“[W]here in practice was [the] apostolic testimony or tradition to be found? . . . The most obvious answer was that the apostles had committed it orally to the Church, where it had been handed down from generation to generation. . . . Unlike the alleged secret tradition of the Gnostics, it was entirely public and open, having been entrusted by the apostles to their successors, and by these in turn to those who followed them, and was visible in the Church for all who cared to look for it.” (Early Christian Doctrines, 37). Well you stepped in it right there...People have been waiting for centuries for you religion to come up with some of this tradition that was handed down from the apostles...So far, it has been none, nein, nada, zero, not one, zip, nil, zilch
You talk a good talk but when it comes right down to it, all we can say is, 'where's the beef'???
You evidently missed the post, up-thread, where I explained to Elsie just what this "Sacred Tradition" consists of:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3275781/posts?page=331#331
The most important part of "Sacred Tradition" would be
- the Bible, and most especially, the canon of the Bible.
We all depend on the canon of the Bible, and we all can thank God for providing that the Church, through Sacred Tradition, would preserve it through the centuries. It would have been lost, as the vast majority of ancient manuscripts of all sorts were lost, unless it were handed on (which is what "tradition" means: to hand on, tra - ducere.)
The other very important parts of Sacred Tradition would be
- the first links of the Apostolic Succession,
- the basic forms of the Apostolic Hierarchy,
- the basic forms of the Seven Sacraments,
- the basic form of the Sacred Liturgy, and
- the teachings of the Magisterium which the contain and communicate the truths of faith and morals God intended to make known for mankind's salvation.
You call this "...none, nein, nada, zero, not one, zip, nil, zilch" when actually it's as plain as the nose on your face, and has not been shrouded in silence at all. There are
libraries of scholarly books tracing the ancient origins of all these elements of Sacred Tradition.
None of these things are hidden, secret or esoteric. They are all in writing; they are all in the lived customs, heritage and legacy of living communities of Faith which have been out there "for all to see" since the first and second centuries AD.
Have you followed any of the investigations of Christian archaeology?