THE P RTAL
September 2011 Page 12
Newman the Theologian – The Formative Years
by Br Sean H McLaughlin FSO
Who could venture an explanation of Augustine ’ s De Civitate Dei without some insight into the atrocities which befell Rome in the early fifth century ? Or how could one understand the great Athanasius without addressing the Arian controversy ? Similarly who could understand Newman the theologian without first looking at the dramatic events of the Oxford Movement ?
The history of the Church has shown us that in times of great challenge and upheaval the work of theologians often becomes more occasional and grounded , rather than abstract and speculative . The Apologia pro vita sua , which Newman understood as an autobiographical work , shows that he made no distinction between what he describes as “ a history of my religious opinions ” and “ a history of myself ”. For Newman his life and theology were one and the same .
a man of his time
While Newman possessed a far reaching theological vision , he was very much a man of his time : a time of renewal , change and upheaval . One could say that Newman ’ s England is most suitably epitomised by what he describes as his earliest memory at the age of four , namely , the spectacle of seeing Londoners placing candles in their windows to celebrate the victory of Nelson over Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 .
Victorian England was ambitious and prosperous , an era of discovery , conquest and triumph . Britain was on her very summit as an imperial power and at a rapid pace was leading the world in the Industrial Revolution . Yet amid the vision of such optimism a great social and religious change was underway . The Industrial Revolution had transformed the demographics of the country so dramatically that the pastoral needs of many in Britain ’ s overcrowded cities were not being sufficiently addressed .
In academia theological liberalism had already taken a firm hold in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and was slowly beginning to question the basic tenets of the Christian faith . Further , many Anglicans were alarmed at what they saw as a gradual dismantling of the privileged position which the Church of England had hitherto enjoyed both politically and culturally . New legislation which had been passed through parliament seemed to have disturbed the careful balance in the relationship between Church and State , which was so essential for the good of the nation .
the eldest son of six children
It was in this milieu of change that John Henry , the eldest son of six children , was born in London in 1801 . His father , John Newman , was a wealthy City banker who hailed from Cambridgeshire , while his mother , Jemima Fourdrinier , was the daughter of a French Huguenot family .
While the Newman family were Anglican , their religiosity was of a popular Evangelical bent . At the age of seven John Henry was sent to school at Ealing . It was here that his earliest religious opinions began to take shape . Under the influence of The Revd Walter Mayers , the young Newman began to read the works of the great Evangelical Thomas Scott . It was through the study of Scott ’ s The Force of Truth that Newman , at the tender age of fifteen , experienced was he describes as his “ first conversion ”.
For Newman this “ conversion ” was the conscious decision of assent to faith in God . He describes how for the first time he came under the influence of a “ definite creed ”. This was to be the first step in a long progress of moving away from an emotive Evangelicalism to what he called a “ dogmatic faith ”.
a “ dogmatic faith ”
At fifteen Newman had not only come to a personal belief in God , but had also understood that the mysteries this faith can and must be expressed in human language – in doctrine . The experience of a “ dogmatic faith ” changed Newman ’ s life dramatically and became a defining aspect of his theological mind : “ From the age of fifteen , Dogma has been the fundamental principle of my religion : I know no other religion ; I cannot enter into the idea of any other religion ; religion , as a mere sentiment , is to me a dream and a mockery .” ( Apologia pro Vita Sua ).