From a Catholic perspective, Scripture is Scripture because the Church, through its Tradition infallibly guided by the [[Holy Spirit]], has defined the [[canon]] of Scripture, i.e. discerned and declared which texts constitute inspired Scripture, and which texts, however esteemed, are not inspired and hence not Scripture. So, from a Catholic viewpoint, to reject Tradition is to reject the means by which we can assuredly know what is Scripture and what is its authentically normative interpretation [[Apostolic succession|handed down by the apostles]] according to the mind of Christ in the Holy Spirit, who has been promised to lead into all truth. This guards against the deviations of [[Heresy|heretical]] doctrines based on private interpretations of the Bible (1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 13:17; 2 Peter 1:20 and 3:15-17; Proverbs 18:2; Sirach 3:24 "''Their own opinion has misled many, and wrong judgment has led them astray''"). See [[Magisterium]].
But from a Protestant perspective, Scripture is not dependent upon tradition for its canonicity; Scriptural texts are Scriptural because the [[Holy Spirit]] [[inspiration|inspires]] them, which according to Protestant doctrine can be directly perceived by those readers of the text in whom the Holy Spirit is working; tradition may serve to communicate evidence of this inspiration to the present, but our knowledge of inspiration is not dependent upon tradition, but can be attained independently of it. See [[Apocrypha]] and [[Biblical Canon]]. Compare [[Sola spiritu]].
==Notes==