Theology uses the language of the culture in which it was created. Formulations are culturally conditioned and need reinterpretation. Religion to some extent must be reasonable. The Development of Doctrine There is general agreement that even if there is some initial given or basic revelation, nevertheless there is doctrinal development or theological advance as that given is continually being reformulated and expressed anew in words. There is considerable disagreement about the nature of such development.
Development necessitates some kind of continuity.
Concepts such as God, Sin, Grace, Salvation, constantly need to be rethought. But there are limits to the possibility of reformulation and redefinition if one claims to still be speaking in the Christian tradition. History shows that all human thinking and talking is historically conditioned. Psychology shows that religious attitudes and beliefs originated at least in part, to satisfy certain needs and shows that we are less rational than we like to believe. Outline I. Faith Christian faith is a gift of God by which we freely accept God's self-communication in Christ.