Faith
Dogma (from the Greek "opinion" and "look, think, believe" .
In its literal sense, the word "dogma" (a word attested in 1580, from the Latin ecclesiastical dogma itself from Greek Legal status
The dogma is directly linked to the notion of authority, as the technical and critical vocabulary of the philosophy of Lalande (PUF):
- its original etymological "political decision of a sovereign or assembly";
- by his sense philosophical "philosophical view known in a school" that can be interpreted as a received opinion among people who adhere to the same authority producing the same doctrine;
- by his sense theological "doctrine recognized by the authority of a church."
By the definition of "true faith (orthodoxy) defines the dogma in reverse, the heresy that professes a different opinion on a point discussed in terms of the authority that promulgates. The councils of the early centuries began ruling in this framework on issues of Christology.
The nature of legal doctrine dating back to the Arian crisis . Previously, local councils are: what are the courts where the judge minority, such as that of Hierapolis which excluded Montan in 175. With the Arian crisis instead of being local (accompanied by local consequences) the council , by the will of the emperor, becomes "ecumenical" and the consequences extend to the whole empire. The only way for the heretic is condemned while in exile.
The emergence of Christianity as the official religion of the state sometimes led a double confusion:
- Confusion between religion and social order in a society where religion is a fundamental element, a heresy is a challenge to social order. This led to the use of dogma for judicial purposes, and repression of opinion schismatic.
- Confusion between faith and dogma: the fight against heresy led to require everyone to publicly state the dogmas of faith to prove his orthodoxy (which is behind the introduction of the Creed in the Mass ) making the recitation of an explicit criterion dogma of faith.
Theology of the Catholic dogma
The image of the kernel, which must break the shell to find the nourishing substance, is found in art: it is because of this symbolism in icons, Christ is sometimes represented in the center of an almond-shaped figure.
Dogma and Faith
For Catholicism , the first question to ask in front of a dogma is what it means, or more precisely, how to understand what is meant by this statement can bring the believer from God ?
In this perspective, what the religious systems must try to convey through their dogmas is not a philosophy arbitrary, but something whose legitimacy is justified by the result and experimental group of thousands of years of meditation. For Catholicism, the faith is not intellectual knowledge, but a journey towards God, where the dogmas play the role of means.
"There is a direct relationship between our spiritual life and the dogmas. Dogmas are lights along the path of our faith, they illuminate it and make it safer. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and our heart will open to receive the light of the dogmas of faith. "
- Catechism of the Catholic Church , No. 89.
The organic link between faith and dogma led to sometimes confuse the two in one approach (rightly denounced as dogmatic) for which the faith "would" adhere to the truth of dogma. This would suggest that it is the knowledge that can be saved, as for example, believe the Gnostics. Such a design would be in the eyes of most Christians a heresy.
The Catholic Initiation
Understanding of a dogma is based on a journey of initiation , which requires personal work and time. Education is reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council : a dogma is not an arbitrary statement, but something that should be reflected in the personal lives of the faithful:
"The catechumenate is not a simple exposition of dogmas and precepts, but training for the whole Christian life and learning through which disciples are joined to Christ their Master. The catechumens should be properly introduced to the mystery of salvation and the practice of evangelical morality, and introduced by sacred rites to celebrate at successive periods in the life of faith, liturgy and charity of God's people. "
- Second Vatican Council , Decree Ad gentes, No. 14.
