Research backlog
Research backlog
Research backlog
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This is the working list of clarifying questions still to be researched. Every doctrine (F01–F16, S01–S24, T01–T27) was audited on 17 October 2026 against the rule for adding questions.
Open items: 18 candidate questions (3 high, 9 medium, 6 low priority), plus 3 housekeeping items and the Oriental Orthodox coverage list. Done: 7 (see the change log).
The rule for adding a question
A doctrine gets a new clarifying question only when the question exposes a real, documented split. That means at least one of these:
- It separates traditions that look identical at first. For example, two traditions both confess a “real presence” but disagree on whether unbelievers receive it.
- Scripture and the fathers diverge on it. For example, the earliest fathers say one thing and the later consensus says another.
- It catches a qualification that an average would hide.
Each doctrine stops at about three to five questions. Questions that every tradition answers the same way are skipped, and so are questions the classic confessions say nothing about.
How to read the tables
- Status: ☐ to do · ◐ in progress · ☑ done (with the commit that finished it).
- Priority: high means a sharp split stated in the classic confessions, with early sources that can be reached online. Medium means a real split that is narrower, or harder to source. Low means a real split, but one the confessions barely address or that overlaps an existing question.
- Sources are leads: real primary passages and confession articles, cited by work and section. Their wording has not yet been checked against the text. Until a question is researched, treat every lead as (to verify). Nothing here is a verified citation.
- Proposed IDs are provisional. The next free number in the doctrine is used when the work is done.
1. Unfinished second-order deepening
On 10 October, the next step after first-order coverage was set as third questions for S02, S04 and S08. None of the three had been written into the repository when the audit was made. All three were researched in full on 17 October 2026.
| Status | Priority | ID | Question | Split it exposes | Sources (leads) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ☑ 973a999 | high | S02.3 | Is baptism the new-covenant counterpart of circumcision, so that it belongs to believers’ children? | Separates traditions that look alike. The Westminster Confession grounds infant baptism in the covenant (“infants of one, or both, believing parents”). The 1689 London Baptist Confession, which otherwise follows Westminster closely, drops this and baptises only professing believers. Catholic and Orthodox teaching grounds infant baptism chiefly in original sin and the necessity of baptism, not in the circumcision parallel. | Col 2:11–12; Gen 17:7–12; Acts 2:38–39; Rom 4:11. Justin, Dialogue 43; Cyprian, Ep. 64 to Fidus (ANF numbering 58); Augustine, On Baptism IV.24.31–32. WCF XXVIII.4; 1689 XXIX.2; Trent V.4 and VII (On Baptism) can. 13; Orthodox Creed (1679) XXVIII; Schleitheim 1. |
| ☑ 973a999 | high | S04.3 | Do unbelievers who take the sacrament receive Christ’s body and blood, or only the outward signs? | Separates traditions that all confess a real presence. The Formula of Concord says the unworthy truly receive the body orally, to judgement. The Thirty-Nine Articles (XXIX) and Westminster (XXIX.8) say the wicked receive only the signs. Augustine is quoted on both sides. | 1 Cor 10:16; 11:27–29; John 6:54–56. Augustine, Tractates on John 26.18 and 59.1; Origen, Commentary on Matthew 11.14. FC Ep. and SD VII; Trent XIII ch. 8; Art. XXIX; WCF XXIX.8; 1689 XXX.8; Orthodox Creed (1679) XXXIII; Dositheus, decree 17. |
