Proper Understanding of Scripture?

In response to the comment on the last post:

Let me take the Evangelical claim head on. Is Scripture to be juxtaposed against Tradition? Or is it something foremost within the Tradition and understood within it? Unless Jesus ascended to Heaven and beamed the KJV Bible down to Earth, I don't believe the Bible or any other document for that matter can be interpreted outside of it's particular framework. I can read A Tale of Two Cities, but I can also read it while understanding the French Revolution and Dicken's motivation in writing the book. I can not take the mosaic image of a King and make a fox.

Here's another thought I'd like to expand on some other day:
Without a living Tradition guiding the Church, is not the alternative inevitably legalism? Outside of a historical understanding of the Faith which holds Scriptural teaching in light of thousands of years of experience, wouldn't we otherwise be lobbing Bible verses at each other aimlessly?