Monday, May 27, 2013

Dogma is the Drama

"The Christian faith is the most exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man—and the dogma is the drama. It is the dogma that is the drama—not beautiful phrases, nor comforting sentiments, nor vague aspirations to loving-kindness and uplift, nor the promise of something nice after death—but the terrifying assertion that the same God who made the world, lived in the world and passed through the grave and gate of death. Show that to a heathen, and they may not believe it; but at least they may realize that here is something that a man might be glad to believe.”

~Dorothy Sayers, Creed or Chaos?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes, a good corrective to wishy-washy kumbaya-ism, but what happens when those who arbitrate that dogma veto the right to disagree with it? History says that dogmas of all sorts (religious, political, tribal) have a lot to answer for, which, of course, isn't the fault of the "dogma" but of those who turn it into a power tool. As Anne Lamott has pointed out, Jesus told Peter to put up his sword, but Christianity has had its sword out ever since.