[Mrs. Don-o]

Oh boy. Thanks for your question, but I don't know where to begin.

"Spirit-sourced development of doctrine. "

First of all, the Holy Spirit is the principal author of both the "Book of Nature" and the "Book of Scripture." By this I mean, the Holy Spirit is the Creator of both all that is natural and all that is supernatural.

Second of all, living things (both living plant/animal life and living doctrinal truths) develop from their own already-inbuilt nature. There is a difference between something being, shall we say, "manufactured", by which you add on materials and parts externally, and something "developing," by which it grows according to its innate design.

To manufacturing and developing,you could note a third kind of change, called corruption (or decaying or decomposition.) That's what happens when a thing loses its internal coherence and falls apart.

With me so far?

I'm saying that the Holy Spirit fosters "development of doctrine" by directing the kind of change which does not negate, but rather more fully expresses what is already inherent or innate in the original doctrine.

I think this organic analogy is more fully expressed by John Henry Newman in his classic work On the Development of Doctrine. In his fifth chapter, he notes seven criteria by which you can tell the difference between real development of doctrine (this would be Spirit-sourced), and its opposite, the corruption of doctrine.

If I may just briefly present these seven differences:

1. Preservation of Type

2. Continuity of Principles

3. Power of Assimilation

4. Logical Sequence

5. Anticipation of Its Future

6. Conservative Action upon Its Past

7. Chronic Vigor

Here's a Newman Link.

Worth looking into.

I trust I have made myself sufficiently obscure?

Any questions?

[yoe]

Thank you so much...have printed out to read again slowly.
I do have a question....have a relative who says when ‘Salumet’ speaks, she listens. Is this a form of idoaltery? Thanks.