The Vindication of Tradition: The 1983 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities

In this carefully reasoned book, noted historian and theologian Jaroslav Pelikan offers a moving and spirited defense of the importance of tradition.
“Magisterial…. Ought not to be missed.”—M.D. Aeschliman, National Review
“A soul-stirring self-analysis, no less than a distillation of the life-work of the living historian best qualified to provide solutions to those ‘Tradition versus Bible-Only’ controversies that have plagued Christianity since the Reformation.”—L.K. Shook, Canadian Catholic Review
“Admirably concise and penetrating.”—Merle Rubin, The Christian Science Monitor
“It takes a scholar thoroughly steeped in a subject to be able to write with lucidity and charm about its traditions.  When the scholar is Dr. Pelikan, the result is a kind of classic, something sure to become a standard text for an interested public.”—Northrop Frye
“Wit, grace, style, and wisdom vie with knowledge.  A rare combination, delightful to mind and memory.  Recommended broadly for scholarly and general use on many levels, and especially among theology students, undergraduate and graduate.”—Choice
“Pelikan’s customary erudition, wit, and gracious style are evident throughout this stimulating volume.”—Harold E. Remus, Religious Studies Review
“The book clearly constitutes a unified plea that modern society finds ways and means to recapture the resources of the past and to overcome its fear of the tyranny of the dead.”—Heiko A. Oberman, Times Literary Supplement
Jaroslav Pelikan is Sterling Professor of History Emeritus at Yale University.  Among his many books are Jesus Through the Centuries and the multivolume work The Christian Tradition.