Formal and material principles of theology


Formal principle and material principle are two categories in Christian theology to identify and distinguish the authoritative source of theology from the theology itself, especially the central doctrine of that theology, of a religion, religious movement, tradition, body, denomination, or organization. A formal principle tends to be texts or revered leaders of the religion; a material principle is its central teaching. Paul Tillich believes the identification and application of this pair of categories in theological thinking to have originated in the 19th century.
As early as 1845 the Protestant theologian and historian Philip Schaff discussed them in his The Principle of Protestantism. They were utilized by the Lutheran scholar F. E. Mayer in his The Religious Bodies of America in order to facilitate a comparative study of the faith and practice of Christian denominations in the United States. This is also treated in a theological pamphlet entitled Gospel and Scripture by the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

F.E. Mayer's findings

Eastern Orthodoxy

Formal Principle – the Bible and the "sacred tradition."Material Principle – Jesus Christ's work of theopoiesis or theosis, the ultimate deification of man. They cite Athanasius of Alexandria from his Incarnation of the Word: "Christ assumed humanity that we might become God."

Roman Catholicism

Formal Principle – the Bible, Tradition, Reason, the Pope, and the Magisterium.Material Principle – "Man's soul, since it comes directly from God, is good and strives for reunion with God, realized in the beatific vision of God. Man's body is subject to sin and is alienated from God. Therefore man must be progressively justified, i.e., be made just. This result is effected when through the sacraments man enters into the 'state of grace' and observes the commandments which the church... by her 'divine commission,' imposes upon the 'faithful.'"

Lutheranism

Formal Principle – the Bible alone Material Principle – "a synopsis and summary of the Christian truth" that people are justified by God's grace through faith in Christ alone.

Anglicanism

Formal Principle in general—The Bible, the authority of the church, and reason. Specifically, for individuals of different churchmanship:Material Principle:

Zwinglianism

Formal Principle – the Bible and direct revelation from the Holy Spirit.Material Principle – absolute divine causality.

Calvinism

Formal Principle – the Bible as the sole standard of all truth.Material Principle – sinful man is justified by faith alone.

Methodism

Formal Principle – the Bible, reason, teachings of the ancient church.Material Principle – the perfected man, i.e. entire sanctification.

Works cited

  • FE Mayer, The Religious Bodies of America, 4th ed,, ''passim''