BEFORE THE WRITTEN WORD

So how did people convey information before writing was invented in 3300 B.C.? Answer: by the spoken word, by oral tradition. Sagas, epics, legends, traditions, histories, origin and destiny and meaning stories were passed on orally by the spoken word.

But not only by the spoken word. The oral tradition was enhanced, expanded and buttressed by rituals, festivals, holy days and seasons, customs, art, dance and drama, clothing and costumes and religious and philosophical teachings.

Much of the early Biblical material came out of the same background. The stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Sodom and Gomorrah, sons of God marrying daughters of men to produce giants on the earth and Noah and the flood (see Bible: Genesis chapters 1 – 11) all came out of pre-history long before writing was invented in 3300 B.C.

But even after writing was invented, many of the Biblical stories, histories and teachings were conveyed orally, and by orally we mean the broad category buttressed by customs, rituals, dramas, and art, etc. So in general, the oral tradition played a large part in the formation of the Bible.

But in many people’s minds the idea of oral tradition means unreliability. We all have played the game of “telephone”, where at one place in the circle of people, a person whispers a sentence or two in the ear of the person next to him or her. The process is repeated around the circle and the person at the end states out loud what he or she heard. It usually is hilariously different.

But it is definitely not oral tradition. Oral tradition is group memory. American Indians lived by group memory. Charles Erickson (his American name), a Sioux Indian, wrote a fascinating book titled,Indian Boyhood. As a boy he learned by memory the tribal stories and traditions. He had to repeat them before his elders and then before the whole tribe. If he got it wrong, they would correct him until he got it right. The oral tradition wasn’t “telephone”. It was group memory. In a similar way the tales and teachings of Jesus were passed on by the earliest disciples. Then people began to write them down to form the beginnings of the “written tradition”.

In his Gospel, Luke says that many had attempted to write about all the things that had transpired among the early followers of Jesus. But Luke says he decided to write “an orderly account” of all that had been passed on about Jesus’ life and teachings. (see Bible: Luke 1: 1-4)

So oral tradition, buttressed by liturgies, hymns, rituals, customs, sacred festivals and holy days were an important part of the formation of the New Testament, especially the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

But it wasn’t the game of “telephone”. It was group memory, where the “storyteller” was corrected until he or she got it right as in the case of Charles Erickson’s Indian boyhood.

True, Christianity began long after writing was invented. But before the many written words of the New Testament, oral tradition was an important source of information.