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Wednesday, October 06, 2004
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Newman's Essay, Part I: On the Development of Ideas
In the everyday event in which an idea comes into our minds, it never remains static or isolated; it is immediately judged, analyzed, classified, and connected, over the course of time creating numerous aspects of that idea; some of these aspects are temporary, some permanent; some inconsistent and invalid, some quite consistent. Oftentimes, what begins as a raw idea and eventually becoming refined and codified in human institutions. Yet, in any case, such a development is only valid if it is true to its original idea and not a departure from it.
But such a process is not 'optional,' but rather necessary for an idea to reach its perfection. It cannot isolate itself into a state of decay, but must rather disengage itself from its origin and germinate over the course of time in order to be able to stand on its own and achieve its potential.
As far as Christianity is concerned, the Incarnation must be seen as the central doctrine from which all developments proceed: political developments (the Episcopate), logical (Theotokos), historical (the determination of Christ's birth), moral (the Eucharist), and metaphysical (the Athanasian creed.
# posted by Jamie : 2:50 PM
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