Christian Traditions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Christian Traditions - Essay Example Christian traditions have always been centralized around the provisions of the Bible most importantly the New Testament which contains the teachings of Jesus Christ. However, varied perceptions to the Biblical teachings have led to the emergence of different Christian groups. The Orthodox and Catholic Christians are an example of two such Christian groups. As evidence to their strong belief in the authority of the Bible the two groups share more similarities than differences. Both groups acknowledge the Bible as the word of God written by men who had been inspired by the Holy Spirit. However, Catholic Christians consider the Bible containing the law of God and that all people are bound to follow that law without question. On the other hand Orthodox Christians consider the Bible as playing the important role of teaching and guiding believers. The position of the Bible in both groups is that it is the source of their Christian Faith. However, Catholics demonstrated a more fundamental a pproach to the Bible due to its tendency to advocate for literal interpretation. On the hand Orthodox Christians believe in the mysticism of the Bible and that it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that Biblical interpretation can be perfected. With regard to the authority of the Bible, the general realization is that both groups perceive that Biblical authority should be accompanied by traditions that have been inspired by the Holy Spirit.