Newman Theological College Edmonton, Alberta, Canada The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Theological Method of Bernard Lonergan Matthew G. Hysell, M.A., M.Th. (Cand.) Submitted to Prof Dr Gwen Miller MTH-: Research and Method in Theology Fall Semester 2008 Revised 25 February 2011
What is the difference between "dogmatic theology" and "systematic theology"? Bernard Lonergan gives us a useful answer.
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Newman Theological College
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way
In the Theological Method of Bernard Lonergan
Matthew G. Hysell, M.A., M.Th. (Cand.)
Submitted to Prof Dr Gwen Miller
MTH-: Research and Method in Theology
Fall Semester 2008
Revised 25 February 2011
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
2
Introduction:
‘Dogmatics’ versus ‘Systematics’
What difference is there, if any, between „systematic theology‟ and „dogmatic theology‟? One
might venture to guess that the more „conservative‟ or „Roman‟ seminaries such as St Joseph‟s
Seminary at Dunwoodie (Archdiocese of New York) would employ the description „dogmatic
theology‟1 whereas the more „moderate‟ faculties such as St Patrick‟s Seminary and University
in Menlo Park would instead employ “systematic theology.”2 Yet the category of
characteristically „conservative‟ or „Roman‟ seminaries such as St Charles Borromeo Seminary3
(Archdiocese of Philadelphia), Mount St Mary‟s Seminary4 (Archdiocese of Baltimore) all use
the “systematic theology.” In fact, it appears that St Joseph‟s Seminary at Dunwoodie is the only
Catholic theological faculty to use “dogmatic theology” to describe its theological curriculum.
Significantly, however, the description “dogmatic theology” finds wider usage among
Orthodox theological faculties such as Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology5 (Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of North America) and Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary6 in Jordanville
(Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia). Yet there is some irregularity in the usage of
„systematic‟ versus „dogmatic‟ because whereas St Vladimir‟s Orthodox Theological Seminary
1 As evidenced by the titles of professors, e.g. professor of “Dogmatic Theology.” See Archdiocese of New York,
“Faculty”, on the Web at http://www.archny.org/seminary/st-josephs-seminary-dunwoodie/administration/, retrieved 24 January
2009. 2 On the Web at http://www.stpatricksseminary.org/Prog%20Academic%20MA.aspx, retrieved 24 January 2009. In a
private correspondence with Revd Frederick Cwiekowski SS, chair of the Department of Systematic Theology at St Patrick‟s
Seminary and University, “…SD refers to Systematic (theology) Dogma; SL, systematic (theology) liturgy; SH history. This
reflects our practice here of putting liturgy and history under systematic… We use D to distinguish the title [i.e. “dogma”] from
History or Liturgy or Moral. While we recognize the dogmatic basis of what we teach, we, as with many others, use systematic
to recall that the topic being studied relates to others, has gone [through] development over the years, etc.” 18 January 2009. 3 St Charles Borromeo Seminary, Course Catalogue 2006-2008 (Wynnewood, PA), 65, 83-84, on the Web at
http://scs.edu/offices/semcat2006-2008.pdf/, retrieved 24 January 2009. 4 Mount St Mary‟s Seminary, Seminary Catalogue (Emmitsburg, MD: Archdiocese of Baltimore, 2008), 28, 43-45, on the
Web at www.msmary.edu/seminary.Catalogue/Seminary Catalogue/ 0709 highres.pdf/, retrieved 24 January 2009. 5 Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology Course Catalogue 2008-
2009 (Boston, MA: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America), 41. On the Web at http://passthrough.fw-
notify.net/download/379576/http://holycross.hchc.edu/assets/files/Catalogues/SOTCourseCatalog.pdf, retrieved 26 January 2009. 6 On the Web at http://www.hts.edu/seminary/front/en/academics.html, retrieved 26 January 2009.
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
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in Crestwood describes a faculty of “systematic theology and ethics”, St Tikhon‟s Orthodox
Theological Seminary in South Canaan has a faculty of “dogmatic theology”,7 even though both
academies are operated by the same jurisdiction.
Indeed, there is a certain amount of inconsistency in the usage of either “dogmatic” or
“systematic” theology. Significantly, however, whereas “systematic theology” would include
theological ethics/moral theology, liturgical and sacramental theology, and spirituality,
“dogmatic theology” would not, instead focusing on the various domains of theological
reflection in the economy of salvation: Triadology, Christology, Pneumatology, and so forth.
In this essay, we will look at not only the normative distinctions between the descriptions
<dogmatics> and <systematics>, but we will also seek a prescriptive distinction, first following
some suggestions by Fr Bernard Lonergan‟s De Deo Trino, and then by offering a number of
personal reflections on distinguishing the two types of theological methods based upon Magnus
Lohrer‟s theory of “kerygma and dogma.”
