Paradosis

The Greek word paradosis means "tradition" or "that which is handed down"—from para (alongside) and didomi (to give). It's the act of transmission from one generation to the next, and surprisingly, the New Testament uses it both positively and negatively. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees: "You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition (paradosin) of men" (Mark 7:8). Yet Paul praised the Corinthians for maintaining "the traditions (paradoseis) even as I delivered them to you" (1 Corinthians 11:2). The word itself is neutral—everything depends on what's being handed down and by whose authority.

Jesus's critique was surgical, not wholesale. He didn't oppose all paradosis but specifically "your tradition (paradosin hymōn) that you have handed down" (Mark 7:13), which made "void the word of God." The scribes had built elaborate oral traditions around Torah—the "tradition of the elders" (Mark 7:5)—that sometimes contradicted Scripture's plain meaning. They honored their received interpretations over God's revealed will, using human paradosis to nullify divine command. This wasn't about rejecting all tradition but refusing to let tradition trump revelation.

Paul uses paradosis language to describe apostolic teaching. "I delivered (paredōka) to you as of first importance what I also received (parelabon): that Christ died for our sins" (1 Corinthians 15:3). This is sacred paradosis—the gospel itself being handed from Christ to apostles to churches. He commands the Thessalonians: "stand firm and hold to the traditions (paradoseis) that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter" (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Apostolic paradosis, whether oral or written, carries authority.

The warning remains against merely human tradition: "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition (paradosin), according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ" (Colossians 2:8). The question is always: whose paradosis? God's revelation faithfully transmitted, or human invention displacing divine truth?

Here's the often-missed context: in oral cultures, paradosis wasn't just nice supplementary material—it was the primary mode of preserving and transmitting essential knowledge. Ancient rabbis memorized entire legal systems; accuracy rates in oral transmission could exceed 99%. When Jesus criticized "the tradition of the elders," he wasn't attacking oral transmission itself (which he himself used and expected his disciples to use) but specific content that contradicted Scripture. Ironically, even sola scriptura Protestants depend on paradosis to know which books belong in Scripture—the biblical canon itself is an early church tradition, nowhere listed in the Bible. We all live downstream from somebody's handing-down.