Areté Hall Statement of Faith
A statement of faith provides a foundation from which to teach and establish community life. At Areté Hall, we teach matters of faith and life from a Biblical worldview as expressed in the Ecumenical historic creeds (the Nicene Creed and the Definition of Chalcedon), a summary of selected chapters of the Westminster Confession of Faith, together with statements on key matters of the Christian life, which we believe collectively represent the historic, orthodox, and catholic1 faith in the Protestant and Reformed tradition.
To preserve Areté Hall’s integrity as a Christian ministry and community, and to model Biblical living, all employees, volunteers, board members, at least one parent or guardian of enrolled students must affirm, and as applicable, abide by the Statements below In addition, each family must have a pastoral partnership with a pastor that also affirms the Statements below.
At Areté Hall, we believe:
Ecumenical Creeds
Nicene Creed. “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who, for us men, and for our salvation, came down from Heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the virgin, Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into Heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy
1 As used here, the term catholic means “universal”
Ghost, the Lord, and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the Prophets And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church; I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.”
Definition of Chalcedon “Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us. ”
Additional Statements on Faith and Life
1. God reveals Himself through the creation, preservation, and government of the universe. We believe that God makes Himself more clearly and fully known through the Scriptures, which are the only inerrant and infallible Word of God, and our ultimate and final authoritative rule for faith and practice. Scripture is made up of 66 books, from Genesis to Revelation, and is to be received as the Word of God.
2. There is one living and true God, who eternally exists in three Persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is perfectly wise and the overflowing fountain of all goodness. He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. In all things He is limited by nothing other than His own nature and character God is holy,
righteous, good, loving, and full of mercy. He is the Creator, Sustainer, and Governor of all that has been made.
3. Our Lord Jesus Christ is truly God and fully-human, such that two distinct natures, divine and human, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion We believe in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father and in His return in power and glory.
4. Adam was made from the dust of the ground and formed after God’s image and likeness. Adam sinned and fell into a state of corruption. Because of Adam’s sin, all mankind is born in a state of sin and rebellion against God. For the salvation of the lost, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is necessary
5. Salvation is by grace through faith alone, yet faith without works is dead. We believe that God freely justifies His own by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting them as righteous, because of the atoning work of Jesus Christ alone.
6. The Holy Spirit ministers to and indwells Christians. He enables them to live a godly life, and to freely and cheerfully do His will
7. God has appointed a day when He will judge the world in righteousness through Jesus Christ We believe in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come
8. All believers have true spiritual unity in our Lord Jesus Christ. All who are united to Christ as Head of the Church are united to one another in love, and have communion in Him.
9. God instituted marriage as the exclusive, covenantal union between one man and one woman, with the husband born male and the wife born female Sexual intimacy is reserved solely for this marital covenant. Any form of sexual immorality is sin, including adultery, fornication, homosexual acts, bestiality, incest, or the creation or use of pornography.
10.God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as either male or female in
His image. Rejecting one's biological sex through self-description, behaviors, or indulging in attractions contrary to this design, is sinful and deviates from the goodness of God's original creation
11.All human life has dignity, begins at conception, and is created by God in His image Human life is of inestimable worth, including the pre-born, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. Children, born and unborn, are a blessing and gift from the Lord. We should desire and be thankful for God’s gift of children.
12.The Law of God, summarized in the Ten Commandments and the commands of Christ, is good, perfect and wise. It reveals sin, restrains evil, convicts us of our need for Christ, and teaches how to love God and neighbor.
13.Christians should be obedient to the Law of God. Disobeying God by failing to love God and one ’ s neighbor, including idolatry, profanity, dishonoring one ’ s parents, bearing false witness against one ’ s neighbor, theft, drunkenness, murder, coveting, and sexual immorality are destructive to our souls, sinful, and offensive to God.
14.God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking mercy, forgiveness, and repentance through Jesus Christ Every person should be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture.
Secondary Doctrine
Areté Hall’s Statement of Faith defines our foundational and essential beliefs necessary for school and community alignment. Areté Hall considers “Secondary Doctrine” to be doctrinal issues that are not directly or expressly addressed in our Statement of Faith.