We begin with the fairly straightforward term <theology>, which derives from the Greek
noun theologia, „discourse about God‟, or more colloquially, „God-talk.‟ According to the
Christian faith, theology is divided into two broad categories, the so-called „preamble of faith‟
which corresponds more or less to what has been called „natural theology‟, and „sacred
theology‟, which corresponds to the careful attention and reflection given to Divine Revelation.
As the late +John Paul II wrote, “A Faculty of Sacred Theology has the aim of profoundly
studying and systematically explaining according to the scientific method proper to it, Catholic
doctrine, derived with the greatest care from divine revelation.”8
7 On the Web at http://www.stots.edu/master_of_divinity.html, retrieved 24 January 2009. 8 JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Constitution « Sapientia Christiana » (Città del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1979), art.
66. On the Web at http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-
ii_apc_15041979_sapientia-christiana_en.html, retrieved 26 January 2009.
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
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History of <Dogma>
We begin with a philological analysis of the term „dogma‟. The noun „dogma‟ is derived from
the Koine Greek dogma (pl. dogmatos), having the primary meaning of “a formal statement
concerning rules or regulations that are to be observed” (BDAG, 254). In the Lukan infancy
narrative, for instance, the “decree” of Caesar Augustus to take a census of his subjects in the
Roman Empire was called a “dogma”: “In those days a decree [Gk. dogma] went out from
Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled” (2:1). Significantly, the mitzvoth of the
Mosaic Law were called dogmata (cf. Col 1:14, 2:20; Eph 2:15). Perhaps the most relevant
instances of dogma, -atos to Christian faith is to be found in the so-called „Jerusalem
Conference‟ of Acts 15:1-35. In Acts 16:4, St Luke the Evangelist calls the decisions of the
Jerusalem Conference a „dogma‟: As they [Sts Paul and Barnabas] went from town to town,
they delivered to them for observance the decisions [Gk. dogmata] that had been reached by the
apostles and elders where were in Jerusalem” (cf. 15:22, 25, 28).
A secondary meaning to dogma, -ata is given by BDAG as “something that is taught as
an established tenet or staement of belief, doctrine, dogma” (254). In this case, dogma, -ata is
related to the infinitive verb dokein: “to consider as probable, think, believe, suppose, consider”;
“to appear to one‟s understanding, seem, be recognized as” (254-255).
The notion of „dogma‟ as a distinctly Christian enterprise emerges early in the New
Testament. St Paul the Apostle, in expressing the paramount importance of faith, insists that the
act of believing entails „profession‟ or „confession‟: “But what does it say? „The Word is near
you, on your lips and in your heart‟ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you
confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
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dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:8-9). In the liturgical hymns of deutero-Paul, there are already
fixed, creedal expressions of faith, especially the Christ-Hymn of Phil 2:5-11 and the act of faith
in the Resurrection in 1 Cor 15:1-3. There is already a normatively fixed homologia or
homologein--those early „Rules of Faith‟ such as “Jesus is Lord!” and “Jesus is the Son of God”
(cf. Rom 10:9; 1 Tim 6:12; Heb 4:14; 1 Jn 4:15). Complementary to the above normative
homologia/homologein are the prescriptive injunctions to maintain “sound doctrine” (Ti 1:9, 2:1;
cf. 2 Tim 1:14, 2:25, 3:7).9 It would appear that the injunction to hold fast to “sound doctrine”
represents an early instance of the Church‟s juridical munius (i.e., the „royal‟ or „kingly‟ office of
Christ being exercised in the community of the faithful). Those homologia/homologein, on the
other hand, I would suggest, represents a patently pneumalogical aspect of the profession of
faith.
However, the faith of the Church is not only „dogmatic.‟ It is also „kerygmatic.‟ In fact,
kerygma, the Church‟s proclamation of faith, is prior to dogma, the latter being a may of pithily
summarizing an article of faith found in the kerygma. Thus we cannot speak of dogma alone,
but must always paired with kerygma. The above-mentioned homologia represents a
„crystallization‟ (not a stasis) of the kerygma which reaches „completion‟ in an official
pronouncement.
Taking the „Jerusalem Conference‟ as an example, the “dogma” which outlined basic
moral imperatives emerged from the experiences of the preaching “kerygma” of Sts Peter and
Paul (Acts 15:7-9, 12) that mere faith, rather than the observances of the Mosaic Law, brings the
believer into a graced fellowship with God (cf. v. 9b). Richard Dillon and Joseph Fitzmyer point
out that the verdict issued by St James of Jerusalem (= “the Brother of the Lord”, Adelphotheos
9 See G. F. MANSINI, “Dogma”, in R. LATOURELLE and R. FISICHELLA, ed., Dictionary of Fundamental Theology (New York,
NY: Crossroad, 1994), 241-242.
