Foundational Statements of the College

  • Statement of Faith

    Adopted by the Board of Trustees September 28, 2002

    The College is, and shall always remain, a Christian institution dedicated to bringing honor and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ in all of its activities. Each Trustee, officer, faculty member and student of the College, as well as such other employees and agents of the College as may be specified by resolution of the Board of Trustees, shall fully and enthusiastically subscribe to the following Statement of Faith:

    1. There is one God, eternally existent in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
    2. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
    3. Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, is God come in the flesh.
    4. The Bible in its entirety (all 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) is the inspired word of God, inerrant in its original autographs, and the only infallible and sufficient authority for faith and Christian living.
    5. Man is by nature sinful and is inherently in need of salvation, which is exclusively found by faith alone in Jesus Christ and His shed blood.
    6. Christ's death provides substitutionary atonement for our sins.
    7. Personal salvation comes to mankind by grace through faith.
    8. Jesus Christ literally rose bodily from the dead.
    9. Jesus Christ literally will come to earth again in the Second Advent.
    10. Satan exists as a personal, malevolent being who acts as tempter and accuser, for whom Hell, the place of eternal punishment, was prepared, where all who die outside of Christ shall be confined in conscious torment for eternity.

    Statement of Biblical Worldview

    Adopted by the Board of Trustees September 28, 2002

  • The Holy Scriptures. The Bible in its entirety (all 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) is the inspired word of God, inerrant in its original manuscripts, and the only infallible and sufficient authority for faith and Christian living. [II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 4:12; Psalm 119:11]
  • The Holy Trinity. The only true and living God exists eternally in three persons the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each having precisely the same divine nature attributes and perfections. [Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30]
  • God's Being. God is a self-existent and transcendent spirit, who is incomprehensibly holy, righteous, good, just, omnipotent, omniscient, wise, omnipresent, loving, gracious and faithful. He alone is worthy of, and requires, all worship. [John 4:24; Exodus 3:14; Exodus 20:3-6; Isaiah 6:3; Psalm 96:13; Psalm 139:3-10; I John 3:20; I John 4:7-8; Jeremiah 9:24; I Timothy 6:15-17]
  • God's Works. God created the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them for His own good pleasure. He has absolute sovereign authority and control over all His creation, and sustains it by His gracious providence. [Genesis 1:1-2:4; I Chronicles 29:11; Psalm 23; Psalm 104; Colossians 1:16-17]
  • Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, the promised Messiah and the Savior of the world. He humbled Himself by becoming fully human, while remaining fully God, was born of a virgin and lived a perfect, sinless life. Having redeemed us by His shed blood and death on our behalf, and having risen bodily from the dead, He later ascended into heaven. He now sits at the right hand of the Father as Lord and Head of His body, the church, awaiting the day when He will return bodily to earth. [John 1:1,14; Luke 2:1-21; Galatians 4:4; Philippians 2:5-10; Colossians 1:13-20; Colossians 2:8-12; John 19-20; Acts 1:9-11; Revelation 20:1-6]
  • The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is fully God, the third person of the Holy Trinity, who convicts the world of its sin and guilt. He is the Comforter and Counselor who indwells all believers, teaching them, giving them the ability to seek after God, and interceding in their prayers. [John 14:15-27; John 16:7-15; Romans 8:1-27; Galatians 4:16-26]
  • Man. Mankind was created in the image of God, free from sin and death designed to glorify God and to enjoy deep, personal fellowship with Him forever. However, sin entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and it is now inherent in the nature of all people. Although each person still carries the image of God, all are separated from God by their sin, and in need of salvation. Human life begins at conception; it is a gift from the Creator, sustained by His grace and to be taken only upon His authority. Abortion and euthanasia are sins and violations of the public good. [Genesis 1-3; Acts 17:28; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12-14,17-21; Romans 6:23; Genesis 9:6; Exodus 20:13; Psalm 139:13-16]
  • Salvation. God reconciles to Himself, redeems from sin, and freely gives eternal life to each person who repents of his sin, and places his faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Christ's substitutionary death paid for the sin of mankind, once for all. Salvation is solely by grace, solely through faith in Jesus Christ alone; it is a free gift of God, not earned on the basis of human merit or works of any kind or degree. [John 1:12; John 3:16; Acts 17:30; II Peter 3:9; Ephesians 1:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-9; I Corinthians 15:20-22; II Corinthians 5:17-21; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 10:1-10; I John 5:11-13]
  • Sanctification. All those who have been saved from the penalty of sin are new creations in Christ, and have the privilege and obligation of growing in holiness, conformity to Christ, and obedience to His word, by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. [II Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:22-24; Romans 12:1-2; I Peter 1:13-2:3; Romans 8:5-17; Galatians 5:13-25; Philippians 3:7-14]

    God has ordained three primary social institutions to order human affairs: the family, the church, and civil government. Each of these institutions honors God when it operates under the principles of His word within its God-given scope of authority:

