Though their verbal expression may vary, CCO’s Christian beliefs are shared by staff, the supporting churches and many of the people who seek help. These beliefs create an important dynamic as they provide the foundation in addressing the relational and psychological issues that many clients bring to therapy. While these beliefs may at the client’s request be discussed, they do not constitute the content of sessions and would be addressed only at the client’s leading.
a. The Judeo-Christian Scriptures, in matters to which they speak, are authoritative and reliable.
b. God, as revealed in those Scriptures, is objectively real and living. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things – the material and spiritual orders, human life and all processes related to His creation.
c. Jesus Christ is God incarnate. His birth was miraculous; his life sinless. He died to bear the penalty of our sins. He was resurrected from the dead. He is present in the world by means of His spirit. He will return again.
d. Human persons, as male and female, are made in the image or likeness of God, implying an essential connection to and dependence upon Him. This has relevance not only to the nature and value of human life, but also, to issues of meaning, integrity, and wholeness.
e. Through its rebellion against God, the human creation fell from God’s favour. As a result, the divine Image was marred and the clarity with which God’s character is recognized and experienced in human nature was blurred.
f. God’s love and grace are extended to all in the sacrificial, substitutionary death of Jesus Christ in which the Sinless One paid the penalty due the sinner.
g. On our part, reconciliation with God entails a faith response to Jesus Christ involving an awareness and confession (acknowledgement) of our sinfulness and the reception of His grace and forgiveness. Such reconciliation results in confidence of God’s favour and acceptance. The promise of eternal life is to those who thus believe.
h. Christian believers are normal human beings whose attention has been captivated by God’s Spirit. We are concerned to know what pleases God. We seek, with His help, to make that real in our lives. Our service to others is “unto the Lord”. At the same time, we are subject to the same developmental dynamics and life stress as others. Salvation continues to rest, not on the maturity of our psychological or developmental responses, but on Christ’s redemptive work and His unmerited favour.