UNIT I- INTRODUCTION

ICD/PV/BD I & II/1

1. Meaning of Doctrines
Doctrine (from Latin: doctrina) is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions,
taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or
belief system. The Greek analogue is the etymology of catechism. Often doctrine specifically
suggests a body of religious principles as it is promulgated by a church, but not necessarily.
Christian doctrine is the response to the Christian Church to God, as He has revealed
himself, especially in Scripture and through Jesus Christ. According to Alister E. McGrath,
Christian doctrine is an obedient, responsible and faithful attempt to make sense of the cluster
of astonishing and exciting possibilities opened up by the coming of Jesus Christ. Doctrine
serves four major purposes, according to McGrath:
1. To tell the truth about the way things are.
2. To respond to the self-revelation of God.
3. To address, interpret and transform human experience, and
4. To give a sense of identity and purpose to Christians, as individuals and as a community.
2. Nature of Doctrines: Theological Constructs of Particular Communities in a Particular
Time: Doctrines are contextually formulated and Reformulated: Difference between
Doctrines and Dogmas

According to Owen C. Thomas, dogma is one of the main forms of tradition. For him, dogma is
official teaching, those doctrines explicitly formulated by duly constituted authority in the
Church.1 Dogma does not cover the whole of Christian doctrine but only certain points which
became the subject of debate and were determined by church authorities such as the early
church councils. These councils articulated dogma in the area of the trinity and Christology but
not on the atonement or the church, for example.
According to John Macquarrie, a dogma would seem to have at least three distinguishing
marks2i: firstly, it has its basis in the revelation; secondly it is proposed by the Church, as
expressing the mind of the community on a particular issue; and thirdly, it has a conceptual and
propositional form, being often expressed in a philosophical terminology. Dogmas were usually
formulated when there was a threat that the Church’s teaching in some area might be gravely
distorted, and it had become necessary to state more precisely than had ever been done before
just what the Church’s teaching in this matter might be. Thus dogmas are interpretations. For
historical reasons, some areas of the Church’s teaching (such as the doctrine of the person of
Christ) were interpreted rather precisely, while other areas (such as the doctrine of the work of
Christ) were much less closely interpreted. However, what may have been an interpretation in
1
Owen C. Thomas, Introduction to Theology, 52.
2
John Macquarrie, Principles of Christian Theology, 180.

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former centuries will almost certainly stand in need of reinterpretation today, especially if it
uses the language of an outmoded philosophy.
Dogmas were usually formulated to exclude particular errors, so that they are frequently more
explicit in what they rule out than in what they affirm. Karl Rahner comments on Christological
dogma like this: “The clearest formulations, the most sanctified formulas, the classic
condensations of the centuries-long work of the Church in prayer, reflection and struggle
concerning God’s mysteries; all these derive their life from the fact that they are not end but
beginning, not goals but means, truths which open the way to the ever greater Truth.”

2. Relationship between Faith and Doctrines

Doctrine and faith are so inseparable that doctrine determines destiny. Who and what we
believe in affects eternal destiny. Christ's true church, though, must make sure that its doctrine
is sound (2 Timothy 1:10Savior Jesus Christ; 4:2-4; Titus 1:9; 2:1); pure and scriptural (2 Timothy
3:14-17). It must be held in love that is, meekly and gently (yet firmly and uncompromisingly)
presented in all its balance and beauty (1 Corinthians 13:1-6)

Our doctrine affects fellowship. There can be no partnership unless both partners are walking in
the light (1 John 1:1-7). In fact the measure of common light between believers will partially
determine the measure of the fellowship and co-operation.

What we believe affects and even determines our character. Believing affects being, and being
affects doing. If we follow sound doctrine, it will bring about a development of the divine
nature and the character of Christ within us. Paul exhorted his fellow-laborer to "take heed to
thyself and the doctrine" (1 Timothy 4:6,16). And again, "Give attendance ...to doctrine" (1
Timothy 4:13). Conversely, by our holy life we are to adorn the doctrine (Titus 2:7-10).
It is the faith that marks us as Christians, the life self-consciously lived in love of God and
neighbor according to Jesus ‘precepts, then we can disagree on doctrines and still share this
faith. What matters most are the centrality of the Christ in our lives, not the doctrine with
which we explain this centrality. So let us disagree and argue about doctrine. We can do this
and still admit that the other person's mistaken doctrines are valid religious beliefs. And
certainly doctrine is important enough to deserve our study and debate, for it is the way we try
to understand and explain our faith. But at the same time we need to recognize that doctrine is
not faith, and, that the faith, which unites us, is more important than the doctrine which divides
us.
According to Jurgen Moltmann, “theological fellowship always reaches beyond our own
present denominational, cultural and political limitations. Today Christian theology has to be
developed in ecumenical fellowship.”

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3. The Relationship between Apostolic Faith, Historic Church and Contemporary-
Contextual Realities
In the New Testament the conditions of membership in the Church were fairly clear: baptism in
the name of Jesus, confession of faith in Jesus as Lord, and participation in the Eucharist. In the
second and third centuries there was added to this the affirmation of the rule of faith and being
in communion with a bishop in an apostolic see (diocese).
With the rise of the primacy of the Roman see there was also added the condition that the
bishop in question must be in communion with the bishop of Rome. At the East-West split the
Eastern Church obviously denied that communion with the bishop of Rome was a condition of
membership in the church. The Reformers defined the limits of the church somewhat more
vaguely in terms of the proper preaching of the word and administration of the sacraments.
Some theologians, notably Anglicans, have argued that communion not with the bishop of
Rome but with a bishop standing in the apostolic succession is an essential element in the
definition of the limits of the church. Other theologians have argued that apostolic succession
belongs to the fullness of the church rather than to its essence.
Though the New Testament as well as the creeds affirms the unity of the church, that there is
but one Church. The one God has called the one Church into being to proclaim to the world the
gospel of atonement, literally at-one-ment in order that the world may be reconciled to God
and may be at unity in itself. Yet the church is divided based on different doctrines.

We can see a gradual development of doctrines in history with a continuous progress

from the apostolic period. In the Bible we see the foundation of the Church’s preaching,
teaching, worship and action. Bible gives us the content of Christian faith in the apostles as well
as in the early Church. The Church interpreted the Bible and Christian faith and lived them out
in the various periods of Christian history.
In the first centuries the Church faced the realities of both distortion of Christian faith
with in the Church and with attack from outside. During the time of apostles, their instructions
were authoritative (epistles). From the second century on ward the fundamental ideas of the
Bible needed to be interpreted to defend against false teachings. The criteria for the
development of such doctrinal formulations were to do justice to biblical explanations as well
as to address the contemporary issues.
4. Relationship between Doctrines and Faith-praxis
Christian praxis is something that goes beyond practices, actions, or behaviors. Praxis is
described as a combination of reflection and action that realizes the historicity of human
persons. In this sense actions are realized in light of the way they affect history. History has to
be seen as a whole, combining in an incarnational way, our salvation history and our "human"
history. Most liberation theologians see Christian theological praxis mainly as lived and
expressed in the life of community. "Any discourse of faith starts from, and takes its bearings
from, the Christian life of Community" This is where a community is said to become an

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expression of the presence of the Kingdom of God, so long as it is being true to its calling to
Christian praxis. This has been the vision shared by the basic ecclesial communities, which
follow a pattern of Christian praxis based on what Gustavo Gutierrez said: "To be followers of
Jesus requires that we walk with and be committed to the poor; when [we] do, we experience
an encounter with the Lord who is simultaneously revealed and hidden in the faces of the poor".

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