On Tradition and Scripture – Dr. John Frame

Frame, John M., The Doctrine of God, Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Pub., 2002. pg. 10.

As I have indicated in my writings on biblicism and tradition, there is a tendency among some leading evangelical thinkers today to base theological judgments on traditions, confessions, or historical study. But to make them the normative is to violate the sufficiency of Scripture as God’s word. In most cases, the arguments used constitute genetic fallacies: something is good because it comes from a good tradition, or bad because it comes from a bad one. Thus, traditionalism weakens the cogency [strength or persuasiveness] of the theological argument.

 

Sola Scriptura, therefore, will guard us against bad speculation and philosophical imperialism. The point is not that philosophical terminology or argument is always bad, but rather that such terminology and argument must be tested by Scripture.

HIGHLY recommended reading:

• In Defense of Something Close to Biblicism: Reflections on Sola Scriptura and History in Theological Method
• Traditionalism