Article III: On the Evolution of the Material Object

682. Notions. - Theologians distinguish these three things: dogma, point, and article of faith.

A point of faith is a truth revealed by God.

A dogma of faith is a revealed truth proposed by the Church as to be believed.

An article of faith¹ is a revealed truth perfectly distinct from others, and therefore 1. principal or primary among the things to be believed, and 2. not seen by a special reason. It is called:

¹ Article, from the Greek arthron, signifies a certain fitting together of distinct parts, and therefore the little parts of the body fitted to one another are called joints of the members. Hence also the things credible by faith are said to be distinguished by articles, insofar as they are divided into certain parts having a certain fitting together with one another.

principal among the things to be believed, that is, either God Himself, the supernatural end to be possessed by beatitude, or something supernatural which directly and per se orders us to God and leads to God as end and beatitude, but not those things which are revealed only per accidens, in order to other things (as was said in n. 673); hence that Abraham had two sons or that Saul was the first king of Israel are not articles of faith, since per se they do not pertain to faith;

not seen or obscure by a special reason, and therefore having a particular difficulty in being believed; hence that Christ suffered, died, and was buried is only one article, because those three propositions have the same difficulty, but that on the third day He rose again is a distinct article, because the resurrection has a special difficulty in being believed.

683. Principles. On the increase of the object of faith and the progress of faith.

I. The material object of Catholic faith, that is, of the faith to be held by all, did not grow, through the succession of times, as to the substance of the articles. For the whole revealed doctrine is reduced to two highest heads, revealed from the beginning, in which all things are contained implicitly as in a brief introduction: objectively, namely, on the part of the thing, not however logically and as to us, nor formally nor virtually; namely, that God as supernatural end exists, and that He has providence concerning the salvation of man, as the Apostle says to the Hebrews XI, 6: "He who comes to God (that is, who tends to the supernatural end, for in the present order the end is not natural but supernatural, to be attained by the beatific vision) must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."

II. Up to the times of Christ and the Apostles faith grew by an objective evolution which was made through new revelations. For the explanation or objective evolution of the two fundamental articles grew through new revelations, such as the Trinity, predestination, and all eternal things for the first; all things temporally disposed toward salvation, namely, Redemption, and in this the Incarnation, passion, resurrection, and sacraments of Christ, for the second. Thus it was up to Christ, who revealed all things to His Apostles, whether by Himself, or by the Holy Spirit whom He sent, according to John XVI, 13: "When that Spirit of truth shall come, He will teach you all truth." Hence in the Apostles public revelation was consummated and completed (Council of Trent, sess. 4; prop. 21 of the Modernists).

III. From the time of the Apostles faith did not grow in itself by objective evolution, but only by subjective evolution in the minds of men. New revelations were no longer made, and therefore the object of faith did not grow simply and in itself; nevertheless it can be said to have grown according to a certain respect and as to us, that is, according to explanation or subjective evolution, insofar as its knowledge grew in us, whether through a new proposition, more distinct or urgent, by which it grew in the mind of the Church, or through more perfect knowledge, deeper inspection and understanding, by which it grows in the mind of each one of the faithful. It is, says Albert the Great, III Sent. d. 25, a. 1, "rather the progress of the faithful one in faith than of faith in the faithful one." - Moreover, the subjective evolution of the Church as to the faithful is an objective evolution, not indeed of revelation itself or of revealed truth, but of its proposition and explanation.

A. Subjective explanation in the mind of the Church (and consequently of the faithful), under the assistance of the Spirit of truth, is made in three ways:

By the distinct and accurate declaration and scientific exposition of those things which are revealed explicitly but obscurely and confusedly, when obscure revelation, by the interpretation of the Church, is rendered clear.

Thus, for example, Christ is God and man, therefore He has two natures and one person; there is one God, Father, Son, Spirit, therefore there are three persons and one nature; likewise the words: transubstantiation, consubstantial, definition ex cathedra, God-bearer.

By the explicit proposition of those things which have been revealed formally implicitly, when revelation conceived in general terms is evolved and applied to particulars.

