newman essay on development

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Life of Cardinal Newman, Chapter 3 [covers the period in which this book was written— NR ]

TO THE REV. SAMUEL WILLIAM WAYTE, B.D. PRESIDENT OF TRINITY COLLEGE, OXFORD

M Y DEAR P RESIDENT , {v} N OT from any special interest which I anticipate you will take in this Volume, or any sympathy you will feel in its argument, or intrinsic fitness of any kind in my associating you and your Fellows with it,—

But, because I have nothing besides it to offer you, in token of my sense of the gracious compliment which you and they have paid me in making me once more a Member of a College dear to me from Undergraduate memories;—

Also, because of the happy coincidence, that whereas its first publication was contemporaneous with my leaving Oxford, its second becomes, by virtue of your act, contemporaneous with a recovery of my position there:— {vi}

Therefore it is that, without your leave or your responsibility, I take the bold step of placing your name in the first pages of what, at my age, I must consider the last print or reprint on which I shall ever be engaged.

I am, my dear President, Most sincerely yours, JOHN H. NEWMAN. February 23, 1878.

Preface to the 1878 Edition

{vii} T HE following pages were not in the first instance written to prove the divinity of the Catholic Religion, though ultimately they furnish a positive argument in its behalf, but to explain certain difficulties in its history, felt before now by the author himself, and commonly insisted on by Protestants in controversy, as serving to blunt the force of its primâ facie and general claims on our recognition.

However beautiful and promising that Religion is in theory, its history, we are told, is its best refutation; the inconsistencies, found age after age in its teaching, being as patent as the simultaneous contrarieties of religious opinion manifest in the High, Low, and Broad branches of the Church of England.

In reply to this specious objection, it is maintained in this Essay that, granting that some large variations of teaching in its long course of 1800 years exist, nevertheless, these, on examination, will be found to arise from the nature of the case, and to proceed on a law, and with a harmony and a definite drift, and with {viii} an analogy to Scripture revelations, which, instead of telling to their disadvantage, actually constitute an argument in their favour, as witnessing to a Superintending Providence and a great Design in the mode and in the circumstances of their occurrence.

Perhaps his confidence in the truth and availableness of this view has sometimes led the author to be careless and over-liberal in his concessions to Protestants of historical fact.

If this be so anywhere, he begs the reader in such cases to understand him as speaking hypothetically, and in the sense of an argumentum ad hominem and à fortiari . Nor is such hypothetical reasoning out of place in a publication which is addressed, not to theologians, but to those who as yet are not even Catholics, and who, as they read history, would scoff at any defence of Catholic doctrine which did not go the length of covering admissions in matters of fact as broad as those which are here ventured on.

In this new Edition of the Essay various important alterations have been made in the arrangement of its separate parts, and some, not indeed in its matter, but in its text.

February 2, 1878

Advertisement to the First Edition

OCULI MEI DEFECERUNT IN SALUTARE TUUM

{ix} I T is now above eleven years since the writer of the following pages, in one of the early Numbers of the Tracts for the Times, expressed himself thus:—

"Considering the high gifts, and the strong claims of the Church of Rome and her dependencies on our admiration, reverence, love, and gratitude, how could we withstand her, as we do; how could we refrain from being melted into tenderness, and rushing into communion with her, but for the words of Truth, which bid us prefer Itself to the whole world? 'He that loveth father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me.' How could we learn to be severe, and execute judgment, but for the warning of Moses against even a divinely-gifted teacher who should preach new gods, and the anathema of St. Paul even against Angels and Apostles who should bring in a new doctrine?" [Records of the Church, xxiv. p. 7.]

He little thought, when he so wrote, that the time would ever come when he should feel the obstacle, which he spoke of as lying in the way of communion with the Church of Rome, to be destitute of solid foundation.

The following work is directed towards its removal.

Having, in former publications, called attention to the {x} supposed difficulty, he considers himself bound to avow his present belief that it is imaginary.

