Johann Adam Mohler's Influence on John Henry Newman's Theory of Doctrinal Development The Case for a Reappraisal

The question of Johann Adam Mohler's influence upon John Henry Newman's theory of doctrinal development provoked much speculation after the release of the latter's 1845 Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine. Yet scholarship of the past seventy-five years has abandoned this idea, insisting upon Newman's independence from the German theologian. The present article offers a revision of this thesis. The authors examine published and unpublished correspondences, translations of Mohler's works in Newman's library, patterns involved in Newman's citation of sources, and correlations between the two men's work that have remained unexamined. As a result of this evidence, a new picture emerges of the early evolution of Newman's theory of development and Mohler's place in it, beginning with 1840 correspondence shortly after the translation of Mohler's Unity in the Church into French, and culminating in the 1845 Essay on Development. The authors argue that Mohler's influence was not merely possible but probable, and potentially definitive in the formation of Newman's theory of Christian doctrine in relation to history.