Whoever thinks about itself, and compares the result to what he said, finally recognizing the concept that lay beneath the words. It is a symbol , in the etymological sense: the dogma is the formula for recognition, he tells those who have not yet reached the stage of initiation there is something beyond, and it allows those who was taken to know that he spent the right place. So that includes St. Augustine :
"When a person of cultivated mind presents itself to you to be educated, if it is determined to embrace Christianity and ready to be baptized, she has already, in all likelihood, acquired a fairly extensive knowledge of our holy scriptures and she has no intention to participate in the sacraments of the Church. These people, indeed, do not expect the time to learn to embrace the faith, before they weigh their reasons, and whenever they find a confidant, they discover him their thoughts and feelings. In this circumstance, it must be short, and far to dwell on the truths they know, they must touch a sensitive, telling them that our doctrines are such and such a truth that is probably familiar. This exposes, in a quick list of all the principles that should instill the simple and ignorant. With this method, an enlightened man seeth does teach at school of a master, what he already knows, and, on the other hand, if he knows something, he learns the journal as we look to its knowledge. "
- Saint Augustine , Treaty of catechism.
For a catechumen , and even confirmed for the Christian who continues the deepening of his faith, the question is not whether what is stated in a dogma is true or not (we can discuss it after having crossed the step one), but if he understood what it means or not. Everyone progresses at their pace in the understanding of faith. It is normal and respectable does not understand a particular instruction, and raise questions about its meaning.
In this progression, the understanding is critical personal, teaching can not replace them. This personal understanding, in turn, do not rely solely on the intellectual faculties of man, the Catholic tradition holds that in the spiritual , such understanding is possible only under the action of the Holy Spirit :
"This is the interior teacher who teaches that Christ taught, who teaches her inspiration. Where are his inspiration and anointing, the noise is unnecessary words out. The words we speak outside, brothers, are like the gardener in front of the tree, he works outside, he brings water and the care of his work, but whatever it brings and the outside is that what form the fruit? Faith and reasonThe rejection of dogmatism in the name of rationalism is justified by the idea that religion is a source of arbitrary authority and irrational. In fact, the dogma is not immediately accessible to reason: it often seems arbitrary a statement, even incomprehensible, to him who discovers it. By its nature, indeed, a dogma is not immediately understandable - otherwise it would be a trivial scientific truth. The Church does not claim being only a precautionary wisdom and spiritual experience: the transmission of dogma is not an act of authority, but a service due to the Truth.
"... The Church can not bind to any philosophical system, whose reign lasted a short time, but the expressions which, for centuries, were established by common consent of Catholic doctors to arrive at some understanding of dogma certainly does not rely on a fragile foundation. They are based in fact on principles and notions deduced from a true knowledge of created things in the deduction of such knowledge, the truth has proved a star lit up like the human mind, through the Church. Therefore there is no wonder if some of these concepts have not only been used in the ecumenical councils, but have received such a sanction that is not allowed to move away. "- John Paul II, Fides et Ratio.
Traditionally, the truth is seen as an almond shell locked in her words: he must break the bark.
In Christianity
For Catholics, the only lesson that should be the word of God , since there is no teaching possible human .
For the churches of the Reformation
- when they are fundamentalists , the design is undeniably inerrantiste dogmatic. Single source of dogma differs, instead of the tradition, the Holy Scripture is the "sovereign authority". For evangelical Christianity, a principal dogma "the authority and inherent word of the Bible" of all other rights that are deemed "scriptural." Congregationalists in churches, the pastor and, more often, the elderly, are a master of everything but law.
- If any preaching, any doctrinal decision, must submit to the interpretation of scripture, the variety of theological schools led in the other churches mentioned above, free inquiry is the dominant trend, as shown in right column the table below. Magisterium has no jurisdiction to interpret exclusive or definitive, the biblical text.
Theology of dogma in Islam
Philosophy
History of dogmatism
Dogmatism is a philosophy of knowledge which holds that man is able to reach an absolute truth through reason, even in metaphysical research. With important nuances, it is the basis of the doctrines of Plato , Aristotle , the Stoics and Neoplatonists. Instead, dogmas are rejected by schools as philosophical rationalism and skepticism.
Later, she finds herself in Descartes , Leibniz and Spinoza. In the history of philosophy, he is opposed to the usual skepticism. Yet since ancient times, an intermediate solution called probabilism , was proposed by Carneades.
