Degrees of certainty of dogmatics

The certainty degrees of dogmatism (also: nota Theologica , notations ) categorize the dogma the tenets of the Catholic faith in more (eg dogmas.) Or less (for example, Sententia tolerata.) Secure and binding for the faithful statements.

Basics

The practice of doctrinal judgment practiced by the church's magisterium since scholasticism implies a hierarchy of Christian truths of faith. Because the theological teachings were dogmatically assessed (notations) and the degree of certainty - either their rejection (negative censorship) or their acceptability (positive qualifications) - was determined, and their proximity to regula fidei remota (scripture and tradition) or . Proxima ( church teaching post ) found. Above all in the 17th and 18th centuries there were various and still varying gradations within the teaching assessment, which took on a clear form, especially in the 19th century: A distinction was made between various positive qualifications in an extremely difficult manner: fides divina; fides divina et catholica; etc. - for the negative grades then the corresponding oppositions apply.

The Second Vatican Council said that there is a hierarchy or "hierarchy" of truths within Catholic doctrine according to the various ways they are related to the foundation of Christian faith . According to Pope Francis, this applies both to the dogmas of faith and to the whole of the teaching of the Church, including moral teaching.

Gradations

Depending on the degree of theological certainty and the binding nature of the Church's doctrinal statements , Roman Catholic dogmatics distinguishes between Catholic truths as follows (nota theologica):

De fide: The truths of faith that are described as de fide have the highest degree of certainty because they have been presented by the Church's Magisterium and are further subdivided into:
- De fide divina et catholica definita (also simply: de fide definita): Statement of the highest degree of certainty based on an - infallible - solemn judgment of faith (definition) of the Pope (" Cathedral judgment ex cathedra") or a general council, i.e. of the teaching office ("de fide ecclesiastica definita ")
- De fide divina et catholica (also: de fide divina et ecclesiastica, or simply: de fide divina): This truth of faith is considered to have been revealed by God and is finally (infallibly) taught by the church.
- De fide divina means that a truth has undoubtedly been revealed by God without the Church having spoken out about the character of revelation
Fides ecclesiastica: From the Church as infallibly taught truths (veritates catholicae), which, in contrast to the de fide (divinely revealed) truths, are not divine revelation in the narrower sense, but are derived from it. A distinction is also made here between conclusions theologicae (theological conclusions), facta dogmatica (dogmatic facts) and philosophical truths.
Sententia fidei proxima is a doctrinal statement that is most likely revealed and taught by the Church, although not definitively and infallibly.
Doctrina catholica: A truth taught by the ordinary magisterium.
Theologice certa (also: Sententia ad fidem pertinens, Sententia certa) is a truth that is intrinsically related to a revelation truth, but is not to be assumed on the basis of divine authority.
Sententia communis (theologically certain) is called a truth that is consistently taught by theologians with the (at least tacit) approval of the Church. A theological discussion is allowed.
Sententia probabilis is an opinion based on good reasons, but it can be freely discussed among theologians. This is further subdivided into Sententia probabilior and Sententia bene fundata.
Sententia pia: A pious but less certain doctrine.
Sententia tolerata: a doctrine tolerated by the Church but not recommended.

interpretation

From the church's point of view, the dogmatic statements - relativizing - are noted “that the meaning of the statements of faith partly depends on the expressiveness of the language used at a certain time and under certain circumstances. In addition, it sometimes happens that a dogmatic truth is initially expressed in an incomplete, but not therefore incorrect, way and is later viewed in the larger context of faith and human knowledge and is thus presented more completely and perfectly. Furthermore, in her new statements the Church wants to confirm or illuminate what is already to some extent contained in the Holy Scriptures and in the statements of the earlier traditions, but at the same time she tends to think of the solution of certain questions and the elimination of errors. All of this must be taken into account in order to interpret those statements correctly. After all, the truths that the church really wants to teach in its dogmatic formulas differ from the changeable thinking of a time and can also be expressed without it; nevertheless it can sometimes happen that those truths are presented in words by the Magisterium that bear traces of such thinking. "

literature

Ludwig Ott : Outline of Catholic dogmatics. 7th edition. Freiburg u. a., Herder 1965, p. 11 f.

Individual evidence

↑ Christoph Böttigheimer , Understanding Faith (Herder 2012), pages 182-183 (also: www.muenster.de/~angergun/boettigheimer-leseprobe2.pdf? Queried on December 9, 2013).
↑ Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree Unitatis Redintegratio on ecumenism. 11
^ Francis, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium , no.37.
↑ http://katholischpur.xobor.de/t250f42-Theologische-Gewissheitsgrade-Teil-I.html (accessed on December 6, 2013).
↑ dtv-Lexikon 1971 cited from archive link ( Memento of the original from December 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (queried on December 6, 2013) @1@ 2

↑ http://katholischpur.xobor.de/t255f42-Theologische-Gewissheitsgrade-Teil-II.html (queried on December 6, 2013)

↑ Sixtus Cartechini, De Valore Notarum Theologicarum et de Criteriis ad eas Dignoscendas (1951) quoted from http://www.the-pope.com/theolnotes.html ( accessed on December 6, 2013)