For example, grace is necessary for every salutary work, therefore also for the beginning of faith; the Mother of God is most holy, therefore she does not have original sin; Christ is perfect God and man, therefore He has a divine and human will (and works); the particular rights and offices of the Supreme Pontiff in the primacy.

By the express, urgent, and theoretical preaching of those things which were revealed incidentally or in practice and custom, when revelation is proposed in a new mode, especially in order to meet a new error.

Thus, for example, the validity of the Baptism of children or of Baptism conferred by heretics, from the practice of baptizing or not rebaptizing; the sacramental character from the use of not rebaptizing; the presence of Christ under either species from the use of adoration or communion; the infallibility of the Supreme Pontiff from the use of defining or imposing an irreformable sentence; Christ and the Apostles, by venerating Mary, show her to be most worthy.

Thus also the dogma itself concerning the evolution of dogma becomes known from use: they explained dogmas, condemned errors, defined formulas, etc.; therefore revealed doctrine can legitimately be expounded and explained.

B. Subjective explanation in the mind of each one of the faithful grows by a twofold way:

according to the logical way, or the way of speculative explanation of concepts, by the help of science, in the same mode as was said for the faith of the Church;

according to the affective way and connaturality, under the influence of the gifts of the Holy Spirit teaching us the truths of faith as it were experimentally; by which we experience and as it were feel the truth and the true sense of revealed doctrine.²

² Which Marin-Sola shows well, La evolucion homogenea del dogma catolico.

684. Corollaries. - I. Since revelation was closed in the Apostles, it follows that nothing can pertain to Catholic faith which was not revealed to them either explicitly or at least formally implicitly. Hence those things which certain modern writers say concerning the evolution or increase of living faith or dogma as if from a seed, cannot be understood of the revealed truths themselves, but at most of subjective explanation and of theological science concerning them.

II. Likewise it follows that no other, diverse, or contrary sense of dogma can become possible than that which the Church proposes or by which the Church once understood it. "Hence that sense must perpetually be retained which holy mother Church has once declared" (Vatican Council, sess. 3, c. 4, can. 3).

III. Although the number of revealed truths does not grow, nevertheless the number of dogmas grows, that is, of revealed truths proposed by the Church: when such proposition comes, some truth begins to be of Catholic faith; dogmas also grow, that is, the proposition of revealed truths made by the Church becomes more perfect.

IV. To the aforesaid doctrine is opposed 1. the error of Hermes and Frohschammer, who think that, by the help of scientific progress, we can at some time arrive at demonstrating and penetrating mysteries; which is against the Vatican Council, sess. 3, c. 4; - likewise 2. the doctrine of Gunther and Loisy, who maintain that, by the help of the progress of science, the sense of dogmas can be changed, and become other than that which the Church has defined; which was condemned in the Vatican Council, sess. 3, c. 4 and can. 3, and by the encyclical Pascendi of Pius X, September 7, 1907, and in the Modernist propositions 21, 22, 23, and 26 condemned July 3, 1907; - a fortiori 3. the opinion of those who said that revelation was not closed at the time of the Apostles (prop. 20 of the Modernists), or that a new and more perfect economy of the Holy Spirit must be expected: thus the Montanists, Manichaeans, Fraticelli, Swedenborg, Anabaptists, Irving.

V. Once the explicit and express proposition has been made by the Church, she guards this explanation; hence per se there cannot be regression or obscuration in the explanation proposed by the Church as to a defined truth (cf. condemned prop. 95 of Quesnel and 1 of the Synod of Pistoia). Yet regression can per se occur as to the understanding of the faithful: thus at the beginning of the nineteenth century there was less knowledge of theological science than in the thirteenth century at the time of St. Thomas; likewise, exceptionally and per accidens, as to the subjective explanation of the Church, if a definition or proposition of the Church falls into total oblivion or its sense becomes doubtful, which nevertheless will happen rarely and only as to secondary truths. Let this be said, saving a better judgment.