Historically, the catechism was memorized. The whole shebang. By heart. I would never expect anyone to try to do the same thing today, would I?
Actually, I would. Well, okay, I'm not expecting it, but I am encouraging it--that adults and kids would both work to memorize the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Impossible, right? Read on.
Most adults think they can't because they don't have time. And of course, we don't have time, do we? We don't have time because we are sending so many emails and liking Facebook pictures and clearning the house and watching HGTV or Washington's local football team disappoint once again. We're busy, I get it. But I bet we have five minutes at some point in the day. Actually I'm sure of it. Five minutes of free time on the Metro, or while we're brushing our teeth, or walking the dog. We could use this five minutes to remind ourselves of some of the most important truths in the history of the world, couldn't we? Would that be such a bad use of our time? Is that so impossible?
I know guys who have memorized all the statistics and over-under for every football team and position player on their fantasy team. I know women who can think about seventy-five things at the same time and have memorized whole lines from the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice. (Sorry, those example are a bit sexist, but you get my point.) As for me, I have more dumb movie quotes from dumb comedies than I care to admit. We can memorize stuff. We can memorize lots of complicated stuff. We can do this.
In fact, there's an app for that! The good folks at Reformed Theological Seminary have developed an app that helps you memorize the catechism in just 90 days. It will quiz you, help you set goals and monitor your progress. Just head on over on your phone of mobile device to the App Store and download the RTS WSC App. It's free, which means it's a dang good investment.
Okay, you say, but what about my kids? They hate memorizing stuff! Really? Do they? Cause most kids I know love memorizing stuff--the ABC's, songs, animal names, dinosaur names, the words to "Let It Go," the list could go on and on. In fact, there is no better time for your kids to memorize something than when they are kids. (You know how kids learn foreign languages really well? How you wished you had started studying Spanish earlier? Exactly.)
I've been working with my kids on a children's catechism and I can tell you this--they love it. Why? Is it because they are so super-spiritual, like little missionary monks living in my house? I assure you not. The reason why they love learning the catechism is this: they love knowing the answer to stuff. They love getting things right. They love the interaction of me quizzing them and them knowing the answer. You probably think I'm crazy to say that it is actually a lot of fun, but that's because you haven't tried it.
Here's how Starr Meade puts it (by the way, have you bought her family devotional yet?):
"Unfortunately, the practice of catechizing children has fallen out of favor, both in families and in churches. One reason for this is...[that]...rote memorization has fallen out of favor. Yet, the things I remember best from my childhood are the things I memorized. The "ABC" song we all sing when he have items to alphabetize, the multiplication tables, common nursery rhymes, even lines from Shakespeare that I memorized just because they were beautiful, long before I understood what they meant--all these are indelibly fixed in my memory. I can call them up any time I need them, confident that they will be there to serve me.
It is said that if we require our children to memorize by rote, they will only memorize meaningless sounds and words without understanding them. Certainly we do a disservice to our children if we insist that they memorize words they do not understand, while we fail to take the time to discuss, teach, and explain the meanings to them. The solution, however, is not to discard memorization as a teaching method, but to faithfully supply meaning by discussing and explaining."
What do you think? What am I missing? What questions do you have? Can we do this?
Actually, I would. Well, okay, I'm not expecting it, but I am encouraging it--that adults and kids would both work to memorize the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Impossible, right? Read on.
Most adults think they can't because they don't have time. And of course, we don't have time, do we? We don't have time because we are sending so many emails and liking Facebook pictures and clearning the house and watching HGTV or Washington's local football team disappoint once again. We're busy, I get it. But I bet we have five minutes at some point in the day. Actually I'm sure of it. Five minutes of free time on the Metro, or while we're brushing our teeth, or walking the dog. We could use this five minutes to remind ourselves of some of the most important truths in the history of the world, couldn't we? Would that be such a bad use of our time? Is that so impossible?
I know guys who have memorized all the statistics and over-under for every football team and position player on their fantasy team. I know women who can think about seventy-five things at the same time and have memorized whole lines from the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice. (Sorry, those example are a bit sexist, but you get my point.) As for me, I have more dumb movie quotes from dumb comedies than I care to admit. We can memorize stuff. We can memorize lots of complicated stuff. We can do this.
In fact, there's an app for that! The good folks at Reformed Theological Seminary have developed an app that helps you memorize the catechism in just 90 days. It will quiz you, help you set goals and monitor your progress. Just head on over on your phone of mobile device to the App Store and download the RTS WSC App. It's free, which means it's a dang good investment.Okay, you say, but what about my kids? They hate memorizing stuff! Really? Do they? Cause most kids I know love memorizing stuff--the ABC's, songs, animal names, dinosaur names, the words to "Let It Go," the list could go on and on. In fact, there is no better time for your kids to memorize something than when they are kids. (You know how kids learn foreign languages really well? How you wished you had started studying Spanish earlier? Exactly.)
I've been working with my kids on a children's catechism and I can tell you this--they love it. Why? Is it because they are so super-spiritual, like little missionary monks living in my house? I assure you not. The reason why they love learning the catechism is this: they love knowing the answer to stuff. They love getting things right. They love the interaction of me quizzing them and them knowing the answer. You probably think I'm crazy to say that it is actually a lot of fun, but that's because you haven't tried it.
Here's how Starr Meade puts it (by the way, have you bought her family devotional yet?):
"Unfortunately, the practice of catechizing children has fallen out of favor, both in families and in churches. One reason for this is...[that]...rote memorization has fallen out of favor. Yet, the things I remember best from my childhood are the things I memorized. The "ABC" song we all sing when he have items to alphabetize, the multiplication tables, common nursery rhymes, even lines from Shakespeare that I memorized just because they were beautiful, long before I understood what they meant--all these are indelibly fixed in my memory. I can call them up any time I need them, confident that they will be there to serve me.
It is said that if we require our children to memorize by rote, they will only memorize meaningless sounds and words without understanding them. Certainly we do a disservice to our children if we insist that they memorize words they do not understand, while we fail to take the time to discuss, teach, and explain the meanings to them. The solution, however, is not to discard memorization as a teaching method, but to faithfully supply meaning by discussing and explaining."
What do you think? What am I missing? What questions do you have? Can we do this?
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