The Genesis of Doctrine: A Study in the Foundations of Doctrinal Criticism

by Alister E. McGrath

What is doctrine? How may a doctrinal statement made in the past have any authority in the modern period? And how may doctrinal statements be evaluated and criticized? These questions are of central importance to Christian theology, and have important consequences for the Christian churches. In the course of its historical and theological analysis, this study presents an investigation of the conditions under which Christian doctrine came into existence, and the nature of doctrine itself. "The Genesis of Doctrine", based on the 1990 Bampton Lectures at Oxford University, explores a range of fundamental issues relating to the nature of doctrine, including the social functions of Christian doctrine, the relation between doctrine and scripture, the external referents of doctrine, and the impact of historicism and the sociology of knowledge for an understanding of doctrine. A major theme of this book is the influence of ideology upon Christian theology. Exploring this theme with particular reference to the question of the theological authority of the past in the modern period, McGrath aims to provide an assessment of the relation between "liberal" and "conservative" approaches to theology which is certain to generate intense debate.

Genres: Theology, Christianity

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Alister Edgar McGrath is a Northern Irish theologian, priest, intellectual historian, scientist, and Christian apologist. He currently holds the Andreas Idreos Professorship in Science and Religion in the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford, and is Professor of Divinity at Gresham College. He was previously Professor of Theology, Ministry, and Education at King's College London and Head of the Centre for Theology, Religion and Culture, Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Oxford, and was principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, until 2005. He is an Anglican priest and is ordained within the Church of England.

Aside from being a faculty member at Oxford, McGrath has also taught at Cambridge University and is a Teaching Fellow at Regent College. McGrath holds three doctorates from the University of Oxford, a DPhil in Molecular Biophysics, a Doctor of Divinity in Theology and a Doctor of Letters in Intellectual History.

McGrath is noted for his work in historical theology, systematic theology, and the relationship between science and religion, as well as his writings on apologetics. He is also known for his opposition to New Atheism and antireligionism and his advocacy of theological critical realism. Among his best-known books are The Twilight of Atheism, The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine, Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life, and A Scientific Theology. He is also the author of a number of popular textbooks on theology.

Reviews

[Neil White · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to preface my remarks by saying this is not an area where I focus a lot of attention and so others who spend a lot of time in historical theology may find this work more illuminating and an easier read. There are some really good insights in the work, but this alternative proposal to George Lindbeck's The Nature of Doctrine is a dry read for a person who has a passing interest in a philosophical approach to studying the development of doctrine/dogma in Catholic/Orthodox and early Protestant congregations.

[Marcio Neves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uma leitura densa, muito bem pesquisada e bem ampla para a discussão da gênese da doutrina, em que "a doutrina cristã é uma resposta à história de Jesus de Nazaré. [...] Essa história é mediada pela tradição e está socialmente incorporada a uma comunidade orientada pela tradição, cuja anamnese de seu evento fundacional e legitimador molda seu senso de identidade, compromisso e propósito. [...] Dentro da comunidade de fé, porém, Jesus de Nazaré continua a ser o objeto central de adoração, devoção e deslumbramento. E nesse deslumbramento está a gênese da doutrina" (p.216).

[Joshua Loftin · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Doctrinal criticism obliges us to to ask what specific theological insights lie behind a specific doctrinal formulation, and what specific historical contingencies influences both those things and the manner in which they were thus articulated, with a view to restating that formulation.” (8)

(37) Doctrine has been understood to possess four major dimensions:
- doctrine functions as a social demarcator
- doctrine is generated by, and interprets the Christian narrative
- doctrine interprets experience
- doctrine makes truth claims