CONTINUITY OF IDENTITY. Final point about tradition: Continuity is key. Once a tradition has been disrupted, it’s very hard to revive it without falling into the “catch the past in amber” mentality I dissed below. It can definitely be done–renaissances are possible. But it’s hard.

And continuity is one way in which tradition makes an institution mimic a person. This point is especially close to my heart because I’ve changed so many of my habits and beliefs over time. When I was first preparing to be baptized, it was really frightening to think that I was heading for such a decisive break with the past. Who would “I” be? Would I be rejecting my past self, starting over, like an amnesiac? It was perversely comforting to remember that baptism doesn’t remove the ingrained habits of sin; oh good, something I can keep! And since then I’ve very much struggled with the question of how to unite elements of my past with who I am now. How to reject old ways without disrupting one’s own identity? What can be salvaged from the past–what is the old Adam that must be put off, and what can be reborn through baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection? I think being part of a living tradition has really helped me understand how to view my own life, how to shape my own sense of self.