The Demonstrations, which were written at Mar Mattai, primarily address questions of morality and dogma. Scripture references abound in the Demonstrations. In fact, Aphrahat refers to himself as a disciple of the Scriptures. The following excerpts, written in answer to an inquiry on the nature of faith, are from Demonstration I On Faith. They are taken from A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series, Volume XIII, reprinted in 1969 by Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Faith is compounded of many things, and by many kinds is it brought to perfection.
For it is like a building that is built up of many pieces of workmanship and so its edifice rises to the top. And know, my beloved, that in the foundations of the building, stones are laid, and so resting upon stones the whole edifice rises until it is perfected. Thus also the true Stone, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the foundation of all our faith. And resting on faith all the structure rises until it is completed. For it is the foundation that is the beginning of all the building.