The discussion of knowledge is still between dogmatism, skepticism and probabilism. Under the influence of the critique of Kant (who also said he was awakened from his "dogmatic slumber" by David Hume ) and positivism , many scholars dispute the fact of absolute metaphysical "rational", but believe it possible to achieve increasing approximation of the truth, even in metaphysics.
From the perspective of religious studies
In the table below, we use the distinction made by Louis-Auguste Sabatier (French Protestant theologian) between "religious authority" and "spiritual religion" or of free inquiry , either orthopraxy. Indeed, all religions have no dogmas (doctrines attracting a more or less obligatory membership) is a specialty Christian. Christian denominations in which the dogma is "mandatory," faith is mistaken beliefs. In other denominations and other more widely religions Abrahamic faith is deemed to come from God or gods and has no link with the beliefs.
Religious authority Religions of free inquiry What is the role of dogma? The doctrine is a statement of faith that can not be questioned. One (and not) dogma is a word to express a provisional truth untold. It is defined by a council or a pope (since the nineteenth century ) acting (according to the Catholic faith) as "the inspiration of the Holy Spirit." It is not defined, because how can we define (ie definitely ask fines, that is to say, limits) God ? But it is expressed by believers to share their experience of God.
It helps to clearly articulate the faith of the Church without compromise. The "doctrine" allows hesitant stammer a word in the language of an era and culture of a place. It closes a reflection on an issue, or on heresies designed as an error of faith. It initiates a discussion on the expression daring by humans, allowing everyone to deeper thought to rebound later on a different formulation of a truth in the making. What is its "utility"? It can affirm the same faith. It represents progress towards a common understanding of a multi faith Criticism
The science does not admit any dogma that any theory is subject to scientific criticism, the axioms of departure that can be challenged. In principle, a scientific theory based on evidence and verifiable. It is the interpretation of these facts may be questionable, even if their scientific authors admit, sometimes with difficulty, the questioning of their discoveries.
The dogmatism of the Catholic Church was strongly criticized by scientists and philosophers of the Enlightenment , particularly the attitude of some theologians in the seventeenth century about the Galileo affair and his conviction for the " Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief Systems World "(1633). The Copernican revolution was effected in the sixteenth centuryXVIII century in reaction to darkness. The philosophers of the Enlightenment, particularly Rousseau's Social Contract in the end the system of equations:
- Church heteronomy
- State autonomy
Marcel Gauchet noted that "The Revolution is brought to redo its behalf the thinking path leading from the political subordination of religion to the metaphysical assertion of autonomy . "
References
- Notes
- On the couple orthodoxy / heresy, see Heresy
- References
- Dictionary of words in the Christian faith, publ. eds. Olivier de la Brosse, Antonin-Marie Henry and Philippe Rouillard, Ed. Cerf , Paris, 1989 (new edition), p. 235.
- Jerphagnon Lucien , "Arius sow discord" in Historia-thematic, March-April 2003, Heretics.
- See Saint Thomas Aquinas refuting the validity of the arguments of authority: II Sent., q. 27, t. 1; II Sent., Q. 53, t. 2. For him, an argument from authority is possibly acceptable in religious matters, and quoting the Bible only.
- Thomas Aquinas , De Magistro, De veritate.
- Marcel Gauchet , Religion in Democracy, p. 70.
Notes
Bibliography
- Jacques Schlosser , Jesus of Nazareth, ed Noesis. (On Christianity Hellenistic operating a syncretism between the ideas put forward by the movement of Jesus and Neo- Platonism, Hellenistic)
- Theo, New Catholic Encyclopedia, Drouguet-Ardant/Fayard, 1989. ( ISBN 2-7041-0336-4 ).
- (De) Adolph von Harnack , Compendium of the history of dogma, Fishbach, Paris. (Translated Grundriss der Dogmengeschichte, 1st ed., 1873. The French and English translations are abridged.)
Related articles
External Links
Loading ...