John Henry Newman's Via Media

John Henry Newman and the Via Media

John Henry Newman’s famous quest to find a Via Media or “Middle Way” between Protestantism and Catholicism ended in frustration, but he did not give up his tendency to believe that the truth is often found between two extremes. Perhaps this habit was a part of Newman’s classical understanding of virtue as the mean, or maybe it was simply a part of his nature as an Oxford Gentleman to seek the best in all positions. Either way, it is fair to say that Newman spent much of his life in the center rather than the middle of heated controversy. This recurring theme of finding himself in the ideological center of the theological and political arguments of his day says much about Newman the man. In many ways this aspect of Newman’s experience also helps to explain at least some elements of Pope Benedict’s attraction to Newman as an historical figure.

Newman’s time and the conflicts of his day are in many ways strikingly similar to the conflicts and difficulties inherent in the current day. Theological concepts were being rocked by new discoveries and indeed completely new ways of viewing the world. The scientific revolution was viewed by many Catholics and by Christians generally as a terrible innovation that sought to rob the Christian story of its explanatory power. The development of critical history and its impact on Biblical interpretation was widely felt by all. Many considered it to be a very grave threat to an orthodox understanding of revelation. Political unrest and the overturn of long established regimes and economic systems left many feeling materially insecure and unsure of the role that Christianity would play in the brave new world that was dawning over Europe.

Just as in modern day America people broke into opposing camps that were more like ideological tribes than true groupings of legitimate perspectives. Party and group identity was felt intensely and each group of thinkers rallied around one view of the...