Tradition and Authority

pease

Addressing Gamma Gamaliel's question about my reference to capital A "Authority" on another thread.

Gamma Gamaliel wrote: »

For a kick-off, I always use a small 't' when referring to Protestant traditions or generic Christian traditions which we would all hold in common. I use Big T for Big T Traditions such as Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism where Tradition is a bigger deal than it is within Protestantism.

I believe that while it is possible to discuss tradition, in the sense of historical convention, uncontroversially, I do not believe the same is true of Tradition, because it is bound up in the question of authority.

For big T Traditionalists, big T Tradition is authoritative in a way that small t tradition is not. But for small t traditionalists, big T Tradition is no more authoritative than small t tradition. (However, Protestants vary in the amount of regard in which they hold small t tradition.)

Whatever the case, I don't think I've capitalised the word 'Authority' other than to ask why you'd done so.

I'm wary of capitalising the word 'Authority' as it suggests to me a form of Magisterium.

Well, yes, that does rather address the point of the capital letter(s). As the very first sentence of the wikipedia entry on the Magisterium puts it:

The magisterium of the Catholic Church is the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition".

Capital letters aren't a big thing in themselves, except when they are.

Gamma Gamaliel wrote:

I know the term 'tradition' whether Big T or small t may have negative connotations for some of us here but I can't think of a better term to use.

If what you're talking about are the historical conventions, how about the word "convention" or "historical convention"? If what you're talking about involves more than just the historical conventions, is what you're talking about to do with authority?