Formal principle and material principle are two categories in Christian theology to identify and distinguish the authoritative source of theology (formal principle) from the theology itself, especially the central doctrine of that theology (material principle), of a religion, religious movement, tradition, body, denomination, or organization. A formal principle tends to be texts or revered leaders of the religion, while a material principle, its central teaching. The identification and application of this pair of categories in theological thinking were believed by Paul Tillich 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.
Famous quotes containing the words formal, material, principles and/or theology:
“On every formal visit a child ought to be of the party, by way of provision for discourse.”
—Jane Austen (17751817)
“To one who habitually endeavors to contemplate the true state of things, the political state can hardly be said to have any existence whatever. It is unreal, incredible, and insignificant to him, and for him to endeavor to extract the truth from such lean material is like making sugar from linen rags, when sugar-cane may be had.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)
“I am not one of those who have the least anxiety about the triumph of the principles I have stood for. I have seen fools resist Providence before, and I have seen their destruction, as will come upon these again, utter destruction and contempt. That we shall prevail is as sure as that God reigns.”
—Woodrow Wilson (18561924)
“When the Devil quotes Scriptures, its not, really, to deceive, but simply that the masses are so ignorant of theology that somebody has to teach them the elementary texts before he can seduce them.”
—Paul Goodman (19111972)