Product Description

An Essay on the Devleopment of Christian Doctrine, reprinted from the 1888 imprint, "is rightly regarded as one of the most seminal theological works ever to be written," states Ian Ker in his foreword. "It remains," Ker continues, "the classic text for the theology of the development of doctrine, a branch of theology which has become especially important in the ecumenical era."

John Henry Cardinal Newman begins the Essay by defining how true developments in doctrine occur. He then delivers a sweeping consideration of the growth and development of doctrine in the Catholic Church, from the time of the Apostles to Newman’s own era. He demonstrates that the basic "rule" under which Christianity proceeded through the centuries is to be found in the principle of development, and emphasizes that thoughout the entire life of the Church this law of development has been in effect and safeguards the faith from any real corruption.

Ker concludes that, "we may say that the Essay is not only the starting point for the study of doctrinal development, but so far as Catholic theology is concerned, it is still the last word on the subject, to the extent that no other theologian has yet attempted anything on the same scale or of similar scope. . . . But even if the Essay was not one of the great theological classics, it would still be of enduring interest for two reasons. First it is one of the key intellectual documents of the nineteenth century, comparable to Darwin’s Origin of Species, which it predates by over a decade. Second, if this were the only book of Newman to survive, its rhetorical art and style would surely place him among the masters of English prose."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #82245 in Books
• Published on: 1989-06-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 445 pages

Review
"This book belongs in every theological library, and is accessible to most educated readers." -- The Catholic World, January/February 1990

Customer Reviews

To this day, the definitive work on the subject.
Before I begin my review, allow me one caveat: the casual reader, to be sure, who stumbles upon this work after seeing it quoted in popular apologetics books (i.e. Keating's Catholicism and Fundamentalism), risks being in over his/her head completely. Such was the case with me about 3 and a half years ago when I was starting out my study of doctrine and history. For 3 years this book sat on my shelf, all attemts that I made to read it having failed because I lacked the proper foundation. It was only after I spent considerable time studying history and especially the ancient heresies that I was able to grasp what Newman was saying. The following example, taken from a passage found on pages 314-315, should demonstrate my point:

"It is very observable that, ingenious as is their theory and sometimes perplexing to a disputant, the Monophysites never could shake themselves free of the Eutychians; and though they could draw intelligible lines on paper between the two doctrines, yet in fact by a hidden fatality their partisans were ever running into or forming alliance with the anathematized extreme. Thus Peter the Fuller the Theopaschite (Eutychian), is at one time in alliance with Peter the Stammerer, who advocated the Henoticon (which was Monophysite). The Acephali, though separating from the latter Peter for that advocacy, and accused by Leontius of being Gaianites (Eutychians), are considered by Facundus as Monophysites. Timothy the Cat, who is said to have agreed with Dioscorus and Peter the Stammerer, who signed the Henoticon, that is, with two Monophysite Patriarchs, is said nevertheless, according to Anastasius, to have maintained the extreme tenet, that "the Divinity is the sole nature of Christ." Severus, according to Anastasius, symbolized with the Phantasiasts (Eutychians), yet he is more truly, according to Leontius, the chief doctor and leader of the Monophysites. And at one time there was an union, though temporary, between the Theodosians (Monophysites) and the Gaianites."

That being said...

The premise of this book is to examine the developments of doctrine that have occured both within and without the Catholic Church since the earliest times. In the earlier part of the book, Newman spends considerable time discussing the methods used by the Anglican Divines to discern developments from corruptions, and shows how their methodology is flawed, and how in many cases they rejected things which had more early concensus than things they accepted.

Other points he makes throughout the book is the treatment of the Catholic church by the various heretical sects and dissident groups. He shows how despite their disagreements with each other, they were usually united in opposition to the Catholic Church, using the same blasphemous phrases to describe her as the Reformers did and many Protestants continue to this day, while the latter group would generally accept the body accused of these things as orthodox in earlier times.

After his rather long introduction, so to speak, Newman lays out his seven principles which will serve to distinguish developments from corruptions: 1. Preservation of Type, 2. Continuity of Principles, 3. Assimilative Power, 4. Logical Sequence, 5. Anticipation of its Future, 6. Conservative Action on its Past, and 7. Chronic Vigour. Newman then goes on to examine each of these in detail (though the first 4 are examined in far greater detail than the latter 3), showing how doctrinal developments in the Catholic Church throughout history, as well of those proposed by groups deemed heretical, have fared when these 7 principles are applied to them.

The details of his agruments are covered well in other reviews, and indeed a thorough examination of them cannot be done justice here in my 1,000 word limit. Suffice to say that this book will be guaranteed to give the informed reader, be he symathetic or skeptical, something to ponder seriously, as this is indeed the most comprehensive work written on the subject of the development of doctrine.

A "Must" for Every Christian
There are many books, indeed series, which attempt to account for the development of the Early Church, and how things became settled over the centuries. There are far fewer people who have any sense of these things. Newman treats these issues with utmost seriousness, and challenges long-held beliefs, and inverts those who are upside down in their faith and practice. Newman's compedium knowledge of the early Church helps him to distill the plethora of works into an easy-to-read single volume. This is ONE of those rare books that every Christian should be required to read. The past is explained as a venture toward the future. Newman's style is at his usual best.

Unfortunately there was no way to give it 10 stars...
That might sound like an exaggeration but I am serious. There is no book in print that I am aware of that discusses this most crucial of areas in the Christian revelation with the degree of nuance and thoroughness then this work of John Henry Newman's does. One of the founders (and the soul) behind the Oxford Movement in England in the 1830's and early 1840's, Dr. Newman's research into Church history troubled him because he did not realize how far the Church of England had drifted in essence and principles from those of the early Church. Newman examines the different distinctions between the beliefs held by Catholics, the Eastern Churches, and Protestants and seeks to show through the records of history - both what they reveal and what they conceal - how to distinguish between "developments" of Revelation and "corruptions." The major doctrines of the different Christian churches are looked at with an eye towards explaining how often what appears to be an "addition" to the Christian faith is but a development or a greater understanding in an explicit manner of what was held in earlier times implicitly. These are properly termed "developments." Likewise, many beliefs that are taken as "givens" by Christians are shown to be anything but "givens" in terms of their relationship to the ancient Church or their profound absence from it in any form explicitly or implicitly (the latter are properly styled as "corruptions of Revelation", "inventions", or "traditions of men"). Undoubtedly the conclusions drawn will not make everyone happy of course. But then who said that the purpose of Truth was to conform itself to the individual whims of man? Rather, man must conform his views to that which is true. I firmly believe that this is the one book that every Christian honestly in search of the Truth should read and read again meditating upon its contents. A wonderful work by one of the most brilliant minds of the 19th century (or indeed any century) by a man who was as deeply spiritual as he was brilliant.