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
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in the Eastern tradition) employs the verb krinō, which “can possibly mean, „I decree‟…” and
that “the „decree‟ seems to emanate from the assembly and the „whole church‟.” With James
saying, based upon the testimonies (= kerygma) of both St Peter and Sts Paul and Barnabas,
“Therefore my judgment [dio egō krinō]” and the decree itself reading “For it seemed good to
the Holy Spirit and us…” we can conclude that, at least by the composition of Acts or at most by
ca. A.D. 49, the Lukan (or Pauline?) churches attached a juridical prerogative to the Jerusalem
leadership for issuing statements (= „dogma‟) regarding faith-related practices.
Although the term „dogma‟ can be easily defined, the history of its use is by no means
simple. It was not until approximately the eighteenth century that “dogmatics” or “dogmatic
theology” came into vogue. To drive this home Gerald O‟Collins once asked: “[…] Has dogma
a future? In this concluding chapter I answer: It did not have a past.”10
Remarking on the use of
titles including Dogmengeschichte, he accuses the authors of “writing history backwards”.11
In
a similar vein, Alister McGrath, an Oxford theologian in the Reformed tradition (though he is a
confessional Anglican), writes:
It is therefore important to make the historical observation that the modern Roman [sic] Catholic use of the
term „dogma‟ dates from the late eighteenth century, apparently being used in the sense for the tfirst time in
the polemical writing Regula fidei catholicae (1792) of the Franciscan controversialist P. N. Chrisman.
Chrisman used the term to designate formal ecclesiastical doctrine, as opposed to theological opinion.12
So to speak of a “history of dogma” covering the first Seven Ecumenical Councils and
subsequent synods may be anachronistic. But what seems to be lost upon O‟Collins, and to a
lesser extent McGrath, is that the employment of a term to describe a series of actions after they
10 G. O‟COLLINS, Has Dogma a Future? (London, UK: Darton, Longman, and Todd) 1975), 97. O‟Collins‟ thesis, which
we shall not get into here in any great depth, is that the term „dogma‟ has been applied retroactively to the Church‟s solemn
definitions. In my opinion, O‟Collins falls into an unfortunate Roman tendency to frame dogma in juridical terms, rather than to
see an activity of the Holy Spirit to lead the Church “into all truth” (Jn 16:13b), i.e., in pneumatological terms. 11 Ibidem, 88. 12 A. E. MCGRATH, The Genesis of Doctrine (Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell, Ltd., 1990), 8; cf. 8-10.
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
7
have taken place is not necessarily fallacious.13
To argue, for instance, that Augustine‟s method
in his Confessions was not psychology because the discipline of psychology was not
systematized until the career William James is irrelevant. Or, to use a more scientific example,
to say that Newton or Leibniz invented calculus and gave it its name does not mean that the
“Goleniščev Mathematical Papyrus” (ca. 1800 B.C.) does not exhibit an example of integral
calculus! Analogously, when the Fathers declared that the Son is “homoousios tō Patri” in 325
or that the two natures of the Incarnate Word remains “inconfused, unchangeable, indivisible,
inseparable” in 451, it does not follow that it would be anachronistic to call these
pronouncements „dogma.‟ It is not anachronism, but hindsight: by observing the modes of
actions by which such pronouncements were made (and by observing that they were decreed,
which is the definition of „dogma‟!) one can determine what is dogma and what is not.
Moving past the fact that „dogmatics‟ is an eighteenth century science, we now turn to
perhaps the most authoritative figure on this question, Karl Rahner. He defines “dogmatics” (=
“dogmatic theology”) as the “systematic reflection undertaken on methodological principles
appropriate to dogma and aiming at as a comprehensive grasp of it as possible.” Among such
dogmas, the late Avery Dulles enumerates:
…the declaration of Nicaea that the Son is consubstantial (hommousion) with the Father; the definition of
the First Council of Constantinople that the Holy Spirit is worthy of divine adoration; the affirmation of the
Council of Chalcedon that jesus Christ has two complete natures, divine andhuman; the listing of the seven
sacraments by the Council of Trent; papal infallibility as defined by Vatican I; and two Marian dogmas of
1854 and 1950—the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption. This is not a complete list, or even a
selection of the most important, but a mere sampling to indicate the kind of thing we are talking about
when we speak of dogmas.14
The question, naturally, becomes: Where is dogma to be found? It would be too simple
to assert that one need only turn to Enchirdion symbolorum of Henrici Denzinger or The
13 Moreover, O‟Collins seems to be confusing a key distinction: „dogma‟ as a note of theological certitude (as opposed to a
definitive doctrine or prudential admonition) and „dogma‟ as general description of a Church pronouncement (= „decree‟) passing
judgment on a certain article of faith, whether it be a „dogmatic definition‟ or a „definitive doctrine.‟ 14 A. DULLES, The Survival of Dogma (New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1971), 153.
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
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Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church by Jacques Neuner and
Jacques Dupuis, or even the Pedalion of the Orthodox Church. Even though these volumes
contain „official‟ Church pronouncements, by no means to all such pronouncements bear the
same weight of authority. The next question obviously would be the task of gauging the various
„notes of theological certitude‟ which exist among the various dogmas of the Church.
