Dogma

What is it?

Why should we respect it?

What are some examples of it?

-- Mike H. (michael.hitzelberger@vscc.cc.tn.us), April 06, 2003

Answers

Please use understandable terms, don't just post links. Thank you

-- Mike H. (michael.hitzelberger@vscc.cc.tn.us), April 06, 2003.

Mike, from the Catholic Encyclopedia we are told that a "dogma" is:

"understood to be a truth appertaining to faith or morals, revealed by God, transmitted from the Apostles in the Scriptures or by tradition, and proposed by the Church for the acceptance of the faithful. It might be described briefly as a revealed truth defined by the Church -- but private revelations do not constitute dogmas, and some theologians confine the word defined to doctrines solemnly defined by the pope or by a general council, while a revealed truth becomes a dogma even when proposed by the Church through her ordinary magisterium or teaching office. A dogma therefore implies a twofold relation: to Divine revelation and to the authoritative teaching of the Church."

-- Ed (catholic4444@yahoo.ca), April 07, 2003.

Why should we respect it? It has been “revealed by God”. God wants us to know these truths or “dogmas”. The Church teaches dogmas to provide us with additional tools for attaining salvation. Two examples of dogmas are the Mystery of the Holy Trinity and the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

-- Ed (catholic4444@yahoo.ca), April 07, 2003.

Ed

Thanks Why should we respect it? It has been “revealed by God”. God wants us to know these truths or “dogmas"...

I often don't think about dogmas as loving gifts from God but they are just that. He wants us to know because he loves us so much. It is a great privilege to have a dogma available to use! Sad that society tends to think these somehow restrict our freedom and enjoyment of life. Quite to the contrary. That feeling I sometimes get that says a dogma is a burden comes to me from the opposition I'm sure. The world hates dogma. I've seen humiliating public comedy made about dogma (not that movie though, I never saw that movie "Dogma"). Time to combat that error in thinking...to the death!

Sincerely

-- Mike H. (michael.hitzelberger@vscc.cc.tn.us), April 07, 2003.