In matters of Secondary Doctrine, Areté Hall administrators and teachers will:
1. Encourage and challenge students to think and be discerning on all matters according to God’s Word as the ultimate rule for faith and life.
2 Foster a classroom environment, especially at the secondary level, of love, respect, and charity among students.
3. Be encouraged to understand and charitably present the various sides of a matter of Secondary Doctrine.
4 Seek to maintain unity among our students and families according to our Statement of Faith, teaching Secondary Doctrines as important but not primary, and not disparaging others for Secondary Doctrinal beliefs that are contrary to their personal convictions.
5 Encourage students to seek the support and instruction of their parents and their local church, as they seek to align their convictions with God’s Word
The following non-exhaustive list represents some of the Secondary Doctrine discussions that may occur at the secondary level:
1. Age of the Earth
We read Genesis 1-3 from an orthodox Christian perspective. We will teach from the perspective of a literal or ordinary twenty-four (24) hour day but will open the discussion among older students to discuss other historic and orthodox views.
2. Eschatology
We will teach about the return of Jesus and that the dead will be raised to eternal life or eternal judgment This will expand, among older students, to discussions of three views of eschatology: premillennialism* (futurist), amillennialism* (partial preterist), and postmillennialism* (partial preterist), summarized below:
*Premillennialism: a non-literal interpretation of the trials described in Revelation, this view holds to the imminent return of Christ after a period of tribulation with a following age of peace where Satan is bound until right before the final judgment.
*Amillennialism: the millennium is symbolic and represents the time of Church growth that is spiritual rather than physical. Jesus's return will occur after a “millennium” of people coming to Christ There are various
aspects to timing held within this view.
*Postmillennialism: Satan was bound at the cross, the millennial period is a period of time rather than a literal thousand years. During this millennium the gospel will spread “to the ends of the earth” until death is the last to be conquered and put under Jesus’ feet, when the earth will be transformed in the “blink of an eye ” with Jesus’ imminent return. This view holds that many of the New Testament prophetic passages were fulfilled by the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
3 Baptism
We will teach that baptism is a sacrament marking our entry into the visible church, a sign and seal of our ingrafting into Christ, remission of sin, and a commitment to walk in the newness of life Among older students, we will discuss the two main positions, credobaptism* and paedobaptism*, as viable, orthodox beliefs.
*Credobaptism: This position teaches that baptism is an ordinance or sign of a believer’s fellowship with Christ in His death and resurrection. It further teaches that it should be administered to those who first profess repentance, faith in, and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ. Believers are to be baptized in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with most teaching the proper mode is by immersion in water
*Paedobaptism: This position teaches that baptism replaces circumcision as a sign and seal of God’s covenant promises Immersion into water is not necessary, but is rightly administered by pouring or sprinkling water upon the person in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Infants of one or both believing parents are to be baptized so that the promised grace of God is exhibited and conferred by the Holy Spirit to such as that grace belongs to, according to God’s own will and in His appointed time.
4. Cessationism & Non-cessationism
We will teach that the Holy Spirit is God, coeternal with the Father and the Son. We will also teach that: (a) God grants Him irrevocably to all who believe; (b) that He is the believer’s Helper who convicts us of our sin, comforts us, guides us, gives us spiritual gifts and the desire to obey God; and (c) He enables us to pray and to understand God’s Word Among older students, we will discuss the two main positions concerning the gifts of the Spirit, cessationism* and
non-cessationism*:
*Cessationism: Cessationism is the view that the “miraculous gifts” of tongues and healing have ceased—that the end of the apostolic age brought about a cessation of the miracles associated with that age Most cessationists believe that, while God can and still does perform miracles today, the Holy Spirit no longer ordinarily uses individuals to directly perform miraculous signs
*Non-cessationism: Continuationism is the belief that all the spiritual gifts, including healings, tongues, and miracles, are still in operation today, just as they were in the days of the early church. A continuationist believes that the spiritual gifts have “continued” unabated since the Day of Pentecost and that today’s church has access to all the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible.
At Areté Hall we rest and worship on the Lord’s Day, observe the church calendar and celebrate the following Holidays, along with additional observances of the church calendar established by the Board and Head of School:
1. Christmas
2 Thanksgiving
3. Jesus’ death - Good Friday
4. Jesus’ resurrection - Easter Sunday