One will readily observe that this document begins with an attempt at distancing the writer from what may be described as "propositional faith." Let me qualify that by admitting that intrinsically, there is nothing wrong with the words, "creed," or "doctrine," or "systematic theology." It is what people, students of the scripture, theologians, and academics have done with these entities that make them dangerous. Organic union with God is either a fact, or it is not. By "organic," I mean living, and dynamic. For whatever it is, it can't be reduced to a mere "catechism" or "belief system."

How easy it is to read a proposition, comprehend its meaning and say, "I agree with that," and then trundle off to whatever outcome we make of our lives. Frankly, I don't know at all that the word "affirmations" is any better. But it is, at least, an approximation of effort to release the mind from suffocating, pedantic, religious discussion into a dynamic of spiritual living (organic) vitality.

Hence, these "affirmations" are intended to make us think about our union with God and what it means for our daily and eternal lives. And not only think, as in consider, but to grasp and cling to these notions as the bedrock for the formation of hope and life. To this end, these words are committed.