Ma`rifat Adyan

Christianity has always been faced with the challenge of changing doctrines. The question is whether it is acceptable to change religious teachings? In Newman's view, the Catholic Church's correct answer to this problem is the theory of "development of Christian doctrine." He considers development to be inevitable for any living thought. Understanding a profound idea is not possible without passing a long time and deep reflection. Divine Revelation is alive only with a true development. The Apostles understood Divine Revelation only to a certain extent. In the process of subsequent developments, with the realization of new revelations, its original aspects were understood and guaranteed by infallible Authority. Based on the characteristics of early Christianity, Newman considered doctrinal evolution to be expected and necessary, and based on the characteristics of current Christian doctrines, he considered them to be the same expected developments and acting on them to be a logical duty. He has presented seven criteria to distinguish true development from corruption. This theory is not free from fundamental Disadvantages, such as relying on weak evidence and ignoring opposing evidence, and therefore it is incapable of solving the problem. The authors of this article have attempted to analyze this theory by using the method of documentary studies.