• LIFE: That human life in its entirety is religion. Consequently, man’s social, political, and cultural experiences, goals, and outcomes unfold as a service either of the one True and Living God, or an idol.

• SCRIPTURE: That Scripture, the written Word of God, in instructing us of God, ourselves, and the law-structures of creation, is that integral and active divine Word or Power by which God, through the vehicle of His Holy Spirit, attaches us to and enlightens us in the Truth, who is Christ Jesus.

• CHRIST: That the Jesus Christ of Scripture, the Word of God made flesh, is the Redeemer and Renewer of our life in its entirety and therefore also of all theoretical thought and practical action.

• REALITY: That the essence or foundation of all created reality is the covenantal communion of man with God in Christ.

• KNOWLEDGE: That true knowledge is made possible by true religion and arises from the knowing activity of the human heart enlightened through the Word of God by the Holy Spirit. Thus, religion plays its decisive ordering role in the understanding of our everyday experience and our theoretical and cultural pursuits.

• SCHOLARSHIP: (a) That the diligent pursuit of theoretical thought in a culture is essential to the obedient and thankful response of God’s people to the cultural mandate. The task of a scholar, for example, is to give a scientific account of the structure of creation and thereby to promote a more effective ordering of the everyday experience of the community. (b) That because of God’s gracious preservation of creation after the fall, men who reject the Word of God as the ordering principle of life provide many valuable insights into the common structure of reality; nevertheless, the central religious antithesis of direction in life remains. We therefore reject the possibility of the synthesis of scripturally-directed thought with any other system of thought (e.g., humanism).

• CULTURE: That the flourishing of any culture rests on its religious foundations. Consequently, all societal pursuits are to be undertaken in complete and voluntary submission to the Word of God and the divine laws that govern all of human life.

• THE BATTLE: That the foremost battle of our time is the need for Christians to bring the revealing Light of God's Word to bear upon the central issues of man's cultural life, including, but, not limited to, the sciences, politics, economics, education, and all lawful insitutions.

• SUMMARY: That all cultural engagement in defense of Christian ethics, morality, politics, and general world-and-life-view issues are to be pursued in faithful obedience to the divine mandate and the normative direction of God’s Law-Word. The Virginia Center for Public Theology acknowledges and submits to God’s Law to which all of creation in all its spheres is subject, and will therefore bow before Christ’s Kingship over all scientific, theoretical, experiential, and cultural pursuits.

*Adapted, Revised, and Expanded from The Association for Reformed Scientific Studies.