He has neither the ability to put out of hand a finished composition, nor the wish to make a powerful and moving representation, on the great subject of which he treats. His aim will be answered, if he succeeds in suggesting thoughts, which in God's good time may quietly bear fruit, in the minds of those to whom that subject is new; and which may carry forward inquirers, who have already put themselves on the course.

If at times his tone appears positive or peremptory, he hopes this will be imputed to the scientific character of the Work, which requires a distinct statement of principles, and of the arguments which recommend them.

He hopes too he shall be excused for his frequent quotations from himself; which are necessary in order to show how he stands at present in relation to various of his former Publications.    *    *    *

L ITTLEMORE , October 6, 1845

Since the above was written, the Author has joined the Catholic Church. It was his intention and wish to have carried his Volume through the Press before deciding {xi} finally on this step. But when he had got some way in the printing, he recognized in himself a conviction of the truth of the conclusion to which the discussion leads, so clear as to supersede further deliberation. Shortly afterwards circumstances gave him the opportunity of acting upon it, and he felt that he had no warrant for refusing to do so.

His first act on his conversion was to offer his Work for revision to the proper authorities; but the offer was declined on the ground that it was written and partly printed before he was a Catholic, and that it would come before the reader in a more persuasive form, if he read it as the author wrote it.

It is scarcely necessary to add that he now submits every part of the book to the judgment of the Church, with whose doctrine, on the subjects of which he treats, he wishes all his thoughts to be coincident.

Newman Reader — Works of John Henry Newman Copyright © 2007 by The National Institute for Newman Studies. All rights reserved .

Theology 101: Newman’s Concept of Doctrinal Development

By:  Stuart Squires, Ph.D.

Although the Church does not change Her teachings, it has been recognized since at least the fifth century with Vincent of Lérins’ Commonitorium that doctrine does “develop” over time. The fullest exposition of this idea comes from Blessed John Henry Newman’s (1801-90) An Essay on the Development of Doctrine .

I would like to review Newman’s (dense) description of development because I believe that we, the Church, do not turn to him often enough in our navigation of the doctrinal challenges we face today, and that what he offers is an excellent guide pointing the way through the turbulent waters.

Newman draws a distinction between “development” and “change,” or what he calls “corruption.” He defines an authentic development as the “germination and maturation of some truth or apparent truth on a large mental field” (1.1.5.). For example, the seed form of the doctrine of the Trinity may be seen in Scripture (“the Father and I are one” (John 10:30)), but it isn’t until the fourth century at the Council of Nicea (325) that a nuanced articulation is attempted, such that we now say that the persons of the Trinity are “consubstantial” ( homoousios ).

A corruption, on the other hand, is “the breaking up of life preparatory to its termination. This resolution of a body into its component parts is the stage before its dissolution; it begins when life has reached its perfection, and it is the sequel, or rather the continuation, of that process towards perfection, being at the same time the reversal and undoing of what went before” (5.3.). For example, Newman saw the fourth century Arians, who did not believe that the persons of the Trinity are consubstantial, as offering a corruption when they introduced the idea that the Logos is part of God’s creation and, as Arius famously said, “there was a time when the Logos was not,” which stands in contrast to John’s claim that “In the beginning was the Logos and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God” (1:1).

How can we know what is a development and what is a corruption? In order to determine the difference between the two, Newman offers seven “Notes,” or litmus tests, that may be applied to any doctrine.

First Note of a Genuine Development: Preservation of Type

Newman defines this first note: “all great ideas are found, as time goes on, to involve much which was not seen at first to belong to them, and have developments, that is, enlargements, applications, uses and fortunes, very various, one security against error and perversion in the process is the maintenance of the original type which the idea presented to the world at its origin, amid and through all its apparent changes and vicissitudes from first to last” (6.intro). In order to illustrate this point, Newman offers an example: “the adult animal has the same make as it had on its birth; young birds do not grow into fishes” (5.1.1).

