And this tradition dates from when they had that authority (though I maintain they still do).
>> And this tradition dates from when they had that authority (though I maintain they still do). <<
And on what basis do you make that assertion that the tradition is that old? Asserting through appeal to Tradition what Tradition held in the past requires that the authority to discern Tradition be held in the present.
1. The only appeal to assert the pre-Christian antiquity to the Masoretic text is Tradition itself. Historical techniques seem to contradict it, although, again, I would not allow those techniques to invalidate religious convictions.
2. The Septuagint is where the Catholic Church holds that the authority of discerning scriptual authority is held. It contradicts the dates of the Masoretic text. You would at least be in somewhat firmer ground asserting merely 144-hour creationism, than the entire dating system derived from the Masoretic text.
3. These questions are not rhetorical: What is the delimiter of Tradition, according to you? Are you asserting the year 0/ Year 1/ year 2 stuff is part of Tradition, or just a corrollary to reconcile tradition with history? How about the Kaballah? That group (sorry, I forget their names) that believe the Messiah is the 130-year-old dead guy from Brooklyn?
I'm not making light; obviously there are as many embarrassing splinter groups in the Catholic/Christian churches, if not more. My point, though, is that there is an understood repository of Tradition within the Catholic Faith. Where is the repository that holds that your dating system? Am I wrong in supposing it cannot be the Talmud? (I suppose that, despite not having read the entire Talmud, or even an entire abridgment of it, but because other Talmudic Jews don't seem to agree with you.)