  • Marriage and Family. The Lord is the author of the union of marriage, made evident when he provided a companion for the first man, Adam. This design resembles the unique relationship of Christ and his bride, the church. Therefore, marriage is a sacred God-made union between a man and a woman, which is to be separated by no man. It is to model the reverence, love, sacrifice and respect exemplified by Christ for his bride. Husbands are the head of their wives just as Christ is the head of the church, and are to love their wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Human sexuality is a great blessing created by God to be enjoyed within the context of a monogamous marriage between a man and a woman; any sexual conduct outside the parameters of marriage is sin. One of the many blessings of marriage is children, a gift from the Lord. Children are given to parents to nurture and educate, for the primary purpose of teaching them to love God with all their hearts, and inculcating in them a desire to fulfill this same purpose in the next generation. Parents remain responsible before God for the training and upbringing of their children, even when they delegate some of that work to others. [Genesis 2:18-24; Ephesians 5:21-33; Isaiah 45:5; Exodus 20:14; Galatians 5:19-21; Romans 1:24-28; Psalm 127:3-5; Deuteronomy 11:18-21]
  • The Church. Christ's church has a unique role in society, which only it can fulfill. God requires the church to be salt and light to the world, bringing the message of salvation and discipleship to individuals, and ultimately to nations.

    This duty to promote godly values includes:

    1. boldly but respectfully speaking truth in power and love to encourage government to adhere to principles of biblical morality; and
    2. encouraging all citizens to practice charity, lawfulness, justice, mercy and other civic virtues necessary for the government of free peoples. [Proverbs 29:2,4,14,18; Proverbs 28:4,19,27; Proverbs 31:8-9; Micah 6:8; Matthew 16:18-19; Matthew 28:19-20]
  • Civil Government. God himself has ordained government and commands that everyone must submit to government; moreover, there is no authority except that which God has established. (Romans 13: 1-5) Consequently, he who rebels against lawful authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment upon themselves. It is necessary to submit to government, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. We are to pray for all who hold public office, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (Proverbs 14: 34-35; I Timothy 2: 1-2)

    Some governments are not legitimate; some authorities are not lawful. (Hosea 8:1-4) These are governments that do not recognize or that choose to ignore that human beings are created in God's image and therefore are entitled to the enjoyment of certain rights and responsibilities that inhere in their nature. Such societies and such governments are under God's judgment. (Jeremiah 18: 7-10) Nevertheless, there is a proper way to rectify this situation.

    In keeping with scriptural principles and the American Declaration of Independence, we recognize that "Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind is more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed." But when such a government 1) commands disobedience to God, 2) enjoins the right and duty of human beings to worship God, 3) denies other God-ordained rights by extreme oppression and tyranny, or 4) "when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object (tyranny), evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism" it is the right and duty of godly men and women "to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security." Importantly, this action must be taken in accordance with God's laws and in submission to other legitimate authorities, anarchy being as illegitimate as tyranny. (Jeremiah 32: 32-35; Acts 5: 29)

    While there are various types, scopes and levels of government, there are some basic principles that God requires all general governments to follow. (Jeremiah 18: 7-10) Moreover, there are other principles that, while not commanded, ought to be followed. All of these principles are derived from the tenor of the whole of scripture and from God-given reason, which makes plain the fact that human beings are created in God's image and should live as he intended human beings to live-in ordered liberty-and not as beasts subject to ownership and coercion; and that they should govern themselves in equal submission to the laws of nature and nature's God. (Genesis 1-2)

    Therefore:

    1. governments must establish their legitimacy upon the will of a self-governing people; (Deuteronomy 17: 14-10)
    2. government's first duty is to protect the life, property and other God-ordained, inalienable rights of the citizenry; (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 20:13; Acts 5:1-4; Ezekiel 46:18; Genesis 34:10; Luke 10:7; I Timothy 5:18; Romans 4:4)
    3. governments must operate under the rule of law, diligently applying the same legal rules and sanctions without regard to any individual's power or station in life; (Romans 2: 11) and
    4. a national government, in order to defend self-governance, must be the highest level of legitimate human governance and must defend the sovereignty of the nation constituting it. (Genesis 11:1-9; Deuteronomy 17:14)

    APPLICATIONS:

  • Creation. Any biology, Bible or other courses at PHC dealing with creation will teach creation from the understanding of Scripture that God's creative work, as described in Genesis 1:1-31, was completed in six twenty-four hour days. All faculty for such courses will be chosen on the basis of their personal adherence to this view. PHC expects its faculty in these courses, as in all courses, to expose students to alternate theories and the data, if any, which support those theories. In this context, PHC in particular expects its biology faculty to provide a full exposition of the claims of the theory of Darwinian evolution, intelligent design and other major theories while, in the end, teach creation as both biblically true and as the best fit to observed data.
  • Equality. We hold this truth to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. All human beings are created in God's image, and all are precious and equal in His sight. Bigotry is a sin against God and man; therefore, it is appropriate that government forbid discrimination in commerce, education, and employment based upon ethnicity, national origin, or skin color.
  • Sexual Conduct. Since any sexual conduct outside the parameters of the faithful marriage of a man and a woman is sin, any government which creates legal structures to encourage or condone inappropriate sexual activity or lust, heterosexual or homosexual, or which creates special legal rights and protections based on sexual conduct, is acting immorally and without authority. Pornography, because it degrades God's image-bearers and incites sinful lust, is always evil and merits no legal protection.
  • Private Property. As God's image-bearers with dominion, and stewardship responsibilities, over the remainder of creation, men and women have the inalienable right to own and manage their own property, subject to government regulation only in the unusual situation where the rights of others are endangered. Government systems such as communism and socialism, which give the government primary control over property, are a violation of God's creation order.
  • Government and Law. Any legitimate system of government must be built on the dual realizations that all people (i) bear God's image and are therefore entitled to enjoy a number of fundamental, inalienable rights, but (ii) are tainted by sin and therefore cannot be trusted to be free of all government restraint. Importantly, sin affects not only those governed, but also those who govern. In the words of James Madison:

    If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.

