by Fr. Jonathan H. Cholcher
“The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine. Jesus answered him, ‘I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said.’” (John 18:19-21)
Christianity, like many religions, can be characterized by its doctrine, its particular teaching(s). One of the earliest Christian documents beside the Christian Scriptures, written before the end of the first century after the birth of Christ, is simply called The Doctrine (Gk., Hē Didachē), otherwise known as The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. It begins by describing the two ways: the way of life (keeping the will and commandments of God in Christ), and the way of death (the practice of sin and evil). From the beginning, Christianity was simply known as The Way (see Acts 9:2; 19:23; Jn. 14:6). The second half of The Doctrine describes the way of life realized in Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, prayer, and harmonious conduct of the Church gathered for instruction and charity.
The doctrine, or teaching, of the Christian Faith is not so much a set of propositions and rules to be accepted intellectually, as the exercise of the way of life. As such, Christian doctrine is diametrically opposed to the content and methods commonly known in our world as education, which is better called indoctrination. Indoctrination, as the word implies, is the imposition of teaching into a person to coercively accept, or be made to agree with, that teaching. Indoctrination tends to be artificial and unnatural (extrinsic). Doctrine accords with the natural potential of a person enabling a person to function freely from the inside (intrinsic).
As we read the Gospels, what exactly did Jesus say? What exactly is the form and content of His doctrine, His teaching?
- “From that time (i.e., after His baptism, temptation in the wilderness, and imprisonment of John the Baptist) Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’…And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.” (Matt. 4:17, 23)
- “And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings (i.e., the Sermon on the Mount [Matt. 5-7]), that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” (Matt. 7:28-29)
- “And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor…’ And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’” (Lk. 4:16-18, 21)
- “And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified on Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (Jn. 5:37-40)
- “And the Jews marveled, saying, ‘How does this Man know letters, having never studied?’ Jesus answered them and said, ‘My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?’” (Jn. 7:15-19)
The doctrine, or teaching, of Christ is Christ Himself, not only what He says, but importantly, what He does actually accomplishing the will and work of God in His Person. Learning or knowing the doctrine of Christ is not a matter of processing information; rather, it is a matter of following and imitating Christ, keeping His commandments. Doctrine is the personal experience of Christ translated into one’s own thoughts and actions, or, as Saint Paul writes: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).
Later in the same epistle, he says, “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you” (Gal. 4:19). The same Apostle wrote similarly to the Corinthians: “For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Therefore I urge you, imitate me”; then, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Cor. 4:15-16; 11:1).
The only way truly to learn the doctrine of Christ is for Christ to be formed in a person, to be born anew in the life of the gospel, and, therefore, to imitate Christ because Christ dwells within the person thus formed and begotten. Doctrine presupposes an inner renovation enabling an outward expression of truth according to what or whom one is. “Christians are always becoming what they already are” (Fr. Alexander Schmemann). Created in “the image and likeness of God” (Gen. 1:26-27), that potential once corrupted by sin and death is now restored in Christ to achieve proper growth and the purpose for which it was created, namely, communion with the limitless life of God Himself.
Certainly doctrine includes positive instruction and the giving of information previously unknown, obscured, or forgotten, such as the confession of God the Holy Trinity, the commandments of God leading to holiness, and the manner of godly worship and prayer. Yet in contrast to indoctrination, doctrine assumes the ability of a person to choose freely what is good, natural, and healthy to practice. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (Jn. 1:12). Thus doctrine is a matter of purifying the heart of self-desire to want what is from God, illumining the mind to see the wisdom of God’s ways, and striving toward the perfection of God’s eternal glory by rejecting all false and foreign claims to any other ultimate end.
Once again, doctrine is Christ Himself, our “wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). Christ Jesus the God-Man never pursued a course of indoctrination, but enjoined His disciples to follow willingly, freely, as is natural for human beings to do, of whom He is “the perfect Man” (Eph. 4:13). The Son of God freely out of His love for us became human in every way we are human, except without sin (Heb. 4:13), that we might freely find our way back to communion with the divine for which we were originally created. “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mk. 8:34).
Indoctrination is a tool of coercion, doctrine a fundamental re-orientation of life toward God with all one’s powers. Admittedly, indoctrination tends to produce quicker results according to the outcomes designed by those who use it; however, these results come at a price of the loss of freedom, unwilling conformity, and fear.
Doctrine, on the other hand, if true to its expression in Jesus Christ, gives both nourishment and growth to human persons as we are designed to flourish in faith, hope, and love. The Way of Doctrine takes longer and certainly involves greater struggle overcoming the corruption of sin which has become second nature in a fallen world. In the struggle, though, doctrine manifests itself in each believer as the Kingdom of God, this true and incorruptible spiritual dominion “that does not fade away” (1 Pet. 1:4; Lk. 17:21).
