In my Rule of Six, I listed Catechism under the Knowledge of God heading, and today I thought I would share a bit about how we’ve used a few different catechisms in our home. The older ones have memorized some of the First Catechism, and I know they have done it in Sunday School as well. We also read through Starr Meade’s Training Hearts, Teaching Minds, based on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, for family devotions. Now I am using her Comforting Hearts, Teaching Minds during Morning Time to study the Heidelberg Catechism. Each of the older kids has their own copy (the 450th Anniversary edition) and each day we review one “Lord’s Day” section and read the current one together, and then I read the next devotional section, which includes Bible verses to look up and read. It will probably take us a few years to get through the book at the rate we are going, but that’s okay. My aim is not word-for-word memorization of the Catechism, but an understanding of the doctrines it lays out. Catechisms are not infallible and can reflect the bias of the men who wrote them and the time they were written (the controversial Question 80 in the Heidelberg has a long footnote in the kids’ copies and is entirely omitted in Meade’s devotional). Neither are they a replacement for Bible study and memorization. But they are a valuable tool to familiarize our children – and ourselves – with what we believe.
One of the main reasons I’ve chosen to focus on the Heidelberg Catechism in our homeschool is the sheer beauty of the wording itself. Question 26, which we reviewed today, is a good example. It is referring back to the Apostle’s Creed, which is quoted in Question 23:
Q. What do you believe when you say,
“I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth”?
A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them,
who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence,
is my God and Father because of Christ the Son.
I trust God so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul,
and will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends upon me in this sad world.
God is able to do this because he is almighty God
and desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.
Truth and goodness clothed in beautiful language, which speaks not only to our minds, but also our hearts.
Some recent reads around here:
- Hubby: Napoleon’s Buttons, along with Miss A
- Me: My Brother Michael (my break week read) – Mary Stewart’s usual gorgeous writing, but darker and and more violent than I prefer.
- Miss A: finished Emily of New Moon and started Emily Climbs. 🙂
- Mr. D: Tintin and model railroading books.
- Mr. E: Sideways Stories from Wayside School – one of hubby’s childhood favorites.
- Little L: The Flip-Flap Body Book – good for little boys who are curious about their digestive system. 😉
- Little R: The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Wednesdays with Words is hosted by ladydusk.