| ☑ 973a999 | high | S08.3 | Is the bishop of Rome’s solemn teaching irreformable “of itself, not from the consent of the Church” (Vatican I)? | Catches a qualification that S08.2 bundles with jurisdiction. Era IV councils examined and received papal letters, and Constantinople III (681) anathematised Pope Honorius. Era IV also has strong pro-Roman texts (the Formula of Hormisdas, 519). | Luke 22:31–32; Acts 15; Gal 2:11–14. Chalcedon, Acts II and IV (reception of Leo’s Tome); Constantinople III, sessions XIII and XVIII (Honorius); Formula of Hormisdas (519). Vatican I, Pastor aeternus ch. 4; Art. XIX, XXI; WCF XXXI.4; Dositheus, decrees 10, 12. |
2. First-order doctrines
All sixteen have three questions. Most traditions agree on the first-order core, so few further splits exist. Candidates:
| Status | Priority | ID | Doctrine | Question | Split it exposes | Sources (leads) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | high | F04.4 | F04 One person | Does Christ’s human nature share the divine majesty, such as omnipresence (Lutheran genus maiestaticum), or does the Word also exist beyond the flesh, so that his body is in heaven only (the Reformed “extra”)? | Separates Lutheran from Reformed and Anglican, who answer F04.3 alike. It decides how they read the ascension and the Supper. | Acts 3:21; Col 2:9; Eph 4:10; Matt 28:20; John 16:28. Athanasius, On the Incarnation 17; Augustine, Ep. 137.2 and Tractates on John 50.13; Leo, Tome (Ep. 28) 4; John of Damascus, Exposition III.3–4, 7. FC Ep. and SD VIII; WCF VIII.7; 1662 BCP Declaration on Kneeling (“Black Rubric”); 1689 VIII.7; Orthodox Creed (1679) VII; Trent XIII ch. 1. |
| ☐ | medium | F10.4 | F10 Bodily resurrection | What does “he descended into hell” mean: Christ’s victorious descent to the dead, or his suffering of hell’s anguish (or remaining “under the power of death”)? | Separates traditions that all confess the descent. The Formula of Concord (IX) has a victorious descent of the whole Christ. Westminster Larger Catechism 50 reads the clause as continuing under death. The 1689 Confession omits it. | 1 Pet 3:18–20; 4:6; Eph 4:8–10; Acts 2:27–31. Ignatius, Magnesians 9; Irenaeus, Against Heresies IV.27.2; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 4.11; Rufinus, Commentary on the Apostles’ Creed 18. FC Ep. and SD IX; WLC 50; Art. III; Catechism of the Catholic Church 631–635. |
| ☐ | low | F03.4 | F03 True humanity | Was Christ, in his human mind, really ignorant of the day (Mark 13:32)? | Scripture and later fathers diverge. Athanasius and Gregory Nazianzen accept a real human ignorance; Gregory the Great condemns the Agnoetae (c. 600). Low because the Protestant confessions are silent; the Lutheran side overlaps F04.4. | Mark 13:32; Luke 2:52. Athanasius, Against the Arians III.42–46; Gregory Nazianzen, Oration 30.15–16; Gregory the Great, Letter to Eulogius on the Agnoetae (Register X; letter number to verify). |
Audited, no candidate: F01, F02 (the Son as “God of himself”, Calvin, Institutes I.13.25, is not a confessional article), F05 (Mary’s virginity in childbirth belongs to S18), F06, F07, F08 (the splits are S11 and S14), F09 (how the death saves is S20), F11 (covered by F04.4), F12 (S01, S23, S24), F13, F14, F15 (Scripture against tradition is S07), F16.
3. Second-order doctrines
| Status | Priority | ID | Doctrine | Question | Split it exposes | Sources (leads) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | high | S03.3 | S03 Baptism: effect | Is baptism given by heretics or schismatics valid, or must such converts be baptised? | The fathers split on it (Cyprian and Firmilian against Stephen of Rome; Augustine against the Donatists). The traditions split too: Trent says yes; later Orthodox practice is mixed (economy versus akribeia); Anabaptists baptise again those baptised as infants. | Eph 4:5; Acts 19:1–7. Cyprian, Ep. 73 and 74 (Hartel); Seventh Council of Carthage (256); Firmilian (Ep. 75 in Cyprian’s letters); Augustine, On Baptism III–V; Nicaea, canons 8 and 19. Trent VII (On Baptism) can. 4; WCF XXVIII.7; Art. XXVI; Schleitheim 1; 1689 XXIX. |