What about systematics? In what way does the above description of dogma differ from
systematic theology? Perhaps the example of St Paul‟s literary and missionary career with
respect to the „Apostolic Decree‟ of Acts 15:23b-29. When the dogma was issued by the apostles
and presbyters at the Jerusalem Conference, Sts Paul and Barnabas, accompanied by Judas
Barsabbas and Silas, went to Syrian Antioch, which then became the first layover in the Second
Missionary Journey. According to the Evangelist Luke, the dogma was received by the
Antiochene Christians with rejoicing (Acts 15:30), with the delegation from the Jerusalem
Church offering encouragement and strength. Later, especially in St Paul‟s Epistle to the
Galatians and Epistle to the Romans—without explicitly mentioning the dogmatic decree
itself—the Apostle offers a systematic reflection on the meaning of liberty from the Torah, grace,
and justification. The dogmatic decree of Acts 15:23b-29 yielded a systematic theology found in
St Paul‟s two greatest letters. The Apostle‟s method of „verification‟ of what is inherent in the
dogma—by way of his systematic reflections—are to be found in the kerygma, especially the
Israelite antecedents in the Ancient Testament.
Dogmatic theology, then, would seem to be necessarily prior to systematic theology, and
that kerygmatic theology would be the primordial „data‟—being Divine Revelation by way of
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
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salvation-history and, ultimately, the Incarnation of the Word—for both. We might chart the
progression from kerygma to dogma to systematics as follows:15
Salvation-history; Incarnate Word and
Paschal Mystery; liturgical hymns:
Kerygma
„Apostolic Decree‟; Nicene definition;
Chalcedonian definition; Immaculate
Conception; etc.:
Dogma
Summa theologiae (Thomas Aquinas);
Breviloquium (Bonaventure);
Theological Investigations (Rahner)
Systematics
In the present writer‟s experience, only Bernard Lonergan has offered the most articulate
description on the difference between dogmatics and systematics.
‘Doctrines’ and ‘Systematics’ within the
Eight Functional Specialties of Bernard Lonergan
How do the „dogmatic‟ method and the „systematic‟ method differ in its approach to the
theological task in the mind of Bernard Lonergan.16
In fact, he considers both the “dogmatic
way” and the “systematic way” to be the “Twofold Movement toward the Goal”, positing a
complementarity of both methods. Perhaps we should begin by charting Longergan‟s
conceptualization of the dogmatic and systematic ways:
The Dogmatic Way The Systematic Way
(1) analysis (1) synthesis
(2) resolution (2) composition
(3) discovery (3) teaching and learning
(4) certitude (4) probability
(5) temporal (5) logical simultaneity
Since theology is a science, Lonergan argues, it is therefore possible to grasp theology
analogously. “How these two movements are related to each other can be clarified from the very
notion of science. Science is the certain knowledge of things through their causes; but before
15 It is not entirely unreasonable for one to develop a systematic theology that bypasses dogma. An example of this,
perhaps, would be in areas of moral theology (social justice, biomedical ethics) in which a systematic theology is developed from
the primordial data of Divine Revelation. 16 BERNARD LONERGAN, The Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan, vol. 12: The Triune God: Systematics (Toronto, ON:
University of Toronto Press, 2007), 59-77. Hereafter Lonergan, Triune God.
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
10
things are know through their causes, the causes have to be discovered; and so long as the causes
have not been discovered we rely on the ordinary prescientific knowledge by which we
apprehend things and describe them even before knowing their causes.”17
Accordingly, the
different ways of apprehending causes corresponds with either the dogmatic way or the
systematic way. As for the dogmatic way, “[…] the first movement toward acquiring science
begins from an ordinary prescientific description of things and ends in the knowledge of their
causes.”18
As for the systematic way, “[t]he other movement starts from the causes that have
been discovered and ends by understanding things in their causes.”19
Applying this distinction to
Triadology, the systematic way, which “starts from the causes that have been discovered and
ends by understanding things in their causes,” we would grasp the missions of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, sent from the Father, thus beginning with the „economic Trinity.‟ From the
missions, we would arrive at the understanding of each one sent, be it the Son or the Holy Spirit,
from the Father. The dogmatic way, on the other hand, “begins from an ordinary prescientific
description of things and ends in the knowledge of their causes”, would thus allow us to look at
the titles of „Father‟ and „Son‟, and like St Augustine, lead us to conclude that „paternity‟ and
„filiation‟ imply different causes—the Father „begets‟ and the Son is „begotten‟—thus
concluding two distinct causes („ingenerate‟ and „generated‟) and concluding a distinction of
persons. Therefore whereas the dogmatic way begins with observation and concludes
„backwards‟ to the causes, the systematic way begins with the causes and concludes „forwards‟
in an understanding of the things caused, namely the divine persons.
