I offer the following role-playing thought experiment. It is a problem confronting an illiterate slave and member of the Church on the island of Crete circa 150 AD. I would be interested to see what help the list can give our imaginary br other in Christ.

The purpose of the experiment is to show the practical unworkability of the claim that Scripture alone is revelatory and can be separated from Sacred Tradition.

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Crispus, a slave and member of Christ Jesus in the Church at Crete.

To the Church at Christia

Greetings! Grace, mercy and peace to you in our Lord Jesus Christ.

With the aid of my friend Marcus (who has learned his letters and tutors my master's children) I write in great anguish to ask your help. Crete is an island and thus does not have ready access to the goods and news of the world. Yet in our church we have preserved these holy books and look to them as trustworthy :

1. A letter from Paul to Titus (our greatest treasure--and in Paul's own hand!)

2. A letter from Paul to the churches in Asia Minor (called by some the letter to the Ephesians)

3. Two letters from Paul to the blessed Timothy.

4. Memoirs of our Lord said by our overseer and other holy men to be by the hand of Luke (the writing itself makes no such claim)

5. A small letter from the blessed Jude

6. A letter from Barnabas

7. Two letters by Clement of Rome (a friend of the apostles as Luke was)

8. A manuscript of the Jewish Scriptures in the Greek tongue.

But now there are appearing in our island other writings which are *said* by some to be truly of the holy faith, yet I doubt them. So I ask your help.

There is a book called the letter to the Hebrews. Some call it a holy book, yet it has no certain author. How then do I know it is apostolic? Some would say to pray as it is read and trust the Spirit to bear witness to it, yet my overseer tells me this is a most unsure path.

Why does he say this? Because he and all his brother overseers disagree with me about Epimenides the poet. You see, the holy apostle Paul in his letter to Titus, writes of our own Cretan poet Epimenides and (speaking by the Spirit) calls him a "prophet". I thought and prayed on this for a long time and came to believe that Paul means the writings of Epimenides belong to the Holy Scriptures. After all, the blessed Luke is a gentile too and God has inspired *his* writings as all acknowledge. So why should we not read the works of him whom the blessed apostle quotes as prophetic? I said as much to our overseer and he told me that I was not speaking according to the holy faith. Can you tell me why brothers?

Further, I am troubled about the use of the Jewish Scriptures. Why do we regard as Scripture certain Psalms with their blessing on those who kill babies? Here too my spirit is at odds with the overseer to whom the holy apostle said I must submit myself with all reverence. I feel no witness in my spirit to a great deal of the Jewish writings--writings which concern a people foreign to me. They are violent and not in accord with the commands of our Lord. And when, as it seems to me, my spirit does bear witness, the book is said by those in authority over me to be spurious! Why, for example, do we not read from the book called the Assumption of Moses since the blessed Jude refers to it in his letter?

Also there are other memoirs of our Lord which some say are true and others deny. There is a memoir lately arrived in Crete called by some the gospel of Matthew (though the writing itself makes no such claim and appears to me dubious since it attributes ignorance to our Lord). There is also a writing which says it was written by the blessed Thomas.

Some (like Marcion, who has gathered a great following and who speaks with power) say that the Scriptures will testify to themselves if my knowledge and spirit is right. Many of my friends, good and righteous men, agree with him. Marcion says only Paul and certain portions of certain gospels are of God and that the Jewish Scriptures are rejected since the Jews have rejected Christ. I incline to thinking he is right. For though Paul says the Jews were given the oracles of God, so was Balaam. And after he was used by God, he was rejected. So might not the so-called Old Testament be rejected as well now that the Apostles have gleaned from it the gems of truth and recorded these in their writings?

Brothers and sisters, what shall I do?

Marcus the Scribe sends you his greetings. The Lord be with your spirit.

I, Crispus, make this mark (X) with my own hand.