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1hf22
Has any one read, or are they planning to read Ian Ker's Newman on Vatican II? Or any of Ker's earlier work on Newman? Any idea if it will be any good?
I was just reading the introduction to John Henry Newman's An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine last night, and it occurred to me that it is the best argument for Pope Benedict XVI's "hermeneutic of reform in continuity" I have ever read (actually, it struck me like a ton of bricks).
Indeed, I would now have to say the "hermeneutic of reform in continuity" was an idea of Newman, rather than of Benedict. And when I had a quick look around, it appears Ker's new book is the most prominent to deal with this connection.
I was just reading the introduction to John Henry Newman's An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine last night, and it occurred to me that it is the best argument for Pope Benedict XVI's "hermeneutic of reform in continuity" I have ever read (actually, it struck me like a ton of bricks).
Indeed, I would now have to say the "hermeneutic of reform in continuity" was an idea of Newman, rather than of Benedict. And when I had a quick look around, it appears Ker's new book is the most prominent to deal with this connection.
2John5918
I'm not sure that it could ever have been said that the "hermeneutic of reform in continuity" was Benedict XVI's invention. I think it was a pretty standard idea, although he may have popularised the phrase.
3hf22
>3 hf22:
Oh, this is just a personal realization. I don't think it is news to the world at large.
But I have noticed Newman's contribution often seems to be pegged as contra the idea of "Semper Idem". But actually reading it, that is not its positioning.
It is actually contra those who have noticed the historical fact of change, and therefore decided the Catholic Church has been subject to corruption or rupture. That is, it is contra the hermeneutic of rupture, as pushed by certain protestants of his time.
And therefore it has great application to ruptures currently proposed in respect of matters such as usury, marriage, slavery and religious freedom.
Oh, this is just a personal realization. I don't think it is news to the world at large.
But I have noticed Newman's contribution often seems to be pegged as contra the idea of "Semper Idem". But actually reading it, that is not its positioning.
It is actually contra those who have noticed the historical fact of change, and therefore decided the Catholic Church has been subject to corruption or rupture. That is, it is contra the hermeneutic of rupture, as pushed by certain protestants of his time.
And therefore it has great application to ruptures currently proposed in respect of matters such as usury, marriage, slavery and religious freedom.
5hf22
>4 rolandperkins:
It appears that it extrapolates Newmanʻs views onward to what he WOULD HAVE thought of Vatican TWO.
The pubisher's burb describes it as follows:
1. Considers important documents of Vatican II and how they have been distorted through exaggeration, and how Newman's own anticipations of their teachings provide a corrective hermeneutic.
2. Analyses the post-conciliar Church and the need for a 'new evangelization' of secular post-Christians, and asks whether Newman can offer any contribution to this relatively new problem.
3. Refers to the so-called charismatic dimension of the Church, an important rediscovery that has also been largely ignored or misunderstood in the years after the Council, and shows how important this dimension was for both the Anglican and Catholic Newman.
4. Examines the various charges that have been brought against the accuracy (or even truthfulness) of the account Newman gives of his religious history in the Apologia pro Vita sua.
John Henry Newman is often described as 'the Father of the Second Vatican Council'. He anticipated most of the Council's major documents, as well as being an inspiration to the theologians who were behind them. His writings offer an illuminating commentary both on the teachings of the Council and the way these have been implemented and interpreted in the post-conciliar period. This book is the first sustained attempt to consider what Newman's reaction to Vatican II would have been. As a theologian who on his own admission fought throughout his life against theological liberalism, yet who pioneered many of the themes of the Council in his own day, Newman is best described as a conservative radical who cannot be classed simply as either a conservative or liberal Catholic. At the time of the First Vatican Council, Newman adumbrated in his private letters a mini-theology of Councils, which casts much light on Vatican II and its aftermath.
Noted Newman scholar, Ian Ker, argues that Newman would have greatly welcomed the reforms of the Council, but would have seen them in the light of his theory of doctrinal development, insisting that they must certainly be understood as changes but changes in continuity rather than discontinuity with the Church's tradition and past teachings. He would therefore have endorsed the so-called 'hermeneutic of reform in continuity' in regard to Vatican II, a hermeneutic first formulated by Pope Benedict XVI and subsequently confirmed by his successor, Pope Francis, and rejected both 'progressive' and ultra-conservative interpretations of the Council as a revolutionary event. Newman believed that what Councils fail to speak of is of great importance, and so a final chapter considers the kind of evangelization — a topic notably absent from the documents of Vatican II — Newman thought appropriate in the face of secularization.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1: The Conservative Radical
2: The Hermeneutic of Change in Continuity
3: Towards a Theology of Councils
4: The Charismatic Church
5: Some Unintended Consequences of Vatican II
6: Secularization and the New Evangelization
Conclusion
It appears that it extrapolates Newmanʻs views onward to what he WOULD HAVE thought of Vatican TWO.