For Lonergan, however, the dogmatic way and the systematic way would seem to be
situated within the Eight Functional Specialties, of which „doctrines‟ constitute the sixth
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
11
Functional Specialty, and „systematics‟ as the seventh Functional Specialty. But we must be
careful not to equivocate „doctrines‟ and „dogma‟, as Lonergan understood „dogma‟ to be a range
within the domain of „doctrine.‟20
As he wrote, “Doctrines express judgments of facts and
judgments of value. They are concerned, then, with the affirmations and negations not only of
dogmatic theology but also of moral, ascetical, mystical, pastoral, and any similar branch.”21
Here, Lonergan does not necessarily speak of those articles of faith which bear the theological
note of dogmatic certainty, but rather those theological treatises such as de Christologia, de Deo
Uno et Trino, and de Liturgia et Sacramentis.22
As for the seventh Functional Specialty, “The facts and values affirmed in doctrines give
rise to further questions. For doctrinal expression may be figurative or symbolic. It may be
descriptive and based ultimately on the meaning of words rather than on the understanding of
realities. It may, if pressed, quickly become vague and indefinite. It may seem, when examined,
to be involved in inconsistency or fallacy.” So an impasse might be reached when the theologian
passes through the sixth Functional Specialty. An example would be the Cappadocian doctrine
of the one ousia in three hypostaseis on one hand, and the Chalcedonian doctrine of the
Hypostatic Union on the other: at once we affirm that there is but one nature in God, but there
are two natures in the God-Man, which poses an immense problem for divine immutability.
With this impasse, the theologian moves into the next Functional Specialty. “The functional
20 Unfortunately, in the glossary to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, „dogma‟ and „doctrine‟ are defined as being
coterminous, which is of course incorrect. 21 BERNARD LONERGAN, Method in Theology (Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 1971), 132. Hereafter,
LONERGAN, Method in Theology. 22 On the other hand, given the canons of the First Seven Ecumenical Councils, of the Council of Trent, et al., there is a
certain coextension of both these treatises and the dogmatic certitude which they bear. Curiously, Lonergan distinguishes
between “church doctrines” and “theological doctrines”—the first being those which “have their antecedents both in the New
Testament confessions of faith and in the decision of assembled Christians in Acts 15, 28. However secure it may have seemed
to urge with Pope Stephen “…nihil innovetur nisi quod traditum est…” (DS 110), it remained that new questions did arise and
that satisfactory answers were not forthcoming as long s one was content to just sand pat. …But one has only to peruse such a
collection of conciliar and pontifical pronouncements as Denzinger‟s Enchiridion Symbolorum to observe that each is a product
of its place and time and that each meets the questions of the day for the people of the day.” Theological doctrines, on the other
hand, it refers to “…specific questions that currently were being ventilated”, i.e., the meaning of hommousios tō patri in St
Athanasius and the Cappadocian Fathers, etc. (Lonergan, Method in Theology, 296).
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
12
specialty, systematic, attempts to meet these issues. It is concerned to work out appropriate
systems of conceptualization, to remove apparent inconsistencies, to move towards some grasp
of spiritual matters both from their own inner coherence and from the analogies offered by more
familiar human experience.”23
At the end, perhaps, would be von Balthasar‟s own suggestion
regarding the divine immutability24
, which comes to head at the eighth and last Functional
Specialty, communication, which can be found in his collection of writings on the subject.
The Eight Functional Specialties serve as a diptych, as it where, in which the first four serve as
the mediating phase—research, interpretation, history, and dialectic—which seeks to confront
and appropriate the past. The last four—foundations, doctrines, systematic, and
communication—seeks to confront the future, i.e., to propose solutions to problems. It follows,
then, that doctrines (and especially dogma) and systematics are forward-looking: they attempt to
mediate an encountered problem or issue in the theological enterprise. We might chart the
doctrinal (with its dogmatic part) and systematic Functional Specialties as follows25
:
Now that we have seen where „doctrines‟ (with „dogma‟) and „systematics‟ are situated within
the Eight Functional Specialties, it would be helpful to chart Lonergan‟s description of how the
dogmatic way and the systematic way differ in its treatment of the subject.
