How is the Word Tradition Used in the Bible

[box]RVWD is my abbreviation for Religious Vocabulary Word of the Day. (You can read my introduction to the RVWD series here.) I do not intend for these word investigations to be exhaustive, but I hope they stimulate some thinking about assumptions. Possibly they will help with honest evaluations about what is truth and what is unnecessary baggage in life. [/box]
The word tradition in English is derived from the Latin words traddictus, traditio, and tradere, all of which mean “a surrender, betrayal, to deliver, handing over or down.” The Greek word paradosis in the New Testament is translated into tradition in the common English language Bibles. It also means “to hand over or deliver.” Thus, traditions in this context mean “teachings which are delivered” to someone. These are the same definitions given in first case in the English dictionary (Webster’s New World Dictionary, 4th edition). The word tradition is used in both positive and negative ways in the New Testament, indicating that there is nothing sacred about a tradition, even if it is of longstanding. Rather, what matters is where the information originates from.
When the Pharisees try to invoke tradition, Jesus is quick to point out that tradition followed for the wrong or selfish reasons is destructive and hypocritical. (Matthew 15 and Mark 7) Paul refers to the traditions of his ancestors as something he used to be zealous for (Galatians 1:14). When he again uses the word traditions, he means recent teachings resulting from divine revelation. In both of the first cases, the misguided adherence to long standing traditions is presented as lacking value.
In the English dictionary (as cited above), the idea of passing on customs and beliefs from one generation to the next is in the 2nd – 4th listed definitions. This seems to have become a meaning because, like with the Pharisees, people do seem to like to think they are teaching the same rules and habits over the years. Yet, one could wonder if this is an illusion. Historical comparison often reveals that man-made “traditions,” sacred or otherwise, morph over time, like a decades long game of Rumor. Christmas is an easy example of this. Not only have its “traditions” (again, both so-called sacred or not) changed from being more ghoulish and rioting to becoming more family oriented, but there has been a synthesis of previously incongruous traditions. The Yule Log is an example of this.
All of this tendency to revere traditions, or ritual, over substance may be one reason why the traditions of the true gospel are so simple. These simple traditions, which God has made known to us, explain everything from the magnificent display of our universe to the longings of our hearts. His uncomplicated traditions, when unadulterated by the “wisdom” of people, stand the test of time. Traditions that people create to improve on the truth to assuage their need to feel spiritual will at best distract and at worst grossly distort.
We would do well to distinguish between not only true and wrong traditions, but also between meaningful tradition and encumbering ritual. God’s traditions lead to freedom and joy.