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I. God
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. A. God the Father God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men. B. God the Son Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord. C. God the Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
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II. The Scriptures God reveals to man what we would otherwise not know. His principle method of revelation is the Holy Bible, which was written by men who were divinely inspired by God. These men spoke different languages, had different occupations, lived in different areas of the world, lived at different times, and had different religious experiences (e.g., some personally knew Jesus Christ, witnessed his teachings and crucifixion, were is the presence of the Holy Spirit, etc.). Their writings were intended for different reasons - some are addressed to particular needs of particular congregations and some are clearly meant to have universal application. In many (and perhaps all) instances, their original writings have been lost and we are provided with copies of their works that are hundreds of years later than the original. The original writings were in Ancient Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic; therefore translations into English and many other languages have been performed. There is much religious and secular discussion as to whether the Bible is infallible (incapable of error) and/or inerrant (contains no errors), and whether it is literal (means exactly what it says) and/or metaphorical (expressing one thing in terms normally denoting another). We believe that all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy and the original text, written by men who was inspired by God, is infallible. Many parts of the Bible are easily understandable; some requires study, prayer and guidance to comprehend; and some may be incomprehensible until some future date. All parts are God's revelation to man and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.
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| III.
Man
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love
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IV. Salvation Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior. B. Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God. C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life. D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
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| V.
Grace Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior and been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, you are placed in the state of grace from which you never depart. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. |
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VI. Sacraments The Society's Ordained Chaplains are authorized to perform the sacraments of the Order. These sacraments are listed below. A. Baptism: Method of Baptism: The Knights of Anagoge baptize by sprinkling - the washing with water from above reflects the cleansing of one's sins by the blood of Christ, by the Holy Spirit, who unites the baptized person to Christ in his death, and in His resurrection from the dead. It is administered from above to point to that gift of the life-giving Spirit, and to portray baptism as an act not of man, but of God. Other religions and groups use affusion (pouring water over the head) or immersion (lowering the entire body into a pool of water). We believe that these are equally valid methods and people baptized by these methods are recognized as having been baptized by the Order. We believe the method of baptism is far less important that the sincerity of the beliefs of the person being baptized. Recipient of Baptism: The choice to be baptized is made by a 'confessing believer' regardless of age, as a 'confession' or public profession of his or her faith in Christ. We believe that baptism is an "outward expression of an inward change". Baptism is done in obedience to Christ, showing others outwardly that they were changed inwardly when they committed their life to Christ and became a new creation (2. Cor. 5:17). Meaning/Effects of Baptism: The Knights of Anagoge believe that the purpose of baptism is to acknowledge that the baptized person has accepted Christ as their personal savior and testifies outwardly to the operation of God's power, which is invisible, internal, and completely 'separate' from the rite itself. B. Communion The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby people who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. Communion may be practiced by Society ordained chaplains at any religious service.
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VII. Animals God gave man dominion over animals. We can only speculate as to why God created animals - for beauty, to maintain the balance of nature, as food for other animals and man, and perhaps for man's companionship. Few people seem interested in whether mosquitoes have souls, but many people ponder whether their favorite pet(s) will be in Heaven. Ecclesiastes 10: 18-21 (KJV) says: "I said in my heart with regard to the sons of man that God is testing them to show that they are but beasts. For the fate of the sons of man and the fate of beasts is the same: as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts; for all is vanity. All go to the same place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth?" In the book Tough Questions Christians Ask (in the section entitled "What will Heaven be Like"), and in response to the question "Will there be animals in Heaven", Peter Kreef, professor of philosophy at Boston University writes: "The simplest answer I know to this question, so frequently asked by children is: Why not?...Right now, pets, like everything else in the world, can mediate God's love and goodness to us and train us for our union with Him, or they can detract us from Him. In Heaven, everything mediates and nothing detracts." Only God knows if there will be animals in Heaven, but the Society sees no harm in having burial ceremonies for beloved pets in which the above passage from Ecclesiastes (or any other appropriate biblical passage) is read.
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VIII. Medals, crosses, rosaries,
statues, paintings and other religious articles Medals, crosses, rosaries, statues, paintings and other religious articles are acceptable for use as a means of reminding us of God and of stirring up in us a ready willingness and desire to serve God and our neighbor. These items have no magic or mystical power to ward off evil or to bring good luck, better health, or God's blessings.
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| IX. Vestments The use of vestments can add to the religious ceremony and their use is encouraged by Ordained Chaplains. The vestments used should be appropriate for and add solemnity to the occasion. For further guidance Ordained Chaplains may contact the Senior Ordained Chaplain.
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| X. Marriage Marriage is considered to be a holy union between one (1) man and one (1) woman. Ordained Chaplains shall only conduct wedding ceremonies for those unions.
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| XI. The Virgin Mary The mother of Jesus must have been an exceptional woman for God to have chosen her to be the human mother of his only begotten son. The Society holds her in the highest esteem. Some religious groups (e.g., Roman Catholics) believe that Mary remained a virgin throughout her life. Others believe that certain scripture (including Mark 6:3) indicate that Mary had other children. Mark 6:3 is sometimes explained away by saying that it means that the ones mentioned as brothers and sisters are Jesus' brothers/sisters in the faith, or perhaps Joseph's (Mary's husband) children by a previous marriage, etc. The society takes no position on this matter, but believes that Mary's selection by God makes her especially honorable. The Society does not believe that it is necessary for others to intercede with God on our behalf, but we see no harm in asking especially honorable people (for example the Virgin Mary and saints) to pray with us.
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| XIII. Heaven and Earth Some religions believe that Heaven and earth are always separate and some believe that Heaven and earth are inseparable. The Society believes that there are times when God allows Heaven and earth to come together, including:
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