Doctrinal Development Speculation

[Cure of Ars]

[quote]Protestant apologist James White concurs with Catholics on that point:

"[W]e agree with Rome that doctrine does develop" (Roman Catholic Controversy, page 83).

Despite this agreement, he has some reservations: "But we strongly disagree about how it develops (ibid., emphasis his). I assume that White concurs that the Revelation he has received is the exact same Revelation that the Apostles were bequeathed in the objective sense. Yet, he would concede that his there is an "ever-increasing understanding of the Word of God" (ibid.).

If those who oppose Catholicism can agree with White and the Catholic Church that development does occur, then the controversy can be further localized in the method, content and limits of development.[/quote]

[url="http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/a77.htm"]http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/a77.htm[/url]

[conservativecatholic]

[quote name='Cure of Ars' date='Jul 22 2004, 08:46 PM']
[url="http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/a77.htm"]http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/a77.htm[/url] [/quote]
Thanks for the link! That site is great @ defeding the Catholic Church in areas which are not easy to explain. Thanks!

Edited July 23, 2004 by conservativecatholic

[HomeTeamFamily]

i think i have a practical example of this

ok so we are down in atlanta for stuebenville conf.......msgr dale revealed to us some of the changes that were put in place by the bishop for that diocese in regards to the GIRM

so now when we come back home to charlotte, different diocese, are we obligated to follow the changes we heard in atlanta or do we still wait for our bishop to let us know......

if this is way off base please let me know and dont try and step around it, just be blunt yall haha

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='lankyswimmer' date='Jul 22 2004, 07:08 PM'] i think i have a practical example of this

ok so we are down in atlanta for stuebenville conf.......msgr dale revealed to us some of the changes that were put in place by the bishop for that diocese in regards to the GIRM

so now when we come back home to charlotte, different diocese, are we obligated to follow the changes we heard in atlanta or do we still wait for our bishop to let us know......

if this is way off base please let me know and dont try and step around it, just be blunt yall haha [/quote]
Changes in the rubrics for celebrating Mass in the Roman Rite as found in the new GIRM are not examples of 'development of doctrine'; instead, they are simply changes in the liturtical discipline of a single rite within the one Catholic Church. As I pointed out in my earlier post, when it concerns the doctrine of adoring Christ's presence in the Eucharist, the way in which that act of adoration is given can differ depending on the cultural context in which one lives, but the fact of giving adoration to Christ's Eucharistic presence is a doctrine of the Church which transcends any particular culture or time.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='lankyswimmer' date='Jul 22 2004, 11:08 PM'] i think i have a practical example of this

ok so we are down in atlanta for stuebenville conf.......msgr dale revealed to us some of the changes that were put in place by the bishop for that diocese in regards to the GIRM

so now when we come back home to charlotte, different diocese, are we obligated to follow the changes we heard in atlanta or do we still wait for our bishop to let us know......

if this is way off base please let me know and dont try and step around it, just be blunt yall haha [/quote]
Any changes made in our diocese because of the [i]GIRM[/i] were instituted at the beginning of last Advent, any changes from [i]Redemptionis Sacrementum[/i] must be implemented by this Advent.

So if you visit our diocese you go by our rules, since each Bishop is the chief liturgist of his particular diocese.

[Apotheoun]

The doctrine of coredemption is a good example of the 'development of doctrine' over time, because the term used to describe it, which only came into vogue about 500 years ago, describes a reality that is antecedent to the use of the term itself. The mysteries of the faith do not change, and in fact they cannot change, but the way in which we describe them can change, so long as the doctrinal formulation does not effect or alter the substance of the mystery which it is meant to convey.

Now it is true that this doctrine has not been declared a dogma of divine and catholic faith by the Extraordinary Magisterium, but it has been taught by the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium as a truth that is at least [i]proxima fidei[/i], which means that it belongs to revelation at least implicitly and thus is true beyond any doubt. In addition, a good argument can also be made that the doctrine of Mary's coredemption is already [i]sententia definitive tenenda[/i], in which case to deny the doctrine would be to fall into theological error, because it has already been infallibly taught through a non-defining act of the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium.

In any case, it is clear that from the earliest centuries Mary has been seen as participating in the redemption through her response to the angel Gabriel, and so, by her act of obedience to the will of God, Mary, the new Eve, untied the knot of the first Eve's disobedience, and in this way she began, as a true but secondary and dependent cause, the work of man's redemption. This being said, whether it is a doctrine [i]proxima fidei[/i] or a doctrine [i]de fide tenenda[/i], to deny the doctrine of Mary's coredemption is clearly rash and dangerous, and may even be the denial of a truth of Catholic doctrine, which would exclude one from full communion with the Catholic Church.

Doctrinal development should not be thought of as an evolutionary process through which one thing becomes something totally different; instead, it should be thought of as analogous to the natural growth of a single living organism. As an example, a baby as it grows through the different stages of its life does not become a totally different being, but is in fact one and the same being as when it was born, the only difference is that it has matured over time. In other words, the latent potencies within its being have developed and grown so that it has reached its full potential. The same holds when we look at the mysteries of the faith, because as the Church meditates upon the truths of the faith, she gains an ever deeper understanding of the realities involved, and this maturation brings greater and greater doctrinal clarity over time.

Edited July 23, 2004 by Apotheoun