Loisy describes the dogmatics of the church from a historical view by suggesting that they exist for the mere fact of coming to terms with what was believed in the past as regards faith, and relating that and reconciling it to what is believed in the present.
Loisy claims that the church is a constantly changing entity and that as the church changes so does dogma, "But in so acting, she continues in the way she has walked from the beginning, she adopts the gospel to the constantly, changing condition of human life and intelligence" (ibid., 217).
Alfred Firmin Loisy was born a commoner at Ambrieres, educated at the Catholic seminary at Chalons-sur Marne, and the Institut Catholique in Paris.