This simple foundation of doctrine and virtue has been reflected on over the centuries in the development of our understanding. Through prayer, holy women and men have penetrated to the depths of these mysteries guided by the Holy Spirit of God-Love. The assemblies look to four sources for insights to develop the living faith carried in the mind of the whole people of Christ. Scripture includes the Hebrew Scriptures interpreted through the New Testament. Tradition is the preaching, teaching and ritual which guide the assembly in prayer life, work and worship.
Reason is the application of disciplined thought to understand more fully the mystery.
Experience focuses on the changes within us which doctrine makes. Faith is handed on through life in the assembly, sometimes through preaching and sometimes through sacred rites. Baptism and Eucharist are the signs and means of entrance into and nourishment of the assembly's life. Confession of sins and anointing with oil heal the spiritual and physical life of the body, while marriage and ordination create, lead, and guide the family and the assembly. In Christianity today, almost 2,000 years after the ascension of the Lord Jesus, divisions exist.