Virtually every Christian who reads or listens to sermons about the bible does so in a framework of unique dogmas. Dogmas are self-supporting frameworks that define the limits of acceptable belief. These are the traditional approaches handed down from generation to generation. Most spring from the 16th through the 20th centuries and are handed down. What we accept as dogmas (agreed upon perceptions) each competing Christian denomination considers them their unique and defining "truths."
Official dogmas change on a more or less regular basis. The Roman Catholic Church for instance "revised" their dogma about indulgences in wake of the rise of Protestantism but later added dogmas related to the Immaculate Conception of Mary. They gave up their dogmas about an earth centered universe to accommodate the scientific findings of Copernicus and Galileo. Pope Francis updated the Catechism of the Catholic Church to declare the death penalty "inadmissible," altering a centuries-old allowance. July 18, 1870, which declared that the Pope is infallible when speaking ex cathedra (from the chair) on matters of faith or morals.
Martin Luter is famous for his "faith alone. Grace alone" theology but his definition of faith required proof of validity by the "fruits" one produced. But an entire wing of later Protestants rejected any actual proof of saving faith other than to claim it and established several dogmas in support. The Frenchman Calvin introduced dogmas that defined that had already predetermined who He would and would not save and there was nothing humans could do about it. That and related dogmas are held by branches of Christianity today. Jacob Arminius & Arminians disputed Calvin's dogmas and introduced a new set of dogmas. The dogmas coming from these two factions are incorporated in a majority of competing Protestant congregations today. Pentecostalism is a Protestant movement defined by the active, present-day work of the Holy Spirit. Its dogmas are rooted in the "fourfold" (or fivefold) gospel: Jesus as Savior, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Healer, and Returning King, baptism of the Holy Spirit, Speaking tongues, spiritual gifts, divine healing and premillennialism.
There are dogmas about Transubstantiation, the Trinity, Apokatastasis (Universal Reconciliation) and the Rapture and End Times.
These dogmas are circular ways of interpreting scripture where the dogma sits at the center of scriptural perception thus "proving" that the dogma is true. Defending our dogmas makes up the big portion of conversation on this cite. So, the question is are we even aware of our dogmas or have we accepted them as "universal truth?" We claim that our "interpretation" of the bible is the right one, when in fact we are simply repeating dogmas invented by others for the last 2,000 years.
Official dogmas change on a more or less regular basis. The Roman Catholic Church for instance "revised" their dogma about indulgences in wake of the rise of Protestantism but later added dogmas related to the Immaculate Conception of Mary. They gave up their dogmas about an earth centered universe to accommodate the scientific findings of Copernicus and Galileo. Pope Francis updated the Catechism of the Catholic Church to declare the death penalty "inadmissible," altering a centuries-old allowance. July 18, 1870, which declared that the Pope is infallible when speaking ex cathedra (from the chair) on matters of faith or morals.
Martin Luter is famous for his "faith alone. Grace alone" theology but his definition of faith required proof of validity by the "fruits" one produced. But an entire wing of later Protestants rejected any actual proof of saving faith other than to claim it and established several dogmas in support. The Frenchman Calvin introduced dogmas that defined that had already predetermined who He would and would not save and there was nothing humans could do about it. That and related dogmas are held by branches of Christianity today. Jacob Arminius & Arminians disputed Calvin's dogmas and introduced a new set of dogmas. The dogmas coming from these two factions are incorporated in a majority of competing Protestant congregations today. Pentecostalism is a Protestant movement defined by the active, present-day work of the Holy Spirit. Its dogmas are rooted in the "fourfold" (or fivefold) gospel: Jesus as Savior, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Healer, and Returning King, baptism of the Holy Spirit, Speaking tongues, spiritual gifts, divine healing and premillennialism.
There are dogmas about Transubstantiation, the Trinity, Apokatastasis (Universal Reconciliation) and the Rapture and End Times.
These dogmas are circular ways of interpreting scripture where the dogma sits at the center of scriptural perception thus "proving" that the dogma is true. Defending our dogmas makes up the big portion of conversation on this cite. So, the question is are we even aware of our dogmas or have we accepted them as "universal truth?" We claim that our "interpretation" of the bible is the right one, when in fact we are simply repeating dogmas invented by others for the last 2,000 years.
