What is a Catechism and Why Should I Care?

Catechism: Why use a boring English word when you can use a fancy Greek word?

A catechism is simply a tool for instruction, and is something that has been used by the church in its times of greatest spiritual health to ground people in the foundations of the faith.

One catechism in particular has been of great benefit to Reformed and Presbyterian churches: the Westminster Shorter Catechism.  It emerged out of an assembly of pastor-theologians who met (wait for it...) 1,163 times from 1643-1649 in order to make some recommendations to the English Parliament with regard to official doctrine and worship in the Church of England.  They emerged with a theological confession of faith, and two catechisms: one larger and one shorter.  These are called the Westminster Standards.  These documents came over to America with the Puritans and Scottish settlers and have excercised enormous influence over virtually every American Presbyterian denomination.

But, we've forgotten about them mostly.  Or don't know what's in them.  Or have bad memories of mean stuffy religious folk shoving stuff down our throats.  But it need not be this way!  Here are 4 reasons why you should care about the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

1. It's comprehensive:  God, Scripture, Jesus, prayer, living.  It's all there.  What Christians believe with their minds, how they related to God with their hearts, and how they are to live in the world is all covered.  So far from a dry, dusty old theology, it's a vibrant explanation of how to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.  Someone somewhere said that was pretty important.
2. It's reliable: This is not to say that every jot and title of the catechism comes straight from the mouth of God, but it is to say that the answers given here have proven themselves trustworthy to all kinds of people in all kinds of situations for hundreds of years.  For believers living when the Middle Ages were giving way to the Enlightenment...for believers making a harrowing journey across the ocean...for those scratching out an existence in a New World...for people finding their way in contemporary America, this catechism has provided satisfying answers to many questions.
3. It's accessible:  It's written in a simple question-answer format.  So for example, if you ever wondered, "What is justification?"  Well, you can just go to question 33 and read the answer.  This makes it easy to find your way around, as well as easy to teach to children and memorize (as generations of children used to do.)  It's like a dictionary of faith.
4. It's profound: To say that it is accessible is not to say that it's simple!  The catechism is like a ocean that it both shallow enough for children to play in and deep enough for elephants to dive in.  That means it has something to teach everyone.

Come join us on Sunday mornings at 9:40 in the Fellowship Hall as we work through this time-tested tool of Christian instruction and encouragement.