Coffee Talk Redux is a reflection on things God is teaching me. In some cases the ideas for these topics come from the Coffee Talk group that I meet with weekly at the Vintage Coffee Bistro located in Lambertville, Michigan. At other times the Redux topic may arise from some conversation I may have had with someone, or a thought that crossed my mind, or perhaps something I read somewhere, or maybe a combination of all of these. In any case think of this as a discussion on what God is teaching us to help us grow in our understanding of His will.
This Redux is both a Book Recommendation and a discussion on the idea of the development of doctrine within Christianity. John Henry Cardinal Newman wrote an incredible essay on this subject back in the 19th century. His book at 445 pages was called An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine [John Henry Newman, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2005)]. In this book Newman teaches that the understanding of the fundamental truths of Christianity develops over time. Thus it can be said that doctrine within the Church develops but the principals or truths of the Christian faith do not change. Newman argues that there is a basic rule that guides the development of doctrine within the Church. This rule protects the faith and enables one to distinguish between true developments and those corruptions that lead for example to heresies and schisms.
Newman’s motivation for writing this essay on the development of Christian doctrine stems from the observation of many people that Christianity does not lend itself to critical historical study, “that it is to each man what each man thinks it to be, and nothing else; and thus in fact is a mere name for a cluster or family of rival religions … at variance one with another. (page 4)” There is also the argument that Christianity has decayed or been corrupted over the 1800 years that have transpired from the time of Christ to the time of Newman writing his essay. In other words, that Christianity as it is understood today is nothing like that taught by Christ and His Apostles. But Newman argues that Christianity has a particular aspect that “argues a real continuity of doctrine (page 5)” and that Christianity as established by Christ and His Apostles is in its essence the same that has been taught throughout the centuries to the present day. Although Newman does not deny the possibility of extreme changes leading to a counterfeit Christianity such that “identity is lost without the loss of continuity (page 6)” he counters by saying that the “onus probandi or burden of proof is with those who assert what is unnatural to expect; to be just able to doubt is no warrant for disbelieving. (page 6)”
Newman does concede however that there are some inconsistencies and changes that have been made in Christian doctrine and worship practices since the time of Christ and His Apostles that have aroused the attention of critics. He argues that these are not in themselves sufficient to have significantly affected the course of Christianity. But they do “raise the question of how they came about, and what they mean. (page 9)” Newman answers this by offering as a solution the observation that “from the nature of the human mind, time is necessary for the full comprehension and perfection of great ideas; that the highest and most wonderful truths … could not be comprehended all at once by the recipients. (pages 29-30)” This is what Newman calls his Theory of Development of Doctrine and he proposes it as an answer to critics of Christianity and the fact that its doctrines are not static.
Newman says that an idea like Christianity captivates the mind and takes on a life of its own and through the action of the Holy Spirit the intellect is stimulated leading to the continued growth and development of how man understands its basic truths. Christianity therefore must develop and “that idea will in course of time expand into a multitude of ideas. (page 55)” Although this process of development runs the risk of corruption this is necessary in order for the idea to reach perfection and reign supreme. With respect to errors and corruptions that may develop as a result of this process Newman says, “the refutation and remedy of errors cannot precede their rise; and thus the fact of false developments or corruptions involves the manifestation of true ones. (page 58)”
The question then arises as to where this theory on the development of doctrine may have come from. Newman answers that it is just like that of Revelation itself which is also “a process of development: the earlier prophecies are pregnant texts out of which the succeeding announcements grow; they are types. (page 64)” Just as Sacred Scripture is the inspired Word of God the development of Christian doctrine is also a part of His Divine plan. The doctrines of Christianity therefore develop over time by Divine guidance. This Divine guidance that underlies the development of doctrine is infallible and protects it from perversions and corruptions, “that Providence would [therefore] watch over His own work, and would direct and ratify those developments of doctrine which were inevitable. (page 100)” Catholicism as expressed today is nothing more than “the natural and necessary development, of the doctrine of the early church, and that its divine authority is included in the divinity of Christianity. (page 171)”
Newman defines seven principles that can be used to discriminate genuine doctrinal developments from corruptions and perversions. The first principle of a genuine development is preservation of type. This means that the original idea as presented is maintained as its doctrine is developed. The second principle that Newman defines is that of continuity of principles. Newman argues that principles tend to be abstract and general whereas doctrines relate to facts, whereas principles are permanent and doctrines develop over time. Principles are like the fundamental truths of Christianity and doctrines reflect the growth in our understanding of these truths or principles. An example of a fundamental principle or truth of Christianity would be the incarnation. The third principle is the power of assimilation. The true development of doctrine thus has the attribute of absorbing and assimilating other ideas concentrating them into a unity of form that has its own inner strength that safeguards these ideas from the power of corruption. The fourth principle concerns a logical development of doctrine or a logical sequence. The development of a doctrine must be a continuous advance along a determinate path that makes sense and is a logical outgrowth of an original teaching. Following on this principle of a logical sequence is the fifth principle that the development should anticipate its future. Hence the faithfulness of a development is the definite anticipation of that development at an earlier time. For a development is nothing more than an aspect and a natural consequence of the idea from whence they come. This dependence of a development on an earlier idea leads to the sixth principle which says that there must be a conservative action upon its past. Newman argues that “developments which are preceded by definite indications have a fair presumption in their favor, so those which do but contradict and reverse the course of doctrine which has been developed before them, and out of which they spring, are certainly corrupt. (page 199)” Thus a corruption is that which upsets the logical developments that have been made in doctrine over time. A true development is a conservative extension of those antecedent developments. The final principle that Newman offers is that of chronic vigor. Ideas live in the intellect and they are not static. Sound ideas develop overtime and lead to greater understanding of the fundamental truths and mysteries that underlie Christianity. Newman argues that bad ideas do not endure, that heresies are always short-lived. Hence a corruption can be distinguished from a true development “by its transitory character. (page 205)”
Supporting evidence for Newman’s thesis on the development of doctrine may be found by examining the Acts of the Apostles and The Didache. The Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke soon after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and provides a broad survey of how the Early Church developed after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Didache, despite being mentioned in ancient references that pointed to its existence, was not discovered until 1875. It is in all likelihood the oldest non-canonical document that is in existence from the time of the Apostles. The Didache served as a catechism for Christian converts being based directly on the teachings of Christ. The Didache is believed to have been written in the period from 60-70 A.D. and may even be a product of the first Apostolic Council (Acts 15:22-35) that was held around 50 A.D.
From these two works it is possible to see that Christianity as it is understood today is in its essence the same as that which was first taught by Christ and His Apostles. The early practice of Christianity formed itself around these basic teachings that are still expressed to this day; for example Baptism, the Lord’s Prayer, the Eucharist, and the Church. These basic truths of Christianity are still the same but our understanding of them and the doctrines that have been developed concerning them has been deepened by that process that Newman calls the development of doctrine. © Ronald L. Fournier – 2008