Precising Definitions:
<Dogmatics> and <Systematics>
23 LONERGAN, Method in Theology, 132. 24 See, for example, GERALD O‟HANLAN, The Immutability of God in the Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar (Cambridge,
UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007). 25 Based on Prof Faye E. Schott, on the Web at http://www.lsps.edu/professors/schott/Lonergan.htm, retrieved 28 January
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
13
Within chapter twelve of Lonergan‟s Method in Theoogy, he presents a section on “The
Permanence of Dogmas” by way of an extended discussion on the dogmatic constitution of the
First Vatican Council, De Filius26
in which he posits five conditions which constitute the range
of „dogma‟: (1) “…there is affirmed a permanence of meaning…”; (2) “…the permanent
meaning is the meaning declared by the church…”; (3) “…this permanent meaning is the
meaning of dogmas. …It would seem that the dogmas of DS 302027
and DS 304328
refers to the
church‟s declarations of revealed mysteries”; (4) “…the meaning of the dogma is not apart from
a verbal formulation, for it is a meaning declared by the church. However, the permanence
attaches to the meaning and not to the formula”; (5) “…it seems better to speak of the
permanence of the meaning of dogmas than of its immutability.”29
Systematics is necessarily subsequent to doctrines and, more narrowly, dogmatics. “The
seventh functional specialty, systematics, is concerned with promoting an understanding of the
realities affirmed in the previous specialty, doctrines.”30
It follows doctrines as judgment
because systematics deals with understanding. Mere repetition of dogmas cannot pass for
authentic assent. In delineating systematics from doctrines, Lonergan appeals to the example of
St Thomas Aquinas in his missionary handbook Summa contra Gentiles IV, in which he presents
the dogmatic aspect and then a systematic discourse following. For instance, the treatise on God
the Son takes up chapters two through fourteen; but whereas two through nine deal with the
26 LONERGAN, Method in Theology, 322-326. 27 DS 3020 = ND 136: “For the doctrine of faith which God has revealed has not been proposed like a philosophical system
to be perfected by human ingenuity, but has been committed to the spouse of Christ as a divine trust to be faithfully kept and
infallibly declared. Hence also that meaning of sacred dogmas is perpetually to be retained which our Holy Mother Church has
once declared, and there must never be a deviation from that meaning on the specious ground and title of a more profound
understanding. „Therefore, let there be growth and abundant progress in understanding, knowledge and wisdom, in each and all,
in individuals and the whole Church, at all times and in the succession of the ages, but only in its proper kind, i.e., in the same
dogma, the same meaning, the same understanding‟ [St Vincent of Lerins, Commonitorium primum, 23].” 28 DS 3043 = ND 139: “If anyone says that, as science progresses, at times a sense is to be given to dogmas proposed by the
Church, different than the one which the Church has understood and understands, anathema sit.” 29 LONERGAN, Method in Theology, 322-323. 30 LONERGAN, Method in Theology, 335. At the risk of mistaking this chart for plagiarism, I did in fact discover a similar
project on the Web at http://www.lonergan.org/seminarnotes/OntheTrinity/Notes_wk5b.pdf. The interested reader is invited to
review how my chart compares and contrasts with the file hosted by the website of the Lonergan Institute.
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
14
dogmatic aspects of the treatise, ten through fourteen deal with the systematic aspect. Similarly,
the treatise on the Holy Spirit takes up chapters ten through twenty-five; whereas the dogmatic
aspect takes up ten through fourteen, the systematic aspect takes up nineteen through twenty-
five. St Thomas follows the same method in the treatise on the Incarnation in. It was a
deliberate method, according to Lonergan, and one that ought to be retrieved in contemporary
theological education. “I am proposing a return to the systematic theology illustrated by
Aquinas‟ Summa contral gentiles and Summa theologiae. Both are systematic expresseions of a
wide-ranging understanding of the truths concerning God and man. Both are fully aware of the
distinctions mentioned above. Neither countenances the separation that later was introduced.”31
I might add that this is what +Leo XIII had in mind when he wrote in Aeterni Patris that the
system of St Thomas Aquinas ought to be retrieved in theological schools. He did not mean, I
would argue, using the Summa theologiae as the sole textbook as some seminaries do32
, but to
make use of his method of first a dogmatic and then a systematic exposition of the articles of
faith. In any case, building on the comparison of the dogmatic way and the systematic way, Leo
Vincent Serroul33
has charted Lonergan‟s explanation of the two ways based upon his de Deo
Trino:
31 LONERGAN, Method in Theology, 339-340. 32 E.g. Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska, operated by the traditionalist Priestly Fraternity of St Peter.
See Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, “Formation,” on the Web at http://www.fsspolgs.org/formation.html. While the effort to
retrieve the system of the Angelic Doctor, it commits the basic confusion of identifying the thought of St Thomas as being
exactly that of the magisterium. Curiously, for all the rage that Latin is for this Ecclesia Dei community, the Enchiridion
Symbolorum is not to be found in its bookstore inventory, except for a partial English adaptation in the form of The Church
Teaches: Documents of the Church in English Translation, published by the suspicious Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. (Cf. on
the Web at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0895550113?ie=UTF8&seller=AHS1SBFB4B5DN&sn=OLGS%20Bookstore,
retrieved 1 February 2009). Why Neuenr and Dupuis is not used by Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary would be very
enlightening to discover. 33 LEO VINCENT SERROUL, “Sapientis est ordinaire’: An Interpretation of the Pars Systematica of Bernard Lonergan’s de
Deo Trino from the Viewpoint of Order (Pd.D. diss., University of Toronto, 2004), on the at
http://www.lonergan.org/seminarnotes/OntheTrinity/Notes_wk5b.pdf, retrieved 28 June 2009. My edition of the chart
incorporates the English translation of de Deo Trino.