| ☐ | high | S06.5 | S06 Sacraments | Do the sacraments give grace by the rite performed (ex opere operato), or only to those who receive them with faith? | Separates the Catholic and Lutheran views (AC XIII and Apology XIII condemn ex opere operato). Augustine both separates validity from the minister’s worthiness and says the word works “not because it is spoken but because it is believed”. | Rom 4:11; 1 Cor 10:1–5; 11:29; Heb 4:2. Augustine, Tractates on John 80.3; On Baptism IV; Optatus, Against Parmenian V. Trent VII can. 6–8; AC XIII; Apology XIII.18–23; Art. XXV, XXVI; WCF XXVII.3; 1689 XXVIII. |
| ☑ c9f7655 | high | S11.3 | S11 Predestination | Is converting grace irresistible, or can it be refused? | Separates traditions that look alike: Reformed Baptist and General Baptist, and Presbyterian and Lutheran. Augustine’s grace that works “indeclinably and insuperably” stands against John Cassian. | John 6:37, 44–45; Acts 7:51; 16:14; Matt 23:37; Ezek 36:26–27. Augustine, On Rebuke and Grace 12.38; On the Predestination of the Saints 8.13; John Cassian, Conferences XIII; Orange (529) canons 4–7. Trent VI can. 4; FC SD II; WCF X.1–2; 1689 X.1–2; Art. X; Orthodox Creed (1679) XX–XXI; Dositheus, decree 3. |
| ☑ c9f7655 | high | S14.4 | S14 Original sin | Is the concupiscence (disordered desire) that remains in the baptised itself sin? | Trent V.5 says it is “never” called sin in the proper sense. Art. IX, AC II and WCF VI.5 say it has “the nature of sin”. Augustine is claimed by both: it is “called sin because it was made by sin”. Scripture is read both ways (Rom 7 against Jas 1:14–15). | Rom 7:7–8, 17–20; Gal 5:17; Jas 1:14–15. Augustine, On Marriage and Concupiscence I.23.25; Against Two Letters of the Pelagians I.13.27. Trent V.5; AC II; Apology II; FC I; Art. IX; WCF VI.5; 1689 VI.5; Orthodox Creed (1679) XV. |
| ☑ c9f7655 | high | S24.3 | S24 Merit and works | Can anyone do more than God commands (works of supererogation; the counsels of perfection)? | Scripture and Era I diverge: Hermas (Era I) promises more glory for good done “beyond what is commanded”; Luke 17:10 calls the servant who did all that was commanded “unworthy”. The confessions divide sharply (Art. XIV calls works of supererogation arrogance and impiety). | Luke 17:10; Matt 19:21; 1 Cor 7:25, 38. Shepherd of Hermas, Similitudes V.3; Augustine, Holy Virginity 14–15. Art. XIV; WCF XVI.4; 1689 XVI.4; AC XXVII; Trent XXIV (On Matrimony) can. 10. |
| ☐ | medium | S05.3 | S05 Eucharist: sacrifice | Is the eucharistic sacrifice offered as a propitiation for the living and the dead? | Scripture and the fathers diverge. Offerings for the dead are early (Tertullian, Cyril of Jerusalem, Augustine). Hebrews’ “once for all” and the Protestant confessions (Art. XXXI, WCF XXIX.2) stand against them. | Heb 7:27; 9:25–28; 10:12–18. Tertullian, On the Crown 3; Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystagogical Catecheses 5.9–10; Augustine, Enchiridion 110; Confessions IX.13. Trent XXII ch. 2 and can. 3; Art. XXXI; AC XXIV; WCF XXIX.2. |
| ☐ | medium | S13.3 | S13 Perseverance | Do grave (“mortal”) sins forfeit justifying grace while faith remains? | Separates traditions that all allow a fall from grace. Trent (VI can. 27) says grace is lost by any mortal sin, not only unbelief. The Smalcald Articles (III.3) say faith and the Spirit leave the one who sins wilfully. Westminster (XV.4, XVII.3) denies final loss. Fathers: Tertullian’s remissible/irremissible sins; Augustine’s daily sins. | 1 John 5:16–17; Gal 5:19–21; 1 Cor 6:9–11. Tertullian, On Modesty 2, 19; Augustine, Enchiridion 71; Cyprian, On the Lapsed. Trent VI ch. 15 and can. 27; SA III.3.42–45; WCF XV.4, XVII.3; 1689 XV.4, XVII.3. |
| ☐ | medium | S18.4 | S18 Saints and Mary | Was Mary free from all personal sin? | Scripture and the fathers diverge. Era II–III writers (Tertullian, Origen, Basil, Chrysostom) attribute doubt or vainglory to her; Augustine exempts her. Trent VI can. 23 affirms a “special privilege”. This is distinct from the Immaculate Conception (S18.3). | Mark 3:21, 31–35; Luke 2:48–50; Rom 3:23. Tertullian, On the Flesh of Christ 7; Origen, Homilies on Luke 17; Basil, Ep. 260.9; Chrysostom, Homilies on Matthew 44.1; Augustine, Nature and Grace 36.42. Trent VI can. 23. |
