Our Beliefs

Our beliefs

1. That the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Rule of the Christian Faith and Duty under the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. That it is the unalienable right of every Christian to search these records of Divine Truth for his own instruction and guidance, to form his own opinions with regard to what they teach, and to worship God in sincerity, agreeably to the dictates of his own conscience, without privation, penalty, or inconvenience inflicted by his fellowmen.

3. That the imposition of Human Test and Confessions of faith and the vain efforts of men to produce an unattainable uniformity of belief, have tended to restrict the sacred right of private judgment, and to prevent that free inquiry and discussion, which are essential to the extension of religious knowledge.

4 That forasmuch as our Master, Christ, has described the true disciples in these words saying. “By this all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love to one another”, and further has emphasized the two great commandments saying “Hear O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord; and thous shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” And forasmuch as Christ has himself has said, “Not every one that saith unto to me, ‘Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”

We therefore, refuse to impose conditions upon the Church, which He, himself has not sanctioned, and we solemnly declare our allegiance to the principle – as the real bond of union among Christian – that the teaching of Christ himself must take precedence of the doctrines of a later time, and that unity is to be sought, not in uniformity of creed but in a common standard of righteousness and obedience to the commandments which Christ himself has laid down.