Originally published at crisis magazine
Of Protestantism’s problems (of which there are many), one which does not provoke sufficient comment is its account of doctrinal development. For many Protestants, the very idea of such a concept seems patently illegitimate and unbiblical—how could doctrine develop? Isn’t that akin to saying that Christianity is subject to evolutionary forces, that it is not absolute?
Yet even a cursory study of Christian history reveals that some account of doctrinal development is inevitable (more on that below). Few people have understood this as well as St. John Henry Newman, whose feast day we celebrate today. Indeed, as demonstrated in an excellent new book by Guy Mansini, O.S.B., titled The Development of Dogma: A Systematic Account, we owe much to the Anglican clergyman-turned-Catholic-cardinal for clarifying the meaning and scope of doctrinal development.
What is the development of doctrine? Mansini defines it as “the unfolding of Christian faith into hitherto unformulated and undefined doctrinal propositions…. The successive unfolding of the one, once-and-for-all revelation of God, completed by and in Christ and first possessed by apostolic faith, into newly articulated doctrines.” Though the idea of doctrinal development is presumed even within the pages of Holy Scripture itself (“You have heard it said to
