As a member of a reformed Presbyterian church, I agree in large part with documents called the Westminster Confession of Faith, The Larger Catechism, and The Shorter Catechism. These documents are summaries of (but subordinate to) the Bible. Today's book review, The Confessions of Our Faith, presents these three documents with 1500 Scriptural proof texts for the statements therein, as well as a short historical introduction. But let's take a step back and learn the background of these documents.
Background
In 1643, the Puritan English parliament (amidst Civil War with the crown) "organized an assembly of ministers (or "divines") to create standards for a Church of England that would be reformed in worship, government, and doctrine." Five years later, they would complete their task and produce "five great documents of theological orthodoxy and ecclesiastical stability for the church in England, Ireland, and Scotland." These were:
- The Directory for Public Worship
- The Form of Church Government
- The Westminster Confession of Faith
- In 33 chapters, this summarizes "what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man."
- The Larger Catechism
- A summary of doctrine presented in question and answer format. It is "more exact and comprehensive" than the Shorter Catechism.
- The Shorter Catechism
- A summary of doctrine presented in question and answer format. It is "more easy and short" than the Larger Catechism.
Some people disagree with confessions or creeds of any kind. I understand the sentiment but disagree: as Scripture is not systematically presented, it can be hard (or impossible) to concisely answer important questions about what we believe. Therefore, I think producing a confession or creed based on Scripture is a good idea. It can be dangerous, of course- brevity can produce erroneous or dangerous generalizations, and the authors can always get it wrong on a given topic. Nevertheless, a creed can be helpful to convey the essence concisely, and is useful for both Christians and nonbelievers. That's why these documents were produced in the first place- they are "a summary of the central truths of the faith, a summary that we can hold in our hands and retain in its essence in our minds . . ." Done well and properly based in Scripture, "they provide a wonderful framework for the understanding and articulation of the message of the Bible." Again, these do not (and should not) replace the Bible, but they are a handy reference to summarize what the Bible says about a number of key topics.
Review
I must say, I'm impressed. This is an excellent resource covering the basics of reformed Christianity. It's evident that each statement was carefully crafted; each word drips with meaning. Sentences can be long and meaty, so it can take time to work your way through a given thought. Nevertheless, anyone interested in learning the basics of reformed faith would do well to read these. Of course, there are many Christians who may disagree with various statements, and as I said at the beginning, these texts are subordinate to Scripture- but they are worth your time. If you're interested, these three documents are available online. If you read only one, go with The Shorter Catechism.
Rating: A
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