Dogma or Truth?
by Arthur Telling
Dogma, defined as a point of view put forward as authoritative without adequate grounds, is typically an element in religious doctrine. Among the believers, a belief is viewed as truth. But stepping outside of their church group, a doctrine unsupported by fact can be obvious. It is not that such a belief is not true, but that it is questionable, dubious, doubtful, improbable, or impossible. A foundation of the Christian Church is the Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. The belief is the shedding of his blood saves mankind from the eternal hell and gives him eternal life. It is a fundamental truth from inside the walls of the Church. Others on the outside generally find it to be obvious dogma. But is the answer so really evident?
Historically Christian dogma went unchallenged by Western man. These beliefs are only called into question in recent centuries by new thinkers having freedom to challenge and ignore doctrine of the once-powerful Church. But there exists a metaphysical truth challenging, not the simple tales of Christianity, but in some way verifying it, or which conversely throws into question all beliefs of mankind. One short phrase summarizes the origin and nature of the world and of the hereafter: “Your thoughts create your reality, there is no other rule,” (from Jane Roberts – the Seth material).
If we create our present reality from our imaginations of past, then we can see that reality and imagination are of the same natures, no difference between the two except for the intensity of the thought. As in dreams, we experience the thought itself as every bit as real as what we experience in the waking world. Our very beings, always experienced in the present moment. They become multi-dimensional, with a memory of what has passed and memory of what is imagined, all of this: present, past and future being elements within the mind. Our world now takes on a less certain form: imagined or lived, construed by the mind or viewed by our very eyes, both are of same natures.
If we were to step away from this reality, the world, we would likely see it for what it is. We would see energy patterns of some sort, a thread of consciousness. We might consider a point of view believably put forward as authoritative from within the reality, but no longer having authoritative grounds when viewed from outside of that reality. Thus, the world itself takes on same characteristics as the Christian doctrine of salvation through the Cross. It is dogma, proving real for only the dedicated, those embedded in that reality and accepting it as true.
Beliefs thus can be true only when a particular set of conditions are present. The Christian seeing that his belief in the Crucifixion brings him energy, insight, and kinship. These lead him to accept the belief as the truth, has created his reality. Accepting the thoughts of his forefathers, reinforced through the ages, unquestioned, accepted on faith, they seem to work. His thoughts have created his reality. But others, all the rest of humanity, are not exempt from the same conception. We accept without questioning the beliefs handed to us by our forefathers. Likewise, by those in society deemed to be thinkers and researchers and scholars and teachers and so forth.
The “facts” will be evident, they will say not dogma. But, as with the Christian, the truth will exist only when there exists a particular set of conditions. That is, the belief that the world is physical, not of the mind; random from an evolutionary history, not mentally constructed in a group imagination. And thus, the Western scientific and technological world, as viewed from outside the reality is dogma. It is a point of view put forward as authoritative but without adequate grounds.
So, if all is dogma then what is truth? Famed French philosopher Rene Descartes wrestled with the idea and from it made his famous statement: “I think, therefore I am.” He was not presenting a perceived truth, but a starting point for exploration. We cannot build a structure with no foundation. He made a presumption that he, the awareness, exists, and from there he built a philosophical structure. Whether or not the presumption is true, he didn’t attempt to resolve. And thus, “I think, therefore I am” is our foundation, courtesy of Descartes, for what is true. We create all things from a foundation of “I think.”
Evidence to the contrary rests on “the particular set of conditions” required to be present for distinguishing truth from dogma.
About the Author
Arthur Telling has written numerous stories and articles on religion, philosophy and metaphysics. His article, “A Different Jesus Message” appeared in the Nov. 2011 AMORC Rosicrucian Digest. Telling is author of “Johann’s Awakening” (a parody of Jonathon Livingston Seagull), and three novels including “Kaitlin’s Message,” exploring the secret sayings of the Gospel of Thomas. His web site is: www.arthurtelling.com