    Therefore, governmental and legal systems:

    1. must be of law, not of men; with rules and processes that apply equally to all persons regardless of their ethnicity, national origin, or skin color; their wealth; or their influence or prestige;
    2. must provide the right of self-government, so that citizens may either directly decide questions of law and policy or have a voice in selecting those who make such decisions;
    3. should-in order to achieve the highest possible level of stability and fairness-be based on the firm foundation of a written constitution and laws, whose meanings are determined by their text and the original intent of those who enacted them, with appropriate processes for change and amendment over time and with the approval of the people; to do otherwise invites governments to recognize the acts of men to be the highest laws of the land rather than the laws of nature and of nature's God that have been committed to a written text; and finally,
    4. should maintain a separation of power among national, regional and local governments and among the legislative, executive and judicial functions of government, so that no leader or group of leaders may ever acquire unchecked power. (Deuteronomy 17: 14-20)

    Institutional Mission, Vision, and Distinctives

    Adopted by the Board of Trustees September 28, 2002

    The Mission of Patrick Henry College is to train Christian men and women who will lead our nation and shape our culture with timeless biblical values and fidelity to the spirit of the American founding. In order to accomplish this mission, the College provides academically excellent higher education with a biblical worldview using classical liberal arts core curriculum and apprenticeship methodology.

    The Vision of Patrick Henry College is to aid in the transformation of American society by training Christian students to serve God and mankind with a passion for righteousness, justice and mercy, through careers of public service and cultural influence.

    The Distinctives of Patrick Henry College include practical apprenticeship methodology; a deliberate outreach to home schooled students; financial independence; a general education core based on the classical liberal arts; a dedication to mentoring and discipling Christian students; and a community life that promotes virtue, leadership, and strong, life-long commitments to God, family and society.

    The Mission of the Department of Government is to promote practical application of biblical principles and the original intent of the founding documents of the American republic, while preparing students for lives of public service, advocacy and citizen leadership.

    The Mission of the Department of Classical Liberal Arts is to provide students with a broad background in classical languages, logic, rhetoric, Biblical studies, history, English composition and literature, philosophy, science, and mathematics. They will encounter a multiplicity of ideas animating the world's great leaders and thinkers of the past in order to see how God has worked in and continues to work in His creation.

    Christian Philosophy of Education

    Adopted by the Board of Trustees September 28, 2002

    Patrick Henry College believes that God is the source of all truth, be it spiritual, moral, philosophical, or scientific. For this reason, we seek to educate students in God's truth throughout the entire curriculum. Christian faith and genuine learning cannot be separated; neither is our Christian faith a mere addendum to the liberal learning process. Instead, our Christian faith precedes and informs all that we at Patrick Henry College study, teach, and learn.

    Statement of Ethical Values and Standards

    Adopted by the Board of Trustees September 28, 2002

    All Trustees, administrators, and staff of Patrick Henry College have the right, privilege, and responsibility to:

    • Demonstrate Christian living and obedience in personal growth, in the interactions of College life, and in dedication to Christian calling and service.
    • Seek an understanding and articulation of how the Word of God directs the search for truth; pursue excellence in the performance of their work; and show concern for those under their care and instruction.
    • Value the contributions of all members of the College community and support each other in their various tasks.
    • Be passionately committed to the mission, vision, and distinctives of Patrick Henry College.
    • Integrate a biblical worldview into all aspects of their professional lives.
    • Comply with policies and procedures established by the College.

    Participate in endeavors for improvement of the spiritual, economic, social, and cultural life of the community, especially when they have an expertise which may make their contribution particularly valuable and when such a contribution can be made without interfering with their primary obligations at the College.

    Statement of Doctrinal Neutrality
    Patrick Henry College welcomes all people who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and who take seriously the claims of the inerrant Word of God. We have written our Statement of Faith to be inclusive of many doctrinal and denominational traditions. Many of our faculty and students are Baptist, Reformed, Charismatic, Pentecostal, Nazarene, and a great variety of other church traditions. Patrick Henry College does not take sides on certain doctrinal matters that often separate such groups of believers. Our students are fully engaged in robust, informal discussions on these matters. But the College itself is neutral on the doctrinal distinctives which go beyond the points covered in our Statement of Faith and are outside the mission of the College. We want all students and faculty from this wide community to feel welcomed and encouraged. We particularly want parents to have the assurance that PHC will not seek to undermine the traditions of their family's faith.

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