Lectures on the Doctrine of Justification

The Lectures on Justification have been justly described as 'perhaps the chief theological document of the Oxford Movement.' They are, together with the Development of Christian Doctrine and the Grammar of Assent, one of the pillars of John Henry Newman's thought. This volume is the first critical edition of the Lectures, with a substantial Editor's Introduction, editorial footnotes explaining Newman's many scriptural, patristic and other references, together with translations of the many Latin and Greek passages he quotes, and a textual appendix showing Newman's revisions of his text in the editions he published.

Newman's doctrine of justification is firmly grounded on the theology of the Fathers of the Church and their concept of 'deification'. Thus, the Lectures are a spirited refutation of the Protestant doctrine of 'sola fide' justification, in which the justified remains immersed in his sin, past and present. And, in order to disqualify Protestant claims about the scriptural foundation of their doctrines, Newman makes constant recourse to Holy Scripture. It has been common among Newman's critics to affirm that he was not directly acquainted with Luther's doctrine, that he had based his work on secondary sources or that the target of his criticism was more the Evangelicalism of his time rather than Protestant reformer. The present edition shows how inaccurate such assessments are, presenting the range of sources used by Newman and his use of them.