How does one distinguish between a faithful development of doctrine and a change that is corruption? John Henry Newman suggests “seven Notes of varying cogency, independence and applicability, to discriminate healthy developments of an idea from its state of corruption and decay.” These serve as his litmus tests that may be applied to any doctrine.
In a genuine development of doctrine we find
- preservation of one and the same type
- continuity of the same principles
- power of assimilation into the same organization
- logical consequence of an earlier sequence
- anticipation of subsequent phases in its beginnings
- preservation of that which came before
- vigour to endure
John Henry Newman, An Essay on the Development of Doctrine (1845, 1878)
