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A Brief Introduction to the Development of Doctrine: According to the Mind of St. Thomas Aquinas
[From the Preface] In the period of Second Scholasticism (16-18th century), there was a debate concerning the development of doctrine that many have never heard of. On the one side, there was Francisco Suárez and the other were the famed Discalced Carmelites of Salamanca (the Salmanticenses). The debate was over whether theological conclusions could be defined as dogmas. Before this, theologians were unanimous in affirming that theological conclusions could be defined as dogmas (the only debate was between the Scotists and the Thomists over when the transition from theological conclusion to dogma happened).
In order to combat the dangerous theory of Suarez on this matter (the theory of continuing revelation), the Salmanticenses decided to decided to do what only one theologian in the history of Catholic thought had done before (Luis de Molina) and denied that theological conclusions had ever been defined in the history of the Church.
In the 20th century, this debate came to the forefront again. This time, within the Dominican Order. On the one hand, we had Fr. Francisco Marín-Sola, on the other, we had Fr. Réginald-Marie Schultes. The latter followed the "conservative" line of the Salmanticenses, the former went back to the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas and the 16th century Thomists to resolve the issue.
Those in English speaking Catholicism are completely unaware of these debates streching back centuries (some even believe that St. John Henry Newman was the first to invent the development of doctrine). It was my joy to find, within an appendix of the Gilby Summa, what amounts to a compendium of Fr. Marín-Sola's teaching on this issue, with due recourse to the text of St. Thomas (as one can certainly gather from the footnotes).
Thus, this work becomes the perfect antidote to those English speaking Catholics who have only hard of the Development of Doctrine in terms of Newman, but never in terms of Aquinas.
In order to combat the dangerous theory of Suarez on this matter (the theory of continuing revelation), the Salmanticenses decided to decided to do what only one theologian in the history of Catholic thought had done before (Luis de Molina) and denied that theological conclusions had ever been defined in the history of the Church.
In the 20th century, this debate came to the forefront again. This time, within the Dominican Order. On the one hand, we had Fr. Francisco Marín-Sola, on the other, we had Fr. Réginald-Marie Schultes. The latter followed the "conservative" line of the Salmanticenses, the former went back to the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas and the 16th century Thomists to resolve the issue.
Those in English speaking Catholicism are completely unaware of these debates streching back centuries (some even believe that St. John Henry Newman was the first to invent the development of doctrine). It was my joy to find, within an appendix of the Gilby Summa, what amounts to a compendium of Fr. Marín-Sola's teaching on this issue, with due recourse to the text of St. Thomas (as one can certainly gather from the footnotes).
Thus, this work becomes the perfect antidote to those English speaking Catholics who have only hard of the Development of Doctrine in terms of Newman, but never in terms of Aquinas.
67 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 28, 2023
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