Newman on Doctrinal Corruption

In Newman on Doctrinal Corruption, Saint John Henry Newman examines his understanding of history and doctrine in his own context, first as an Oxford student and professor reading Edward Gibbon and influenced by his close friend Hurrell Froude, then as a newly converted Catholic conversing with his brother Francis, and finally as an eminent Catholic during the debates over the Immaculate Conception (in conversation with Edward Pusey) and papal infallibility (in discussion with Hurrell Froude).

According to author Matthew Levering, worries over doctrinal corruption significantly influenced Newman's career. Only when we share Newman's concerns about the risk of doctrinal corruption—concerns that explain why Newman vehemently opposed theological liberalism—can we comprehend his concept of doctrinal growth. The final debate between Newman and the esteemed German Church historian Döllinger is particularly significant because it is here that Newman applies everything he has learned about the nature of history, the development of Church doctrine, the issue of private judgement, and the function of historical inquiry.