Dianavan, I think maybe your anti-dogma statement is too dogmatic itself. I think I'd say, "The flaw in Christian theology is dogma, taken dogmatically."

Within any system of thought, you have to have some basic principles that people agree on, otherwise there's no basis for sharing ideas. Most organizations have some principles, myths, writings, or stories they hold in common. Christians have the Old and New Testaments and the Creed as their founding documents, and they've served well for nearly two millennia. These basic documents have been augmented by the teachings of wise people through the ages, and some of these teachings have been officially adopted by the institutional churches because they have a certain universality - these officially adopted teachings are dogma, and they deserve a level of respect from the members of the denominations that hold them.

Where you get into trouble is when you accept such teachings without question; or when you view the teachings from a very rigid perspective, whether that perspective be positive or negative. Many Mudcatters seem to be very dogmatic in their condemnations of ideas and belief systems and teachings that they know little about. If a group has held a teaching sacred over a number of centuries, most likely there's some wisdom to it. I wish Mudcatters could be a bit more open to considering ideas, and a bit slower to condemn - but I suppose Mudcatters are a reflection of the world and its prejudices. Heck, maybe if George Bush would be open to the writings of Rumi and Hafiz, the world wouldn't be in such trouble today. Maybe it wouldn't hurt a few Mudcatters to read the Sermon on the Mount with an open mind...

-Joe Offer-