Having grown up in “low churches,” I never knew what a catechism was until I learned about them in seminary. At first, I thought it was odd that people would spend time memorizing what I took to be commentaries on the Bible, while I was spending time memorizing the Bible itself. It wasn’t until I became a father that I realized the benefits of catechisms.
1. Concise Explanations of Doctrine
I now have a curious three year old that likes to ask me simple questions such as, “how is Jesus God? God is God!” Or how about, “when heaven comes down to earth, will we still live in our same house?” Ok, they’re not simple at all. And when it comes to important issues such as the Trinity, salvation, and the nature of faith, I want to make sure I not only communicate truth, but do it simply and truthfully so my child can remember it.
We recently have been using the New City Catechism app, which has a kids’ version with questions, answers, songs to help you learn the answers, and a Scripture and a prayer with each Q/A. My child can now tell me who God is, how many persons there are in God, how and why God created us, and other worldview-shaping questions. And he can do so because a catechism author boiled the answers down to the simplest, more concise, yet still truthful answers.
2. To Learn Doctrine
As I was editing Pastor Brandon Burk’s Internalizing the Faith: A Pilgrim’s Catechism for Fontes Press, I had my wife look over some of the questions with me. Instantly, we were discussing doctrine. Take that Wayne Grudem! It’s gonna be hard to get your average church-goer to pick up Grudem’s 1,000+ page Systematic Theology, much less Bavinck’s four-volume classic set. (Perhaps they might use Turretin’s Elenctic Theology as a doorstop.)
But with a tiny 100-page book, only 50 pages of which consists of Q/A’s, Burk’s Internalizing the Faith can encourage anyone to take a look at some basic doctrines that Christians should know. For example:
Q.20 What was the atonement?
A. The atonement was the once-for-all act of Jesus on the cross, whereby He propitiated God’s wrath against the elect and died as their substitute, thereby expiating their sins. 1 Peter 2:24.Q.30 What is meant by the broad image of God?
A. By the broad image of God, it is meant that our whole being, including our bodies, souls, cognition, behavior, emotions, and relational abilities, reflect God, even after the Fall.
Genesis 1:27.Q.46 What is the first use of the law?
A. The first use of the law is the civil use, whereby the law restrains evil throughout society by threat of punishment. Romans 13:3-4.
Questions such as these with short, biblically-based answers help ease non-theologians into the world of doctrine. Catechizing will likely help your people to dive deeper into theology and Scripture itself (and if it doesn’t, then you’re doing it wrong!).
3. Catechizing is an Ancient Practice
From Augustine, to Richard Baxter, to modern denominations that still make it an integral part of their spiritual life, catechisms have always been important in the Christian life. (Bonus points for whoever comments with the earliest catechism that we know about.) As Burks notes in his introduction to Internalizing the Faith, Augustine himself exhorted those who become weary or discouraged with catechizing to “bear in mind out of what death of error the man is passing over into the life of faith.”
I’m a funny kind of low-church guy, in that, when Augustine says something, I listen closely! Discipleship is a serious business, and while catechism might seem unnatural, awkward, or even “non-biblical,” it’s imperative that we teach believers the basic doctrines of the Christian faith.
Build on the Basics
Internalizing the Faith: A Pilgrim’s Catechism is part of Fontes Press’s Ministry and Discipleship Guides series, which aims to provide practical resources for 1-on-1 or small group discipleship. The foundational volume of the series is my Grounded in the Faith, which is a simple and biblical exposition of the Apostles’ Creed, complete with discussions questions. After working through Grounded in the Faith, a next great step would be for mentor and disciple to continue meeting together (hopefully for a fantastic cup of local artisan coffee) and work 5-10 questions at a time through the catechism Internalizing the Faith.
With adults, it would be useful if they would memorize the answers, but still edifying if you simply read them together and discussed them. With children, memorization would be incredibly useful, so they can have concise and truthful answers to important doctrinal questions. Grab a disciple, and get going!