| ☐ | medium | S22.3 | S22 Marriage and divorce | Is wilful desertion a ground for dissolving a marriage (1 Cor 7:15)? | Separates traditions that look alike: WCF XXIV.6 allows desertion; the 1689 Confession drops the paragraph. Trent XXIV can. 5 anathematises dissolution for “affected absence”. Ambrosiaster (Era III) allows the deserted believer to remarry. | 1 Cor 7:12–16; Matt 19:9. Ambrosiaster, Commentary on 1 Corinthians 7:15; Augustine, Adulterous Marriages I. WCF XXIV.6; 1689 XXV (no divorce paragraph); Trent XXIV can. 5, 7; Orthodox Creed (1679) XLVII. |
| ☐ | medium | S17.3 | S17 Purgatory | Can the church grant indulgences from a treasury of merit? | The confessions divide (Trent XXV decree on indulgences; Art. XXII “pardons”). The early analogue, martyrs’ letters of peace for the lapsed, was itself disputed by Cyprian. | 2 Cor 2:6–10; Col 1:24. Cyprian, On the Lapsed 15–20 and Ep. 15–17 (Hartel); Tertullian, On Modesty 22. Trent XXV decree on indulgences; Art. XXII; SA II.2. |
| ☐ | medium | S20.3 | S20 Substitution | Did Christ suffer the Father’s wrath in his soul (the “torments … in his soul” of WCF VIII.4)? | S20.2 says the fathers have no “explicit wrath on the Son”. The Reformed confessions affirm it; Hilary even denies that Christ felt pain. Catches a qualification. | Isa 53:4–10; Gal 3:13; Mark 15:34; 2 Cor 5:21. Hilary, On the Trinity X.23; Gregory Nazianzen, Oration 30.5; Cyril of Alexandria on the cry of dereliction. WCF VIII.4; WLC 49; 1689 VIII.4; Catechism of the Catholic Church 603. |
| ☐ | medium | S09.3 | S09 Church government | Is the ruling elder (an elder who governs but does not preach) a biblical office? | Separates Presbyterian polity from episcopal and Baptist polity. Ambrosiaster records “elders” in the church of his day. | 1 Tim 5:17; Rom 12:8; 1 Cor 12:28. Ambrosiaster, Commentary on 1 Timothy 5:1. WCF XXX.1, XXXI; Westminster Form of Presbyterial Church-Government (1645); 1689 XXVI.8; Art. XXXVI. |
| ☐ | medium | S03.4 | S03 Baptism: effect | Is the grace of baptism tied to the moment it is given? | WCF XXVIII.6 says efficacy “is not tied to that moment of time”; Lutheran and Catholic teaching ties regeneration to the washing. Augustine on infants who later believe. | Titus 3:5; Acts 8:13–23. Augustine, On Baptism IV.24.31–32; Ep. 98. WCF XXVIII.6; AC IX; Luther’s Small Catechism IV; Trent VII. |
| ☐ | low | S06.6 | S06 Sacraments | Is ordination a sacrament? | The Apology (XIII.11–12) is willing to call ordination a sacrament if it is understood of the ministry of the Word, which catches a qualification. Art. XXV and WCF XXVII.4 count only two. | 1 Tim 4:14; 2 Tim 1:6. Augustine, On the Good of Marriage 24.32. Apology XIII; Art. XXV; Trent XXIII can. 3; WCF XXVII.4. |
| ☐ | low | S02.4 | S02 Baptism: subjects | Whose infants may be baptised: only those with a believing parent, or any infant offered? | WCF XXVIII.4 limits it to the children of believers; Augustine (Ep. 98) has infants presented by others. Low: overlaps S02.3. | Augustine, Ep. 98.6. WCF XXVIII.4; WLC 166. |
| ☐ | low | S23.3 | S23 Nature of faith | Is faith itself counted as righteousness (Rom 4:3, 5), or is Christ’s righteousness imputed to faith? | WCF XI.1 and 1689 XI.1 deny that faith itself is imputed; Arminian General Baptist sources read Rom 4 more directly. Low: few early sources. | Rom 4:3–9; Gal 3:6. WCF XI.1; 1689 XI.1. |
| ☐ | low | S16.3 | S16 Chalcedon and miaphysis | Were the mutual anathemas (Leo and Chalcedon; Severus and Dioscorus) about substance or words? | Developmental; the evidence is mostly after 750 (joint statements of 1971 and later). | Severus, Letters; Chalcedon. PRO ORIENTE Vienna formula (1971). |
Audited, no candidate: S01 (five questions, at the limit), S07 (unwritten traditions are already weighed in S07.1; canon is S07.2), S10 (all nine classic positions agree), S12, S15 (“through the Son” is already part of the S15.1 verdict), S19 (seven questions, at the limit), S21 (essence and energies is T18.2).
