A Silent Melody: John Henry Newman’s Fifteenth Oxford University Sermon as an Expression of Personal Struggle

Although Newman’s Fifteenth Oxford University Sermon is often considered a precursor to An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1845), the following essay views this Sermon as an expression of Newman’s personal struggle from 1839 to 1845: in the midst of confusion, he pondered; against the threat of liberal skepticism, he defended truth; in the face of doubt, he reaffirmed his relationship with God.