Beliefs & Principles
Affirming the Faith exists to promote and defend the traditional Christian faith as found in the historic Creeds, which it interprets literally, and not by any "critical" reductionism or humanistic/purely-this-worldly re-interpretation. Christianity of this kind has been called orthodox, authentic, supernaturalist, or simply traditional; it is "the faith once delivered to the saints", undiluted by delusions of "modern knowledge", so called, which can often be the products of biased ideological motives and value-driven deceptions. Affirmation of this orthodox faith - whose authority rests on the twin pillars of the Scriptures and the Tradition of the Church - is merely a restatement of what was believed by all Christians up to very-recent times; it is parts of the Church, and some people within it, that have moved away from Christian truth. Reason, and reasonableness, are inevitably the allies of truth, their misappropriation and misuse by materialism notwithstanding. AtF holds that many, from all traditions and denominations, have held to this truth, and hence it draws upon many sources and voices. AtF operates on the principle of The Unsuccessful Californian Evangelist.
As Jesus was fully God and fully human, the Scriptures, the Church, and the Creeds are not purely-human productions, or simply the results of peoples' needs and situations; neither were they merely the products of the societies in which they emerged, nor of the world-views or chronological contexts in which they were formulated, instituted, or canonised.
AtF supports the Jerusalem Declaration
The Nature and Value of Human Life
Men and women were created uniquely, individually, and purposefully in eternity, by a loving Creator, rather than being the (temporal) result of chance, accident(s), or undirected processes.
The purpose and objective of all human life lies beyond this present life/world/society; life/the world/the earth are merely the means to an end.
It is the individual person's destiny which is of value and concern, not that of humankind, "the race", the world/earth, etc., which are temporal.
The only authentic, valid, and valuable religion/spirituality is that which directs people towards a wholly-other, objectively-existing reality.
Only in conditions of peace, security, and material well-being - in almost all cases - can men and women pursue a life of moving towards faith in God, and their intended goal of future existence in His presence; therefore, it is the duty of all Christians to work for justice and peace in this present world.
Genuine freedom comes only through attending to the wishes of one's Creator, not from the arbitrary re-shaping of laws, principles, and values on the basis of human desires or the imagined imperatives of changing situations and new knowledge.
The nature and constitution of humans is constant and stable, and appropriate to human destiny; and so - despite ongoing technological development, and resulting changes in human life/society - no overall change of their ethical/moral nature will ever be observed, nor can ever be made.
Attempting unnaturally/indefinitely to prolong the reasonable lifespan of an individual (or of the human race) is futile, and ultimately destructive of the purpose of human existence.
The only real and ultimate value of all human effort is that its products may point beyond themselves to higher reality/destiny.
While a person's responsibility for their life and actions is paramount, "my life" ("my body", etc.) ultimately belongs to the Creator.
"Lift High the Cross ..."
For many years, at the church I attended, we sang Kitchin & Newbolt's passionate hymn at the conclusion of the Good Friday service, when a plain wooden cross was carried out through the middle of the congregation; and it struck a note of majesty and triumph, in the midst of the tragedy and horror of an event - temporal, but ever-present in the yearly cycle - which reminded us all that through Jesus's saving act, and by that means alone, we might experience the joy of knowing his constant nearness, and the certainty of our eternal destiny in his presence.