Second Note of a Genuine Development: Continuity of Principles

Newman defines this second note: “doctrines grow and are enlarged, principles are permanent; doctrines are intellectual, and principles are more immediately ethical and practical. Systems live in principles and represent doctrines” (5.2.1). In other words, while doctrines may develop, the principles that rest underneath those doctrines do not change. For example, while social and moral doctrines of the Church develop, the underlying principle of the dignity of the human person does not change.

Third Note of a Genuine Development: Power of Assimilation

Newman defines this third note: “doctrines and views which relate to [humans] are not placed in a void, but in the crowded world, and make way for themselves by interpenetration, and develop by absorption. Facts and opinions, which have hitherto been regarded in other relations and grouped round other centres, henceforth are gradually attracted to a new influence and subjected to a new sovereign. They are modified, laid down afresh, thrust aside, as the case may be. A new element of order and composition has come among them; and its life is proved by this capacity of expansion, without disarrangement or dissolution. An eclectic, conservative, assimilating, healing, moulding process, a unitive power, is of the essence” (5.3.1). In other words, the Church may absorb or appropriate from the culture around it that which is healthy and compatible with the gospel, but hold off that which is not.

Fourth Note of a Genuine Development: Logical Sequence

Newman defines this fourth note: “each argument is brought for an immediate purpose; minds develop step by step; without looking behind them or anticipating their goal, and without either intention or promising of forming a system. Afterwards, however, this logical character which the whole wears becomes a test that the process has been a true development, not a perversion or corruption, from its evident naturalness; and in some cases from the gravity, distinctness, precision, and majesty of its advance, and the harmony of its proportions, like the tall growth, and graceful branching, and rich foliage, of some vegetable production” (5.4.1.). In other words, any authentic development must be a consequence of an earlier, orderly sequence that logically flows into the conclusion. Newman offers the example that penance and purgatory are logical sequences following from baptismal cleansing (9.1-4). If (A) baptism washes away sin, and (B) infant baptism has become the norm, but (C) we still sin after our baptisms and are therefore in need of forgiveness, then (D) it is perfectly logical that the sacrament of reconciliation and purgatory have developed from the earlier claims.

Fifth Note of a Genuine Development: Anticipation of Its Future

Newman defines this fifth note: “since, when an idea is living, that is, influential and effective, it is sure to develop according to its own nature, and the tendencies, which are carried out on the long run, may under favourable circumstances show themselves early as well as late, and logic is the same in all ages, instances of a development which is to come, though vague and isolated, may occur from the very first, though a lapse of time be necessary to bring them to perfection. And since developments are in great measure only aspects of the idea from which they proceed, and all of them are natural consequences of it, it is often a matter of accident in what order they are carried out in individual minds; and it is in no wise strange that here and there definite specimens of advanced teaching should very early occur, which in the historical course are not found till a late date. The fact, then, of such early or recurring intimations of tendencies which afterwards are fully realized is a sort of evidence that those later and more systematic fulfillments are only in accordance with the original idea” (5.5.1). In other words, any later developed doctrine may be seen, in its infancy, from the very beginning and its development may be anticipated. For example, one may see the outlines of the features of a baby’s face in the first months that are only developed later into adulthood.

Sixth Note of a Genuine Development: Conservative Action Upon Its Past

Newman defines this sixth note: “as developments which are preceded by definite indications have a fair presumption in their favour, 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; for a corruption is a development in that very stage in which it ceases to illustrate, and begins to disturb, the acquisitions gained in its previous history” (5.6.1.). In other words, an authentic development will retain that which came before, while a corruption reverses or removes that which came before.

Seventh Note of a Genuine Development: Chronic Vigour

Newman defines this seventh note: “since the corruption of an idea, as far as the appearance goes, is a sort of accident or affection of its development, being the end of a course, and a transition state leading to a crisis, it is, as has been observed above, a brief and rapid process. While ideas live in men’s minds, they are ever enlarging into fuller development; they will not be stationary in their corruption any more than before it; and dissolution is that further state to which corruption tends. Corruption cannot, therefore, be of long standing; and thus duration is another test of a faithful development…The course of heresies is always short” (5.7.1-2.). In other words, Newman believes that any authentic development, by its very nature, robustly will endure, rather than wither away in short order.

