Patriarchs and Pagans

For Catholic Christians, "tradition" or "the rule of faith" existed before the scriptures were written, contributed to their composition, and continued as a parallel stream of information about who God is, most readily identifiable in creeds, sacraments, dogma, doctrine, and liturgy. On several occasions the scriptures, especially Paul's letters, reference oral teachings that appear to be a coherent set of beliefs about Christ and the Church. The renowned Dominican preacher and theologian Yves Congar described Church tradition as "the sharing of a treasure, which itself remains unchanging; it represents a victory over time and its transience, over space and separation caused by distance." The story of Christ's descent into the grave and hell, or "hades," is part of early church tradition, echoed in 1 Peter 3:19. The Apostle's Creed, the Nicene Creed, and several local creeds pre-dating any universal professions of faith reference Jesus's descent prior to the resurrection. Why did he make the descent? Medieval commentators suggested Christ's passing through the realm of the dead solidified his identity as completely human, since all people suffer death of the body, while other theologians thought Christ might have made the journey to ransom the Hebrew patriarchs and virtuous pagans. Although church tradition drew the line at emphasizing his descent into the grave, patriarchs and pagans played a critical role in the church's interpretation of the events surrounding Christ's death and resurrection.