Theories of Doctrinal Development in the Catholic Church

Bringing a longue durée perspective to the issue, this book traces different theories of doctrinal development from antiquity to the present day.

Michael Seewald (Author), David West (Translated by)

9781009272001, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 March 2023

240 pages
23.5 x 15.4 x 1.7 cm, 0.47 kg

'Doesn't dogma smell of eternity? Especially in the Catholic Church, which, they say, is humankind's oldest religious institution? Michael Seewald, Catholic dogmatist at the University of Münster, has given this idealistic understanding of dogma a first-class funeral … Seewald has written a sparkling book, one that does nonetheless require an interest in the finer points of theology. It takes up the research carried out in academic theology over the last few decades - and goes beyond it.' Helmut Zander, Professor for the Comparative History of Religion, Université de Fribourg (Switzerland), Neue Zürcher Zeitung

The contemporary Catholic Church finds itself in deep crisis as it questions which elements are essential to the Catholic faith, and which can be changed. Bringing a longue durée perspective to this issue, Michael Seewald historicizes the problem and investigates how theologians of the past addressed it in light of the challenges that they faced in their time. He explores the intense intellectual efforts made by theologians to explain how new components were added to Christian doctrine over time, and that dogma has always been subject to change. Acknowledging the historic cleavage between 'conservatives' who refer to tradition, and reformers, who formulate their arguments to address contemporary needs, Seewald shows that Catholic thought is intellectually expansive, enabling the Church to be transformed in order to meet the challenges of the present day. His book demonstrates how theology has dealt with the realization that there is a simultaneity of continuity and discontinuity in doctrinal matters.

1. Defining dogma and development
2. The Bible: both product and yardstick of doctrinal development
3. How the early Church reflected on doctrinal continuity and change
4. Discussions in the Middle Ages on changes to the unchanging faith
Theories of doctrinal development in the nineteenth and early twentieth century
6. The twentieth century: from anti-modernism to the Second Vatican Council
7. Overview and outlook.

Subject Areas: Christian theology [HRCM], Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church [HRCC7], Philosophy of religion [HRAB]