How can we, the Body of Christ, constructively apply these seven Notes to the canon of issues in order to gain a clearer vision of the path forward when addressing the doctrinal crises of our day?

 Stuart Squires, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Theology at Brescia University.

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2 Developing but Faithful: Newman’s Revised Essay on Development

• Published: June 1992
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This chapter analyzes John Henry Newman's Essay on the Development of Doctrine . It argues that the great achievement of Newman's essay lies simply in his grasping the idea that the precise form of truth takes can change, depending in its context and the implications of its own structure, without being disloyal to its original source.

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• Notre Dame Series in Great Books

An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine

by John Henry Cardinal Newman

Foreword by Ian Ker

Series: Notre Dame Series in Great Books

480 pages , 5.25 x 8.00 in

• Published: March 1994
• ISBN 9780268009212
• ISBN 9780268158095

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• Description

An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine , reprinted from the 1878 edition, “is rightly regarded as one of the most seminal theological works ever to be written,” states Ian Ker in his foreword to this sixth edition. “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 of doctrine in the Catholic Church from the time of the Apostles to his 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 he emphasizes that throughout the entire life of the Church this principle has been in effect and safeguards the faith from any corruption.

Ian Ker is a member of the theology faculty at Oxford University. His many works include The Catholic Revival in English Literature, 1845-1961 (University of Notre Dame Press, 2003).

"It is a great boon to Newman scholars and to the general public to have available the revised, 1878 edition of Newman's essay on development. . . . As an added benefit, it contains a superb foreword by Father Ian Ker which places the essay within the context of Newman's own theological work as well as that of the theological understandings of development which preceded and followed the essay. [It] is also the profoundly personal stand of one of the finest theological minds of the nineteenth century. . . . This book belongs in every theological library, and is accessible to most educated readers. It is especially rewarding for those who find the study of history a liberating theological exercise." — The Catholic World

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Description

Explores how Catholic teaching has become more detailed and explicit over the centuries, while later statements of doctrine remain consistent with earlier statements.

An essay on the development of Christian doctrine

By john henry newman.

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• An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine

In this Book

• John Henry Cardinal Newman
• Published by: University of Notre Dame Press

An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine , reprinted from the 1878 edition, “is rightly regarded as one of the most seminal theological works ever to be written,” states Ian Ker in his foreword to this sixth edition. “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 of doctrine in the Catholic Church from the time of the Apostles to his 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 he emphasizes that throughout the entire life of the Church this principle has been in effect and safeguards the faith from any corruption.

Table of Contents

• Title Page, Copyright
• John H. Newman
• Preface to the Edition of 1878
• Advertisement to the First Edition
• Part I: Doctrinal Developments Viewed in Themselves
• Introduction
• I. On the Development of Ideas
• II. The Antecedent Argument in Behalf of Developments in Christian Doctrine
• III. On the Historical Argument in Behalf of the Existing Developments
• pp. 127-149
• IV. Instances in Illustration
• pp. 150-194
• Part II: Doctrinal Developments Viewed Relatively to Doctrinal Corruptions
• V. Genuine Developments Contrasted with Corruptions
• pp. 197-234
• VI. Application of the Seven Notes to the Existing Developments of Christian Doctrine
• pp. 235-350
• VII. Application of the Second Note of a True Development
• pp. 351-382
• VIII. Application of the Third Note of a True Development
• pp. 383-410
• IX. Application of the Fourth Note of a True Development
• pp. 411-427
• X. Application of the Fifth Note of a True Development
• pp. 428-446
• XI. Application of the Sixth Note of a True Development
• pp. 447-464
• XII. Application of the Seventh Note of a True Development
• pp. 465-473

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