Chris Evangelista
Dr. Ephraim Radner
WYT1105HF
24 November 2011
Paper 2: Conscious vs. Immersion Catechism
Part 1
Roughly the first two thirds of the Heidelberg Catechism can be seen as elements representing the turn to “conscious training”. These questions cover the topics of sin, salvation, the Trinity, and the Sacraments, and are presented in a logical way that stands in stark contrast with the “narrative” form of the catechism of the past. Only the last third of the catechism – the questions dealing with the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer – might be considered as questions that can be taught by “osmosis”, and for a good reason: except for introductory questions (such as Question 92, which actually lists out the Ten Commandments), these questions largely consider Christian conduct and prayer, which can be seen and imitated by catechumens.
The very format that Heidelberg Catechism is written in, questions followed by answers, lends itself to being communicated primarily through class, memorization, or cognitive means. Reading the catechism, one might imagine catechumens grilling a catechist with these questions. Certainly, the catechism seems to follow a certain logic in which a question draws on preceding questions and their answers. This systematic approach highlights the shift to conscious training as it seeks much more to engage the hearers in reasoned discussions about the doctrines of the faith.
One further indication of this shift to conscious training is the shift to using scripture as “proof text” rather than to draw the doctrines from its narrative. The catechism is certainly based on scripture, as the scripture proofs when laid out is always longer (sometimes much more so) than the actual answer given to the question. Clearly the scriptures laid out in this way is not meant to provide a narrative backing to the answer, but rather to prove that it is correct. Indeed, the parts of scripture that the catechism draws its proof from is also indicative of this, as it would seem that much more of the instructive and doctrinal epistles of the New Testament are used than the narrative Old Testament.
Part 2
As mentioned above, the latter third of the Heidelberg Catechism are much better communicated through the process of community immersion. Question 93, concerning the Ten Commandments, state that the commandments are subdivided into teachings concerning behaviour towards God and behaviour towards our neighbours. Later on, in question 116 the focus shifts to prayer. It first deals with the necessity of prayer in general, and then goes on to consider the Lord’s Prayer in particular. In contrast to the rest of the catechism, these questions concern behavioural matters than can be demonstrated to, and thus imitated by, catechumens and children.
More than this, however, these questions would also benefit from the “narrative” form of catechisms found in Augustine’s On Catechising the Uninstructed and The Teaching of Gregory the Illuminator. The narrative character of these catechisms, coupled with the systematic approach to behavioural issues of the Heidelberg Catechism might be quite helpful for some of the more logically minded, while at the same time, not delegating Scriptures to the role of proof text. An example of this might be seen in Question 106, which is part of the section that concerns the sixth commandment. It asks “But this commandment seems only to speak of murder?” If the narrative approach to catechism was being used either in the lead up to asking this question, or as a way to answer the question, then the answer would undoubtedly include Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount equating anger with murder (Matthew 5:21-22).
Part 3
In my workplace, Chapters, one of the primary means of selling products (Chapters has been shifting largely from just a bookstore to a “gift and lifestyle retailer”) is “telling stories”. One of the ways that this works itself out is that we, as salespeople, are expected to be able to relate to our customers and make recommendations by “telling stories” that might open up the product to them in a different way than just stating its strengths and uses as a product. I believe that this has a lot to do with our society’s suspicion of those claiming to be authoritative.
As such, I think that narrative forms of the catechism, at least at the beginning of Christian formation, would be a much better fit today. Furthermore, where the tendency of a church is to emphasize correct doctrine, the church might also tend to lose sight of the narrative of scripture (as it views it merely as a source for proof texts) – especially the Old Testament. An example that comes to mind is a girl in my College and Careers group who came from a heavily “doctrinal” church. When she began attending our group, we were going through Habakkuk, and her reaction at the realization that all of scripture points to Christ was quite remarkable. “No one ever told me this!” she exclaimed, “not my pastor, parents, or Sunday School teachers”.
Because of this, I firmly believe that narrative catechism must be an important part of Christian formation, at least at its early stages. Not only does it satisfy the societal desire to be taught by stories, but it also ensures that believers are immersed in scripture and have an understanding of the flow of redemptive history. However, at some point, believers must be able to move on from spiritual milk, for having “tasted that the Lord is Good” (2 Peter 2:3, ESV), they can thus grow deeper in their knowledge of the faith. This is where memorizing and investigating doctrinal points should be. Having seen God worked salvation out in history, they can then look deeper and understand how and why.
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