I continue my journey with the Blessed John Henry Newman who is set to be canonized on the 13th of this month, just a few days after the anniversary of his own reception into the Church on October 9, 1845. This book is, in some sense, the work which brought him out of the Church of England and into the Church of Rome. The question he had was whether the developments of doctrine within the Catholic Church were genuine developments or corruptions. He set out to write an essay upon the topic and decided that if, when the project was finished his convictions lead him to the Catholic Church, then he would ask for admittance. He never finished the work. Part way through his convictions were such that he could wait no longer. The book was printed without alteration though with some rearrangement. In this book he takes his start from the Vincentian Canon of St. Vincent of Lerins, "Quod semper, Quod ubique, quod ab omnibus," that is, the true doctrine of the Catholic Church is that which is believed "always, every where, and among all" Christians.  Newman, however, recognizes that while this offers a good start it is not quite sufficient. Antiquity is not a sufficient test because changes take place over time and both living and dying things change. So we must ask, "How do I know if this 'change' in doctrine is that of life and growth or that of death, decay, and corruption?" John Henry Newman identifies seven notes of living ideas and their genuine development, namely: 1. Preservation of its type. 2. Continuity of its principles. 3. Its power of assimilation. 4. Its logical sequence. 5. Anticipation of its future. 6. Conservative action upon its past. 7. Its chronic vigor. He then observes the many groups throughout history which have claimed the Christian name. He applied the tests to the major groups and finds that only that one body which call itself Catholic has the notes of genuine development. All others, e.g. Arianism, Nestorianism, Docetism, Gnosticism etc. contain "developments" which are not genuine developments but corruptions.  In this book, Newman does not shy from objections. He faces them head on. He acknowledges that the Catholic Church looks significantly different from the Church pictured in the Bible. But, he responds, the difference is not the difference in a dolphin and a tiger or a fig and a grape. They are not differences in kind or type. The differences are that of the acorn and the oak. Yes, the acorn differs drastically from the oak, but they are the same "thing." The oak is the genuine development of the acorn. Or, another example, the difference is that of an infant and a full grown man or woman. The differences are stark, but they are genuine developments. They are the growth of maturity, not the decay of corruption and death. A compelling historical case is made here. I recommend it to all who are interested in such questions.