4. Third-order doctrines
| Status | Priority | ID | Doctrine | Question | Split it exposes | Sources (leads) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ☑ c9f7655 | high | T09.3 | T09 Intermediate state | Do the souls of the righteous see God immediately after death, before the resurrection? | Scripture and the fathers diverge, and the traditions split. Justin and Irenaeus place souls in a waiting place, and Tertullian puts only martyrs in paradise. Benedictus Deus (1336) and WCF XXXII.1 put the righteous “in the highest heavens”. Dositheus (18) holds the full joy back until the resurrection. | Phil 1:21–23; 2 Cor 5:6–8; Luke 23:43; Rev 6:9–11; Heb 12:23. Justin, Dialogue 80; Irenaeus, Against Heresies V.31.2; Tertullian, On the Soul 55. Benedictus Deus (1336); Florence, Laetentur caeli (1439); Dositheus, decree 18; WCF XXXII.1; 1689 XXXI.1; Orthodox Creed (1679) XLIX. |
| ☐ | low | T20.3 | T20 Sword and oaths | May Christians go to law against one another, or serve as judges? | Schleitheim 6 forbids Christians to act as judges; the other confessions allow lawful courts. Overlaps T20.1. | 1 Cor 6:1–8; Rom 13:1–4. Schleitheim 6; Dordrecht XIII; Art. XXXVII. |
Audited, no candidate: T01, T02, T03, T04 (sprinkling is already part of T04.1), T05, T06, T07, T08, T10, T11, T12, T13, T14 (instrumental music: the classic confessions are silent, so it is skipped), T15, T16, T17, T18, T19, T21, T22, T23, T24, T25, T26, T27 (the “third use” of the law is part of T27.1).
5. Housekeeping found in the audit
These are overlaps between existing questions, not new research. Fix them by cross-linking or merging, with no change to any verdict without a logged re-weighing.
| Status | Item |
|---|---|
| ☐ | T05.2 (the cup for all communicants) and T25.1 (communion in both kinds) ask the same question. Keep T25.1 as the main entry, and turn T05.2 into a cross-reference, or retitle it. |
| ☐ | S10.2 (deaconesses) and T21.1 (deaconesses) overlap. Decide which tier owns the question; the other should cross-link. |
| ☐ | S02.2 (infant communion) and T23.2 (infant communion) overlap. Same treatment. |
6. Oriental Orthodox coverage gaps
Oriental Orthodox cells are the most often “not assessed” (33 cells as of 17 October 2026): F08.2, F08.3, S01.1, S01.2, S01.5, S07.3, S13.2, S14.2, S14.3, S19.7, S20.1, S21.1, S23.2, S24.1, T03.1, T05.1, T06.2, T07.1, T08.1, T11.2, T19.2, T20.1, T20.2, T21.2, T22.1, T22.2, T24.1, T24.2, T25.2, T26.1, T26.2, T27.1, T27.2. Fill a cell only from sources that can actually be read (the Armenian liturgy and Nerses Shnorhali, the Coptic liturgy, Shenouda III’s published lectures, Severus of Antioch’s letters). Leave it not assessed otherwise.
7. Change log
- 2026-10-17: backlog created from a full audit of 67 doctrines.
- 2026-10-17: researched and published S02.3, S04.3, S08.3 (commit 973a999) and S11.3, S14.4, S24.3, T09.3 (commit c9f7655). Final wording of each question is on its doctrine page and may differ slightly from the proposal above. Next by priority: F04.4, S03.3, S06.5 (high), then the medium items.