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
18
Thought-Experiment: the Dogmatic and Systematic Ways
On the Question of the Sacramental Validity of the Eucharistic Form
In Sign Language
At this point, I would like to bring Lonergan‟s careful distinction to bear on my thesis project,
which is to investigate whether the proclamation of the Eucharistic form would be sacramentally
efficacious and valid for the transmutation of the Gifts into the Sacred Body and Precious Blood
of Christ. It would seem logical to divide the thesis into two parts, “Part I: The Dogmatic Way”
and “Part II: The Systematic Way.”
As for the dogmatic way, which as Lonergan said was “…the process of analysis, of
resolution, of discovery, of certitude, and of a temporal way,” we would begin with a careful
analysis and investigation of the Last Supper narratives as well as the Bread of Life discourse,
since these represent the data of Divine Revelation. Moreover, we must distinguish—as people
often fail to do—between „Eucharist‟ and „Blessed Sacrament‟ and especially between the action
that is the Eucharist and the moment that is transubstantiation. The question of resolution would
require some trudging through various official documents of the Church—some of which
represent an act of the supreme magisterium such as Council of Rome (1061, 1079), the Council
of Trent (Session XIII, 1551; Sessions XXI and XXII, 1562), the dogmatic constitution
Sacrosanctum concilium of the Second Vatican Council, and especially the Eleventh Ordinary
Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, “The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission
of the Church” (2-23 October 2005). More significantly, since some argue that the Eucharistic
Form in sign language „is as good as‟ no Eucharistic Form at all, we would respond with the
most remarkable act of the supreme magisterium in recent times: the approval of the Anaphora
of Addai and Mari, which in fact contains no Eucharistic Form at all. Therein are discovered the
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
19
cause of the sacramental form‟s validity, which is absolutely pivotal to our thesis: is it the
audible/vocal quality of the Eucharistic Form that is efficacious, or is it the fact that it is
proclaimed by way of language? In other words, what is the locus of the sacramental causality
deriving from the words “This is my Body”, “This is my Blood”? In terms of certitude, it is
necessary to attend to what has been defined by the magisterium and what remains an open
question, namely: if the Church certainly believes and teaches in the efficacy of the Eucharistic
Form, does it follow that the Form can be exercised only in a verbal or audible way? In the
analysis of the efficacy of the Eucharistic Form, from where is the sacramental power derived?
Finally in terms of temporality, the history of the dogmatic development of Eucharistic theology
must be outlined, especially how the controversy between Berengarius of Tours and St
Paschasiud Radbertus paved the way for often asking the wrong questions about the Eucharistic
mystery.
The systematic way, on the other hand, is “…the process of synthesis, of composition, of
teaching and learning, of probability, and of logical simultaneity…”36
Therefore, in terms of
systematics, we take a different direction. Rather than seeing the Eucharist in isolation, it must
be understood in its synthetic context, not only within the sacramental economy in particular but
also the sacred liturgy in general, as it situates the Eucharistic Form within the broader context of
the Eucharistic Prayer (which introduces more problems, e.g., the efficacy of the epiklesis). In
terms of composition, what constitutes the Eucharist? Here the Scholastic answer is found to be
reductionist and unsatisfactory, as there is the power drawn from the whole Paschal Mystery,
indeed, the economy of the Incarnation, both compose the Eucharistic miracle. Moreover, of
what is the Eucharistic Form composed? Is it of phonetic patterns or is it of language? It would
36 LONERGAN, Triune God, 65.
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
20
appear that the former tends to be rather superstitious or even „magical‟, whereas the latter falls
in line with the Church‟s kerygmatic task, proclamation. In terms of probability, one must ask
whether the omniscience of God would fail to understand sign language when the Eucharistic
Form is in fact signed! Finally, in terms of logical simultaneity, all of the above factors are
ordered in a geometric fashion to demonstrate that there is nothing to preclude the efficacy of the
Eucharistic Form in sign language because, ultimately, it is the wrong question to ask. One
should ask, rather: is the locus of efficacy in the Eucharistic Form qua form or in the act of faith
it proposes?37
In approaching my thesis, “The Sacramental Validity of the Eucharistic Form in Sign
Langauge,” it would be necessary to make use of both the dogmatic way and the systematic way
for, as Lonergan said, “Those who choose but one part and neglect the other not only lose the
whole but also spoil even the part that they have chosen.”38
Dogmatic Theology and Systematic Theology:
An Imperative Application
Perhaps we can make use of „form criticism‟ to locate the source of the student‟s error in
challenging the possibility of American Sign Language as a valid liturgical language for
proclaiming the Eucharistic Form. Two things are already obvious: dogmatically, he betrayed a
profound ignorance to the body of the Church‟s teaching on the Eucharistic Form, since
One can hardly dispute Lonergan‟s complaint, which gives the impression that he is speaking
about many of today‟s students of theology: “Those who choose but one part [i.e., either
dogmatics or systematics] and neglect the other not only lose the whole but also spoil even the
part that they have chosen. Those who neglect the dogmatic part in order to cultivate the
systematic more profoundly are in fact neglecting what they are seeking to understand.” So it is
