THE 733 Tradition and the Development of Doctrine
This course will explore the meaning of Tradition and its relation to Sacred Scripture, touching upon such issues as the material sufficiency of sacred Scripture and its relation to the Reformation doctrine sola scriptura. The monuments of Tradition are studied with a view to recognizing the complementarity between Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. The study of Tradition readily leads to an exposition of the development of doctrine within the Catholic Church. The course investigates such development beginning with Cardinal John Newman's text, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, wherein the development of doctrine answers the questions of how the Catholic Church's teaching extended into every generation after the close of the Apostolic Age. The study of the development of doctrine follows various authors from Newman to the present day.