One does from time to time meet churches or individual Christians who profess a pure biblicism and deny that they have any tradition or traditions apart from what is written. But a pure biblicism is rarely so pure as it is thought to be. Let these friends be confronted with an interpretation of Scripture which is new to them, held (it may be) by others but unknown in their own circle, and they will suddenly realize that what they had always taken to be the plain sense of Scripture is really their traditional interpretation; other people have different traditional interpretations, and the criteria for preferring one interpretation to another must be sought not in the antiquity of the traditions or in the warmth with which they are held but in a careful study of the principles of biblical interpretation and an exegetical examination of the relevant texts.
One does from time to time meet churches or individual Christians who profess a pure biblicism and deny that they have any tradition or traditions apart from what is written. But a pure biblicism is rarely so pure as it is thought to be. Let these friends be confronted with an interpretation of Scripture which is new to them, held (it may be) by others but unknown in their own circle, and they will suddenly realize that what they had always taken to be the plain sense of Scripture is really their traditional interpretation; other people have different traditional interpretations, and the criteria for preferring one interpretation to another must be sought not in the antiquity of the traditions or in the warmth with which they are held but in a careful study of the principles of biblical interpretation and an exegetical examination of the relevant texts.
- from page 20, Traditions New and Old