NeuroDivine

A response to First Things.

The rightful embrace by Anglicans of scripture, reason and tradition is not a simplistic ‘three-legged stool’ – at least not one on which any reasonable person would choose to sit, as the legs are not of equal length! Scripture sets parameters by which tradition and reason may assist and guide our faith. https://www.firstthings.church/news/the-church-of-ireland-preamble-and-declaration-and-being-in-communion

To describe Scripture, Reason, and Tradition as a “three-legged stool” is not to imply mechanical equality, nor to suggest that each leg is identical in length or strength. Rather, it is to affirm the stability that arises when all three are held together in tension and mutuality. From an Irish Anglican Benedictine perspective, the metaphor is not simplistic but profoundly monastic: balance, rhythm, and interdependence are the hallmarks of our life.

• Scripture as living Word
  Scripture is indeed foundational, but it is not a set of rigid parameters. In the Benedictine tradition, we hear Scripture daily in the Opus Dei, the Work of God, and it is always mediated through the voices of tradition and the discernment of reason. To isolate Scripture as a controlling authority risks turning the Word into law, rather than allowing it to be the living voice of Christ in the community.
• Tradition as memory of the Church
  Tradition is not a mere assistant to Scripture; it is the Church’s memory, the lived experience of centuries of prayer, liturgy, and witness. In Ireland, where the faith has been carried through persecution, famine, and renewal, tradition embodies resilience and continuity. To diminish it as secondary is to forget that Scripture itself was received, canonised, and transmitted through tradition.
• Reason as gift of God
  Benedictine spirituality insists on discernment—discretio—as the mother of virtues. Reason is not a servant bound by Scripture’s parameters, but a divine gift enabling us to interpret, question, and apply the Word faithfully in changing contexts. Without reason, tradition becomes fossilised and Scripture becomes literalism. Reason allows us to hear the Spirit speaking afresh.
• The stool as stability, not hierarchy
  The metaphor of the stool is apt precisely because it resists hierarchy. Benedictine life is marked by humility and listening (obedientia), not by one voice dominating. Scripture, Tradition, and Reason form a stable seat upon which the Church may rest and discern. To insist that Scripture alone sets the parameters is to unbalance the stool, leaving us perched precariously on a single leg.