The Loss of Tradition and the Rise of Scriptural Authority: The Role of the Westminster Confession of Faith

The primary aim of this thesis is to demonstrate how the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) had a key influence on the priority given to Scripture – over the theological understanding of Tradition and Scripture working together – in evangelicalism. I propose that the trajectory initiated by the WCF led to an elevation of the authority of Scripture and a problematic rejection of Tradition. Within evangelicalism, the WCF offered justification for locating the sole authority over church doctrine and practice in Scripture, as exemplified in “The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy.” A further aim is to incorporate a sociological discussion on the function of tradition and memory in collective identities. While theologians refer to sociologist Edward Shils’ Tradition to demonstrate the essential role of tradition in forming and maintaining a collective identity, the theological discussion on the Christian Tradition and evangelical identity can be enriched by employing further research from memory studies.