Should Christians Follow Scripture Alone or Scripture and Traditions?

What was Paul teaching in 2 Thessalonians 2 when he spoke, "Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours."

How does this fit in with Sola Scriptura?

The traditions about which Paul was writing were those taught to him by Christ and which he in turn taught to others in his travels. They are what we know now as the substance of his letters.

So, to answer your latter question directly, the traditions are part of what we now call Scripture.

jesus‘s teaching was documented by apostle in the gospel

and Jesus summaries all teaching in 2 point
love your God with all your strength and live your neighbor as yourself

all the law and prophet hang on those 2 law

for example do not stea

if you love you neighbor you not steal thing from.

catholic put tradition in the sense of pray to Mary etc

it is not in the Bible and God command not to add anything on His teaching

I looked the definition of tradition

1.
the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way.

by this definition pray is tradition of apostle
that is in the bible

i don’t see in the Bible the tradition of apostle to pray to Mary

basically tradition is wrote in the bible

paul may did oral teaching but not something against writing teaching

not to deceive of false teaching behind oral tradition

say catholic teach pray to Mary is tradition

how you prove it?

some catholic say, Hail Mary is in Luke 1

41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

it is by Elizabeth when Mary physically live

if you do it now, Mary not able to hear, she is a human and not Omni present

There are a couple of directions this could go. What is it in this verse you think might contradict sola scriptura?

I, like you, believe that all Scriputre in the Bible is God's word and is true, both Old and New Testament.

But nowhere in the Bible is the doctrine of 'Scripture Alone' , Sola Scriptura, mentioned. In fact, Sola Scriptura doesn't come from God nor the Bible. Instead, Sola Scriptura itself is a 'Man Made Tradition' that arose in the 1500's.

That's an oxymoron. Sola Scriptura says Scripture alone and no tradition. Yet Sola Scripture itself is a tradition.

Okay. If not sola scriptura, then scripture and what else?

I would say go with Scripture and the Tradition of the Church Fathers of at least the first 300 years - when virtually everyone agrees Apostolic Christianity was pristine, pure and near perfect - if not the first 500 years. Then compare modern churches to see which Church most closely resembles the Ancient Church. Imo, the High Churches do this, Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran. The Early Church had Bishops, Presbyters, Deacons (Evident in Bible itself) and Liturgies. The Early Church gathered together for divine liturgies and Holy Communion at least on Sunday, if not more often. There was also an abundance of good works and charitable endeavors such as founding of or participation in orphanages, hospitals etc, which the Bible commands us to be fruitful in. True Religion, as St. James puts it, in the Bible, is visiting orphans and widows in their affliction, and keeping oneself pure and holy, away from the desires and lusts of the world. Scripture/Tradition help us do that.

God Bless.

Remember no early tradition pray to Mary or saints no purgatory doctrine

Well, you mention 3 things, Jackson. Let me take just one for now. Even before the New Testament, the Old Testament Maccabees prayed for the departed, which is based on purgatory: "Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin." (2 Macc 12:46) Even the Jews believe in purgatory, as you can read in the Jewish enyclopedia here: https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12446-purgatory

In the New Testament, St. Paul the Apostle says in 1 Cor 3:13-15 that some receive a reward for good works done in faith, while other Christians are saved only through fire: "13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames." That has traditionally been understood as a reference to Purgatory.

This site (https://www.scripturecatholic.com/purgatory/#I_The_Early_Churchs_Belief_in_Purgatory) mentions the Early Church's Belief in Purgatory with documentary evidence:

"Tradition / Church Fathers
I. The Early Church’s Belief in Purgatory
“And after the exhibition, Tryphaena again receives her. For her daughter Falconilla had died, and said to her in a dream: Mother, thou shaft have this stranger Thecla in my place, in order that she may pray concerning me, and that I may be transferred to the place of the just.” Acts of Paul and Thecla (A.D. 160).

God Bless.

This is patently false. So let's focus on what the Lord Jesus Christ did. Did He ever resort to the "traditions of the elders"(rabbinic traditions)? Absolutely not. He referred exclusively to the Hebrew Tanakh and in fact condemned the traditions of the elders as being in conflict with the Word of God. The same is true for the "Holy Traditions" maintained by the Catholic and Orthodox churches. They are generally in conflict with the Word of God.

From Matthew 4:4

Nemiah, you say that my statement, "But nowhere in the Bible is the doctrine of 'Scripture Alone... " is patently false. I know that Scripture states, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."

Don't misinterpret that as to meaning that 'Only Scripture' is the source of God's truth. The Bible merely states that Scripture is 'useful'. Nothing more.

As an analogy; If a doctor tells a medical intern that the study of anatomy will help make him/her a good doctor, thats not the same as telling them that. 'Only the Study of Anatomy' will make you a good doctor. Not the same at all.

So, Nemiah, I respectfully ask you too show us where 'Scripture Alone' is in the Bible. But I think you'll have a hard time doing that. Thanks

Since I gave you the example of Christ who practiced "Scripture alone" what more do you want? And what did He say in Matthew 4:4?

Still waiting for your idea of what these other sources of God's truth are.

Some things believers do are not "unbiblical" but "not biblical". There is a difference. When participating in things that are not biblical, take caution.

Unbiblical - the bible specifically speaks against it
Not biblical - the bible is silent on a matter

I could have spent 10 hours trying to write what you did and could not have said it more simply and clearly.

Amen and amen - and then amen again!

"Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

Again, that is no reference to Scripture Alone. In fact Jesus nor Paul believed in Scripture alone for the only source of God's truth. In fact, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to His early disciples/church and that the Spirit would lead them to truth.

When Jesus ascended, He didn't write a book he left the church he founded to pass on God's truth. Furthermore, there was no recognized Bible for 300 years after Jesus ascended.

Just Scripture

Leave the church doctrine and politics of the manmade "Scriptura Sola" proclamation to the squabbling armchair theologians.

That doesn't make any sense. Sola scriptura just means scripture alone. So how can you follow just scripture and ignore sola scriptura?

Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

That verse does not say "Sola Scriptura" - not even close. It says that we don't live by bread (physical food). We live by every word that comes from God's mouth. Oh, that surely includes Scripture: that is a huge part of the puzzle.

But the verse does not say "Sola Scriptura" and not even "Scripture alone" -- or did I miss something?