What are the Dogmas that must be believed?

[Lovinglight]

Dogma

Dogma: “The deposit of faith” (1 Tim. 6:20; 2 Tim. 1:14) is made up of the entire revelation of Jesus Christ to the Church both in Doctrine and Morals.

A dogma is a truth revealed by God, and as such is proposed by the Magisterium of the Church as necessary for belief. A person remains a Catholic in good standing only if he accepts in its entirety the full revelation of the Faith in its integrity. Dogmas because they are divinely revealed cannot change.

Dogmas are essential to the Faith. They cannot change. If any one dogma is denied by an individual or group of individuals the truth is not diminished by their denial, however, they remove themselves from the Body of Christ, the Church. The deliberate denial of a dogma of the Faith is called heresy.

Dogmas are those truths revealed by Christ which have been explicitly defined by the Church through her teaching authority called the Magisterium. It is very important to remember that because these truths are essential to the Faith and have been revealed by Christ Himself they precede any Church clarification. Dogmatic pronouncements by the Church are simply clarifications of those revealed truths which have in some way been denied or challenged to the point that the Church must step forward to protect the deposit of faith from error and dilution. For instance, the dogma of Christ’s Divinity, called the Hypostatic Union, was not defined by a General Ecumenical Council of the Church until the 4th Century. Nonetheless, it was always necessary for a Christian, in order to remain Christian, to believe that Jesus was not merely the Christ but was, in fact, God Himself who became a man for man’s salvation. The meaning of each dogmatic truth remains the same throughout the ages and cannot change.

 

[Michael16]

As far as I know; beyond the obvious, the dogmas to be believed are the Assumption and Immaculate Conception.

 

[the_coppersmith]

@Lovinglight: your definition of “dogma” seems straightforward but it falls a bit short of its theological depth. Where did you excerpt it from?

Ludwing Ott’s “Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma” (and old but good reference) shows that there are several “degrees” of belief attributed to each dogma. Also, while the meaning of dogma does not change, there is a natural gradual development of our understanding of that which is the mind of God and is the matter proper of Theology, in what the scholar Benedict XVI called “hermeneutics of continuity”. You may want to read “An essay on the development of Christian doctrine” by Bl. John Henry Newman (bearing in mind that development is not evolution…the latter is a tenet of modernism).

The question is: who and what are the faithful Catholics bound to belief? According to the Profession of Faith:

I, N., with firm faith believe and profess each and everything that is contained in the Symbol of faith…

With firm faith, I also believe everything contained in the word of God, whether written or handed down in Tradition, which the Church, either by a solemn judgment or by the ordinary and universal Magisterium, sets forth to be believed as divinely revealed.

I also firmly accept and hold each and everything definitively proposed by the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals.

Moreover, I adhere with religious submission of will and intellect to the teachings which either the Roman Pontiff or the College of Bishops enunciate when they exercise their authentic Magisterium, even if they do not intend to proclaim these teachings by a definitive act.

All Catholic teaching taught by the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him must be understood in accordance with Catholic tradition. The Council of Trent had a stern condemnation against any attempt to distort the teachings of the hierarchy in order to attempt to present them as heretical (and them as heretics). If a teaching “appears” heretical to the reader, the reader simply does not know enough about the faith to understand the Catholic meaning of the teaching. That is why clarifications can be sought, politely and through the proper channels (meaning no clashing of cymbals and tearing of robes).

The best way to learn the teachings that we believe as Catholics is to study the Catechism which according to the Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum "is a statement of the Church’s faith and of catholic doctrine…a sure norm for teaching the faith…a sure and authentic reference text for teaching catholic doctrine…offered to any individual who wants to know what the Catholic Church believes.

 

[Lovinglight]

Thank you very much! Im sorry i should have posted a link. I tried to find one that is simple to understand.

http://www.roman-catholic.com/Roman/Articles/three_ds.htm

I edited out the modernist controversy in it.

Ive read the baltimore and current Catechism and some of the Trent.

So the changes i see in them are because theyre not entirely based on Dogma…would be that correct? Because the Church can make something Dogma as time goes on?

 

[Lovinglight]

Thank you michael

 

[Michael16]

You’re welcome, Lovinglight.

 

[the_coppersmith]

Changes take place for many reason.

The Baltimore Catechism is a local Catechism of the United States. The Catechism of Trent was written with the language of the Counter-Reformation and was intended for the clergy of the 1500s.

The Church cannot “make something dogma” or undo what was previously declared dogma. To the Church " the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted":

Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit. Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit.

The apostles entrusted the “Sacred deposit” of the faith (the depositum fidei), contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, to the whole of the Church.

In order that the full and living Gospel might always be preserved in the Church the apostles left bishops as their successors. They gave them their own position of teaching authority…in a continuous line of succession until the end of time. Through Tradition, the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes.

The Father’s self-communication made through his Word in the Holy Spirit, remains present and active in the Church: "God, who spoke in the past, continues to converse with the Spouse of his beloved Son. And the Holy Spirit, through whom the living voice of the Gospel rings out in the Church - and through her in the world - leads believers to the full truth.

The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.

This [teaching authority] teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith. [T]he faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.

(CCC 74-100).

Also roman-catholic.com is a bit skewed towards the Traditionalist agenda, although not as much as other websites and blogs out there. Their mailing address is the same as another website, http://stjosephsmen.com/, much more on the traditionalist/conspiracy-theorist wavelength. Not sure they are the same authors, but still…to be taken with a thick grain of salt -.-

 

[Lovinglight]

You are incredibly smart in all of this! Thnk u.

 

[the_coppersmith]

You are very kind

 

[Lovinglight]

Thank you…i wish i was raised in the faith. Even a basic Christian faith. I went to RCIA but its very basic. I wish i had a Catholic upbringing and Catechesis.

Did u go to Catholic school?

 

[Michael16]

I wish I did too.

 

[the_coppersmith]

Was baptized late, went to Catholic school for one year in elementary school, lived in a non-practicing family and stopped practicing the Faith myself in middle school. Came back during college. The ways of the Lord are mysterious and so are those of the human heart.

I think the reason RCIA is very basic is because it is just that: Christian initiation. We have to pick it up from there I went to RCIA myself to complete my initiation in the Catholic Church as an adult, and the first thing I was told was that it was now up to me to continue the life of prayer and find where God was leading me. Involvement in a parish group or some Catholic ministry helps very much to live the life of the Church. Particularly when exposed to the poor and needy. We begin to see the world under a different light.

There are many outlets, especially online, that are quite negative and critical and tend to confuse and scandalize, especially newcomers. I learned to stay away from them. In my return to the faith I found great peace of mind and understanding in reading sources like the Catechism, the homilies and catecheses of the Holy Father, books like “Introduction to the Devout Life” by St. Francis de Sales and “The Spiritual Combat” by Dom Scupoli (actually a very simple and beautiful book, despite the intimidating title!). Also Blessed Charles de Foucauld and Thomas Merton aka Fr. Louis OCSO - both very sobering - and the writings of St. Therese of Lisieux (very practical and devout). The life of men like St. John Bosco and St. Phillip Neri is very inspirational. I also love the Blessed Virgin very very much, though I am not into private revelations and I don’t pray the Rosary as often as I probably should

 

[Michael16]

That’s a cool story, coppersmith. I grew up Lutheran, although baptized as a Catholic by the nuns in the hospital; in a family that rarely went to church. I became pagan at 17; lived that mode for fourteen years. Went back to God in a nondenom church and came into the Church Easter 2016. Now, I’m a mentor in RCIA.