Basil of Caesarea on Scripture and Tradition [Part 2]

Homily 10 on Psalm 1

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful, composed by the Spirit for this reason, namely, that we men, each and all of us, as if in a general hospital for souls, may select the remedy for his own condition." (Fathers of the Church vol. 46, pg. 151)

Regulas Brevius Tractatas, Question 267

"Whatsoever seems to be spoken ambiguously or obscurely in some places of holy Scripture, is cleared up by what is plain and evident in other places." (PG 31:1264)

Ascetical Works - Concerning Baptism, Book 2

"You could find many passages of this sort in the writings of the evangelists and the Apostle. Now, then, if a command be given and the manner of carrying it out is not added, let us obey the Lord who says: ‘Search the Scriptures.’ Let us follow the example of the Apostles who questioned the Lord Himself as to the interpretation of His words, and learn the true and salutary course from His words in another place." (Fathers of the Church, vol. 9, pg. 399)

Letter 2 to Gregory

"The study of inspired Scripture is the chief way of finding our duty, for in it we find both instruction about conduct and the lives of blessed men, delivered in writing, as some breathing images of godly living, for the imitation of their good works. Hence, in whatever respect each one feels himself deficient, devoting himself to this imitation, he finds, as from some dispensary, the due medicine for his ailment." (https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3202002.htm)

Basil thus views Scripture as sufficient for living a godly life after the example of the saints of the past.

Homily on Faith, section 1

"it is a manifest defection from the faith, and mark of pride, either to reject anything of what is written; our Lord Jesus Christ saying, my sheep hear my voice;' and the apostle saying, by an example taken from human things very earnestly forbidding us to add to, or to take away from, anything in the inspired Scriptures." (https://books.google.com/books?id=wcoWAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=dei%20quidem%20jugiter%20meminisse%2C%20res%20pia%20est%2C%20et%20qua%20dei%20amans%20animus%20numquam%20&f=false)

Letter 283

"Enjoying as you do the consolation of the Holy Scriptures, you stand in need neither of my assistance nor of that of anybody else to help you to comprehend your duty. You have the all-sufficient counsel and guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead you to what is right." (Basil of Caesarea, Letter 283 [to a widow])

On the Holy Spirit, 16

"What our fathers said, the same say we, that the glory of the Father and of the Son is common; wherefore we offer the doxology to the Father with the Son. But we do not rest only on the fact that such is the tradition of the Fathers; for they too followed the sense of Scripture, and started from the evidence which, a few sentences back, I deduced from Scripture and laid before you. " (https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3203.htm)

Epiphanius on Scripture and Tradition from the Panarion (Medicine Chest Against All Heresies)

 

I have seen the following quotation from Epiphanius used often by Roman Catholic apologists against sola scriptura:

"It is needful also to make use of tradition, for not everything can be gotten from sacred Scripture. The holy apostles handed down some things in the scriptures, other things in tradition." (Panarion 61:6)

I decided to do some research and studying on this particular quotation as well as the meaning of "tradition" in the writings of Epiphanius. There are two things I want to examine in this article in order to provide an answer to this particular Roman Catholic argument:

(Note: I am using Frank William's edition of the Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis)

The Meaning of "Tradition" (paradosis) in the writings of Epiphanius

Here are some of the meanings (as well as examples) of "tradition" in Epiphanius that I have found:

-The age of Lazarus when the Lord Jesus raised him from the dead (Panarion 66:37 [pg. 265])

-The father of Daniel and the father of the prophet Elijah (Panarion 55:3 [pgs. 80-81])

-The wise men visited Christ two years after His birth (Panarion 51:9 [pgs. 34-35])

-Men should nourish a beard (Panarion 80:7 [pg. 651])

It should be recognized that some of these traditions aren't held by Roman Catholics today, such as the issue about Daniel's father, and especially not the one about men having beards (since most Catholic priests today are shaven). Thus, this already begins to cause problems for the Roman Catholic argument from this citation of Epiphanius from chapter 61.

It gets worse, however. I will quote what William Whitaker says concerning this issue:

"Thirdly , as to the passage which Bellarmine adduces from Panarion 61 , it may indeed be perceived from it that Epiphanius approved of some traditions as apostolical, but yet not that he was so pertinacious a maintainer of them as the papists are. For he says that it is an apostolical tradition "that no one should contract marriage" after a vow of celibacy, and that to do otherwise is impious. So far he and the papists agree. But in that same place Epiphanius affirms that it is better, if one fall in his course, that he should take a wife, even after such a vow, and come at length, even though halt, into the church, than suffer the daily wounds of secret arrows. The papists merely provide that no man shall contract marriage after a vow , but in the meanwhile escape not from those “ secret arrows." Epiphanius asserts that it is safer and better to desist from the race begun, and contract marriage, than to go on to destruction pierced by those deadly shafts of lust. Do they approve of him here? Can they tolerate this opinion of his? Far from it : they pronounce it an impious and sacrilegious crime once to entertain a thought of marriage after such a vow, and they annul such marriages though made and celebrated." (William Whitaker, Disputations on Holy Scripture, pg. 598)