Scripture and Tradition

“In Scripture and Tradition, Edith Humphrey provides an intelligent and nuanced way forward, past the stifling appositions that have dominated the discussions on Scripture and tradition in the recent past. Fusing personal reflection with an excellently articulated and accessible argument, Humphrey shows us how the narrative character of the Christian faith and life mandates that we live in tradition, rejecting the trappings of traditionalism. For as Jaroslav Pelikan noted many years ago, ‘Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.’”
—George Kalantzis, associate professor of theology, Wheaton College; director, The Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies

“Edith Humphrey bridges the gap between the apostolic and post-apostolic church by exploring the biblical foundations for Christian tradition. She invites readers to embrace the Bible’s own witness to tradition as an essential key to the entire life of the church. Elegantly written and exegetically compelling, this book reveals how ‘biblical’ tradition takes us beyond the impasse of the ‘Scripture versus tradition’ debates that have beleaguered Christianity since the Reformation.”
—Bradley Nassif, professor of biblical and theological studies, North Park University

“Edith Humphrey’s great gift for combining biblical scholarship with pastoral insight is charitably applied to one of the most significant stumbling blocks for Christian unity: the relation between Scripture and tradition. Her focus on Scripture’s own sense of tradition provides a way into the subject that will appeal especially to Protestants who share (and among whom she learned) her deep respect for Scripture. Yet these same readers may begin to discover that the tradition of which she speaks does not diminish but rather sustains, and is sustained by, that respect. What is therefore diminished is the stumbling block itself.”
—Douglas Farrow, professor of Christian thought, McGill University