DOGMA

means, in general, a principle, or doctrine, claimed to be laid down. by authority. Thus a dogmatist is a pefson who makes positive a ertions, without having the warrant of absolute evidence. In regard to the Christian religion the term is used as an authoritative expre ion of an article of faith, as represented by the Church’s consciousne and recognized through her accumulated experience. It is also used to describe the collective body of tenets held at different periods in Church history.