An Essay on the Development of Christian DoctrineNewman, John Henry
Religion
An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine
Newman, John Henry
Catholic Church -- Doctrines; Dogma, Development of
And it is recognized
as well as exemplified; recognized as distinctly by writers of the
Society of Jesus, as it is copiously exemplified by the Ante-nicene
Fathers.
3.
"Scriptures are called canonical," says Salmeron, "as having been
received and set apart by the Church into the Canon of sacred books, and
because they are to us a rule of right belief and good living; also
because they ought to rule and moderate all other doctrines, laws,
writings, whether ecclesiastical, apocryphal, or human. For as these
agree with them, or at least do not disagree, so far are they admitted;
but they are repudiated and reprobated so far as they differ from them
even in the least matter."[340:1] Again: "The main subject of Scripture
is nothing else than to treat of the God-Man, or the Man-God, Christ
Jesus, not only in the New Testament, which is open, but in the
Old. . . . . . . For whereas Scripture contains nothing but the precepts
of belief and conduct, or faith and works, the end and the means towards
it, the Creator and the creature, love of God and our neighbour,
creation and redemption, and whereas all these are found in Christ, it
follows that Christ is the proper subject of Canonical Scripture. For
all matters of faith, whether concerning Creator or creatures, are
recapitulated in Jesus, whom every heresy denies, according to that
text, 'Every spirit that divides (_solvit_) Jesus is not of God;' for He
as man is united to the Godhead, and as God to the manhood, to the
Father from whom He is born, to the Holy Ghost who proceeds at once from
Christ and the Father, to Mary his most Holy Mother, to the Church, to
Scriptures, Sacraments, Saints, Angels, the Blessed, to Divine Grace, to
the authority and ministers of the Church, so that it is rightly said
that every heresy divides Jesus."[341:1] And again: "Holy Scripture is
so fashioned and composed by the Holy Ghost as to be accommodated to all
plans, times, persons, difficulties, dangers, diseases, the expulsion of
evil, the obtaining of good, the stifling of errors, the establishment
of doctrines, the ingrafting of virtues, the averting of vices. Hence it
is deservedly compared by St. Basil to a dispensary which supplies
various medicines against every complaint. From it did the Church in the
age of Martyrs draw her firmness and fortitude; in the age of Doctors,
her wisdom and light of knowledge; in the time of heretics, the
overthrow of error; in time of prosperity, humility and moderation;
fervour and diligence, in a lukewarm time; and in times of depravity and
growing abuse, reformation from corrupt living and return to the first
estate."[341:2]
4.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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