Of Dogma and the Rock

"Every one therefore that hears these my words, and does them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock, and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock. And every one that hears these my words and does them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand, and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof." -Matthew 7:24-27

This famous quote from Matthew refers of course, to the rock of Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount. A man who lives his life according to Jesus' words is building himself up on good foundations, while the man who ignores his words is, well, not. Something of a parallel situation occurs regarding dogmas and prejudices. "Some people,” Chesterton reminds us, “do not like the word ‘dogma.’ Fortunately they are free, and there is an alternative for them. There are two things, and two things only, for the human mind, a dogma and a prejudice.” 

Prejudices are what Chesterton said pervaded his culture at the time. They are like building your house on sand, for they are nothing but tendencies, they blow with the wind. The puritan always wants less sensuality, the consumerist always more things, the spiritualist always less material things. You put them in a different era, a different culture, and they will still be arguing for more of this or less of that. Those that hold on to prejudices never have a place to stand, they never have balance. A dogma is like building your house on a rock. It provides one with clear, concise definitions and boundaries. It gives a man a place to stand. It is possible to navigate, and even to understand, the constantly shifting sands of culture and public opinion, so long as you have dogma to stand on. 

Dogma allows a man to wade through that sea of puritans, or sexual liberationists, or materials, or spiritualists, or militarists, or pacifists, and be able to appreciate their points, while also finding where they go wrong. It is a huge advantage over those stuck to a certain prejudice, as they cannot see the point of the opposite side, and cannot engage with them. For all interested, you should read this whole excerpt  by GK Chesterton.