Criteria For Doctrinal Development In The Marian Dogmas: An Essay In Metatheology

CRITERIA FOR DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE MARIAN DOGMAS: AN ESSAY IN METATHEOLOGY

By WILLIAM H. MARSHNER

MARIAN STUDIES, Vol. 28 (1977)
University of Dallas
Irving, Texas 75061

Synopsis

As a critique of recent proposals by E. J. Yarnold, S.J., and R. E. Brown, S.S., to re-think the “meaning” of certain Marian dogmas, a method is proposed for establishing the sense and reference (hence verifiability conditions, falsifiability conditions, axiomatic connexions, and metalinguistic “properties”) of these and other dogmas. It is shown that such a method forms an integral part of a general criteriology for doctrinal development. At the outset, then, the possibility and necessity of such a criteriology is defended against certain “theological theories” of doctrinal development, especially that of K. Rahner, S.J. Finally, the relevance of Henri Bouillard’s problematic of “reconceptualization” to the here proposed method and general criteriology is evaluated. Several philosophical and theological issues closely related to the main thesis are handled in footnoted discussions.
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Effectus Odit Quorum Amat Causas

W. H. MARSHNER

Triumph
Vol XI, No. 1
January 1976

Three things I take for granted. J. Fitzpatrick is 1) intelligent, 2) educated in Catholic matters, and 3) playing around with Hegel. Therefore, the following judgments seem in order.

The idea that Triumph magazine has deserted a country called America, like Tokyo Rose, shall we say, is too unreal to be taken seriously; and Fitzpatrick qua intelligent must know that.
Duty, honor and country are natural pieties not rejected but presupposed by Catholic politics, whether as conceived by Constantine, Philip II or L. Brent Bozell; and Fitzpatrick qua educated in Catholic matters must know that. Continue reading “Effectus Odit Quorum Amat Causas”

Send This Man To School

W. H. MARSHNER

Triumph
Vol. VII No. 5
May 1972

The USCC Department of Education is “helping” the American bishops to produce a pastoral letter on Catholic education, the provisional text of which I recently had occasion to see. It characterizes the rival, public education, as a “system which does not systematically embrace faith-inspired values. Such a school system,” the pastoral continues, “may seek ‘neutrality’ with regard to religious and moral values; but neutrality is impossible, since all education involves values, and morality is deeply imbedded in all formal education.”

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