An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine

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 lo

The sainted Cardinal Newman's "Essay" is a masterpiece, one of the few books of it's kind. This work, which was undertaken by him while he was in the process of deciding to convert to Roman Catholicism, is based upon a simple premise - that the nature of the human intellect is to grasp the full implications of an idea or set of related ideas slowly, over time, by a process of development. Because of this, any set of formal doctrines held to by a body of believers will necessarily grow and *apparently* change over time, in just the same way that a human being gorws and changes over the span of a lifetime. However, just as the human being is physiologically and metaphysically identical with himself over the course of his life, so too will be the body of doctrine and the standards of practice given to the faithful, provided it is guarded from corruption by a teaching authority insured from error. N.B. - this is *not* the same thing as saying that revelation must be ongoing. The faith itself may be delivered once and for all, in it's entirety. What needs time to develop, and what can never be truly completed, is the systematic exposition of what that faith means, and why it is so rather than otherwise. For example, that there is a God is an article of the Creed that can be communicated once and adhered to forever. But why there should be a God, and only one rather than five or six, and why that God should have such attributes as He is said to possess - these matters are the doctrines that are historical and developmental, and each of them will in turn raise more questions that will need to be answered. Revelation is finished, but theology, the explanation of revelation, is a continuously growing enterprise. Newman's book does not stop at these abstract considerations, which, after all, could apply to any religion built on a alleged revelation. It proceeds to examine the specific points of controversy between Protestants and Catholics as to whether or not the Catholic faith or the Protestant faith is the authentic inheritor of the Apostlic community. Needless to say, it comes down on the side of Rome. The only real flaw in these detailed portions of the book is the lack of specific footnotes for the points Newman cites in the Fathers of the Church. The editions he used, or course, would be long out of print, but it would still be useful to know what portion of St. Basil's or St. Augustine's texts he was quoting from. If you are interested in the history of Christian dogma, orare looking for a highly erudite Catholic apologetic, this is a fine book to own.

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.

Cardinal Newman's piece remains the definitive work on the development of Christianity. As Christianity is a historical religion, it is essential that Christians know the history behind their religion. This is the book to discover that history! Far too many Christians today are ahistorical about their own beliefs, which causes much confusion and theological error. This work is the perfect starting point for understanding authentic Christian doctrine. I can't recommend it more. It is a must.

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.