Is The Idea Of Doctrinal Devel

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that Matthew’s gospel was written first, then it is very difficult for Catholic theologians to argue that that isn’t true, and that Mark’s gospel, for instance, was in fact the first written. Within this essay I shall be looking at different approaches to the issue before going on to try and find the most convincing solution, should that be possible.
The history of doctrine in the early nineteenth century was seen by catholic theologians as being one of pure, unsullied teaching that had been handed down by the church from the time of the Fathers to the present day. There may have been changes of language, but the concepts behind them remained immutable. The reformation scholars looked upon doctrine as having started off good and pure, but then being corrupted by the church. They sought a return to the principles and doctrines of the early church, and saw their own work as being reflective of the teaching of the apostles and early fathers.
Newman was the first British scholar to ...

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was enough indecision in the history of the church when faced with a heretic, this proved for him that ‘the authorities of the Church were frequently ignorant of the true answer to the problem raised by a heretic, and that this true answer had to be thrashed out, debated and discovered, before the Church could pronounce her mind on the question.’ This led Newman on to conclude that ‘the theology of the church is a diligent, patient, working out of one doctrine out of many materials. The conduct of Popes, Councils, Fathers, betokens the slow, painful, anxious taking up of new elements into an existing body of belief.’ (Essay, 353-4)
Lindbeck’s book suggested that there are three current ...

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