37 ST THOMAS AQUINAS, Summa theologiae, IIIa, q. 60, art. 7, ad 1. 38 LONERGAN, Triune God, 65.
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
21
hardly a matter of either dogmatics or systematics. Both methods are complementary and
symbiotic. Earlier in this essay, I raised the point that St Joseph‟s Seminary in the Archdiocese
of New York has a faculty of dogmatic theology whereas most other seminaries have a faculty of
systematic theology. But the parlance of canonical or ecclesiastical degrees point to a better
alternative: sacred theology, one that is inclusive of both the dogmatic way and the systematic
way.
Part of the reason for an abandonment of the dogmatic way, I suspect, lies in the abuse of
such handbooks as Enchiridion Symbolorum. We are familiar with Yves Congar‟s fierce and
just critique of doing „Denzinger theology.‟ We have also moved away from the model of doing
theology outlined in +Pius XII‟s Humani generis that conceives the task as simply defending and
expounding the pronouncements of the Magisterium. On the other hand, candidates to Holy
Orders—often forgetting or neglecting their primary task as ministers of the Word39
—pass
through a course on Christology or Triadology having never read the “Twelve Anathemas of St
Cyril of Alexandria” or the “Tome of Pope Leo I.” More to the point: Many teachers of the
faith will speak of the Immaculate Conception as that dogma which professes that the Mother of
God was “conceived without original sin.” In reality, however, dogmatic definition in Ineffabilis
Deus clearly speak of the Mother of God being conceived “…without stain of original sin…”—
the missing term arising from a failure to read the dogmatic definition40
itself is disruptive to the
act of tradition-ing the article of faith. This appears to exhibit minimal contact between those in
formation to Orders and the Church‟s magisterial pronouncements.
39 Cf. Code of Canon Law, 528; Presbyterorum ordinis, 4; Optatam totius, 16. 40 « Declaramus, pronuntiamus et definimus doctrinam quae tenet beatissimam Virginem Mariam in primo instanti suae
conceptionis fuisse singulari Omnipotentis Dei gratia et privilegio, intuitu meritorum Christi Jesu Salvatoris humani generis, ab
omni originalis culpae labe praeservatam immunem, esse a Deo revelatam, atque idcirco ab omnibus fidelibus firmiter
constanterque credendam. »
Matthew G. Hysell The Dogmatic Way and the Systematic Way In the Thought of Bernard Lonergan
22
This is not to say that there is a lack of appreciation for the magisterium. It says, rather,
that there is a fundamental confusion as to what constitutes the magisterium. Two anecdotes will
suffice. First, though the Catechism of the Catholic Church is a useful resource for catechists
and religious educators, it has devolved into a kind of manual not unlike that of Ludwig Ott‟s
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. The problem, however, is that the Catechism is not an act of
the magisterium like Evangelium vitae or Spe salvi. Rather, the Catechism‟s authority is only
inasmuch as the acts of the magisterium it refers to.41
Thus, in order to discover the antecedents
of Church doctrine, it is necessary to cross-examine the various documents cited in the footnotes
of the Catechism. Such basic confusion regarding the proper use of the Catechism, I suggest,
lies in the inability to weigh and judge the levels of documents issuing from the Apostolic See.
It represents a profound irresponsibility and ignorance on the part of seminarians and ordinandi
with respect to the proper use of Church pronouncements.
The second anecdote is related to the first. Prior to diaconal ordination, all candidates are
required to sign the “Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity” in accordance with canon 833 and
the motu proprio Ad tuendam fidem42
. I have discovered, in the course of my conversations with
many seminarians across North America, that there is minimal, if any, formation and preparation
before signing something so grave that it calls on God‟s witness and one‟s right hand on the
book of the Gospels. Does one who fulfills the norms of canon 833 in fact know how to gauge
the various notes of theological certitude? What does this say about the value of the Profession
41
The basis of this assertion comes from none less than H.Em. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, then-Prefect for the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith: “The individual doctrines that the Catechism affirms have no other authority thatn that which they
already possess.” See Communio, “The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Optimision of the Redeemed,” 20:3 (1993),
479, cited in F. A. SULLIVAN, Creative Fidelity: Weighing and Interpreting the Documents of the Magisterium (Mahwah, NJ:
Paulist Press, 1996), 12. 42 Pope JOHN PAUL II, Motu proprio « Ad tuendam fidem » (Citta del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1998). Available
on the Web at http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/motu_proprio/documents/hf_jp-ii_motu-proprio_30061998_ad-