an important role in early communities’ transmitting and interpreting the Christian message. In some cases, oral traditions helped to clarify or elaborate upon written texts. They have provided insights into theological and ethical matters not explicitly mentioned in the written form.

Let me show now relationship between oral and written tradition. Scholars are generally agreed that the early Christian traditions had been passed on at first orally. It was the reason for later written tradition, but that relationship was dynamic. The written accounts further shaping and transmission of oral traditions. The earlier oral traditions were in turn influencing the written texts.

The early Christian communities were involved in a complex interplay of oral and written transmission. The two forms of communication were used to preserve, interpret, and disseminate the teachings and stories of Jesus within their particular contexts. The Gospels, while becoming authoritative written texts, emerged from and continued to interact with the ongoing flow of oral traditions.

Conclusion

On the one hand, traditions were often adopted, read, interpreted, and were already generally known. On the other hand, Christians as a group were so close-knit that their information could flow quite widely in an oral form. Not a replacement, but a combination of two mechanisms for recording the word and story of Jesus is of fundamental importance. The resulting synergy of two complementary ways, as well as how the Early Church used it, ultimately resulted in the formation and identification of books within the Scripture, as it is known today.