The pubisher's burb describes it as follows:
1. Considers important documents of Vatican II and how they have been distorted through exaggeration, and how Newman's own anticipations of their teachings provide a corrective hermeneutic.
2. Analyses the post-conciliar Church and the need for a 'new evangelization' of secular post-Christians, and asks whether Newman can offer any contribution to this relatively new problem.
3. Refers to the so-called charismatic dimension of the Church, an important rediscovery that has also been largely ignored or misunderstood in the years after the Council, and shows how important this dimension was for both the Anglican and Catholic Newman.
4. Examines the various charges that have been brought against the accuracy (or even truthfulness) of the account Newman gives of his religious history in the Apologia pro Vita sua.
John Henry Newman is often described as 'the Father of the Second Vatican Council'. He anticipated most of the Council's major documents, as well as being an inspiration to the theologians who were behind them. His writings offer an illuminating commentary both on the teachings of the Council and the way these have been implemented and interpreted in the post-conciliar period. This book is the first sustained attempt to consider what Newman's reaction to Vatican II would have been. As a theologian who on his own admission fought throughout his life against theological liberalism, yet who pioneered many of the themes of the Council in his own day, Newman is best described as a conservative radical who cannot be classed simply as either a conservative or liberal Catholic. At the time of the First Vatican Council, Newman adumbrated in his private letters a mini-theology of Councils, which casts much light on Vatican II and its aftermath.
Noted Newman scholar, Ian Ker, argues that Newman would have greatly welcomed the reforms of the Council, but would have seen them in the light of his theory of doctrinal development, insisting that they must certainly be understood as changes but changes in continuity rather than discontinuity with the Church's tradition and past teachings. He would therefore have endorsed the so-called 'hermeneutic of reform in continuity' in regard to Vatican II, a hermeneutic first formulated by Pope Benedict XVI and subsequently confirmed by his successor, Pope Francis, and rejected both 'progressive' and ultra-conservative interpretations of the Council as a revolutionary event. Newman believed that what Councils fail to speak of is of great importance, and so a final chapter considers the kind of evangelization — a topic notably absent from the documents of Vatican II — Newman thought appropriate in the face of secularization.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1: The Conservative Radical
2: The Hermeneutic of Change in Continuity
3: Towards a Theology of Councils
4: The Charismatic Church
5: Some Unintended Consequences of Vatican II
6: Secularization and the New Evangelization
Conclusion
7MMcM
>1 hf22: Or any of Ker's earlier work
Yes.
Ker is, of course, today's preeminent Newman scholar. His knowledge of the material is unrivaled. It was he that the Beeb dug up to have Paxo bait about Newman's sexuality when the Cardinal's remains were to be reinterred, though the result was actually some now-famous technical difficulties.
John Henry Newman : a Biography is a solid objective biography, relying heavily on letters and other primary sources and mostly leaving out the biographer's own perspective. Its shortcoming is, perhaps, that it does not present more context. The other players in the Oxford Movement tend to be one-dimensional. There is very little on the brothers: Frank, the vegetarian philologist, and Charles, the reclusive non-believer. Even the relationship with Mozley felt incomplete.
Similarly, in The Catholic Revival in English Literature, the subjects other than Newman seem to get short shrift. There are better biographies than G. K. Chesterton : a Biography.
The Achievement Of John Henry Newman: Theology is back on solid ground, synthesizing the work of a prolific author and making credible claims for some original ideas.
This summer's new book has not yet shown up in the stacks at the local Jesuit university, though I am certain it is on order. I should reserve judgment, but admit to some skepticism about the idea of channeling a high-Victorian anti-Whig to tell us what theological reform during the Cold War means for post-colonial, post-religious times.
Yes.
Ker is, of course, today's preeminent Newman scholar. His knowledge of the material is unrivaled. It was he that the Beeb dug up to have Paxo bait about Newman's sexuality when the Cardinal's remains were to be reinterred, though the result was actually some now-famous technical difficulties.
John Henry Newman : a Biography is a solid objective biography, relying heavily on letters and other primary sources and mostly leaving out the biographer's own perspective. Its shortcoming is, perhaps, that it does not present more context. The other players in the Oxford Movement tend to be one-dimensional. There is very little on the brothers: Frank, the vegetarian philologist, and Charles, the reclusive non-believer. Even the relationship with Mozley felt incomplete.
Similarly, in The Catholic Revival in English Literature, the subjects other than Newman seem to get short shrift. There are better biographies than G. K. Chesterton : a Biography.
The Achievement Of John Henry Newman: Theology is back on solid ground, synthesizing the work of a prolific author and making credible claims for some original ideas.
This summer's new book has not yet shown up in the stacks at the local Jesuit university, though I am certain it is on order. I should reserve judgment, but admit to some skepticism about the idea of channeling a high-Victorian anti-Whig to tell us what theological reform during the Cold War means for post-colonial, post-religious times.
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