In the spiritual fellowship of the believer-son with the divine Father there can never be doctrinal finality and sectarian superiority of group consciousness. [1] Believers should reply to dogmatism with more farseeing dogmatism. [2]
There exists in all personality associations of the cosmic mind a quality which might be denominated the “reality response” which saves creatures from becoming helpless victims of the implied a priori assumptions of science, philosophy, and religion. [3]
The doctrinal fetish lead mortal man to betray himself into the clutches of bigotry, fanaticism, superstition, intolerance, and the most atrocious of barbarous cruelties. [4] Sectarianism is a disease of institutional religion, and dogmatism is an enslavement of the spiritual nature. [5] Stereotyped religious doctrines and dogmas are the false refuge resorted to by indolent men trying to avoid the rigors of truly religious pursuits. [6]
Jesus deplored dogmatism. Again and again he warned his apostles against the formulation of creeds and the establishment of traditions as a means of guiding and controlling believers in the gospel of the kingdom. [7]
The religions of authority crystallize into lifeless creeds; the religion of the spirit grows into the increasing joy and liberty of ennobling deeds of loving service and merciful ministration. [8] In olden times the fetish word of authority was a fear-inspiring doctrine, the most terrible of all tyrants which enslave men. [9] Only an unqualified reality, an absolute, could dare consistently to be dogmatic. [10] Our philosophy struggles for emancipation from dogma and tradition. [11] The dead theory of even the highest religious doctrines is powerless to transform human character or to control mortal behavior. [12] Religions can agree on values while maintaining belief in conflicting creeds. [13] Religious groups should remove all creedal pressure from its members. [14]
Man can never hope to attain a uniformity of creeds, dogmas, and rituals—these are intellectual; but they can, and some day will, realize a unity in true worship of the Father of all, for this is spiritual, and it is forever true, in the spirit all men are equal. [15]