A Bible-believing and Bible-preaching church will present all the relevant Bible passages in order to establish doctrine (with proper exegesis and exposition). Most evangelical churches will also have a Statement of Faith (with or without supporting Scriptures). But people must see for themselves from within their Bibles that what is being taught is exactly what is presented in the Bible.
Does Your Church Use Catechism?
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NayborBear
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Asking a question is not making an assumption, it is asking for clarification.
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That is essentially what a catechism does...
The point is to refer to scripture primarily, rather than refer to another book which refers to scripture.
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Scripture doesn't succinctly teach doctrine. That's the point. Though this site has made very clear to me that many people who call themselves Christian have very little use for doctrine or theology.
Helen
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I have no idea what that is or what it means...so I guess the answer is No.
I never read of that in the OT or the NT...so I guess it is obsolete to The Living Church.
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cat·e·chism
/ˈkadəˌkizəm/
noun
- a summary of the principles of Christian religion in the form of questions and answers, used for the instruction of Christians.
Helen
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..AND THE HOLY SPIRIT...the true teacher. Without HIM, it is all 'dead letter words'.
Stan B
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This has been the core of the Faith since the early church. Sola Scriptura has been the belief of the church since the very beginning, as revealed by Eusebius AD 325, in his Second Book against Sabellius, he expressly declares that if a word is not found in Scripture, it is satisfactory to him: "As to not inqiring into truths which submit to investigation, it is indolent, so prying into others where scrutiny is expedient, is audacity. Into what truths should ought we then search? Those which we
find recorded in Scriptures. But what we do not find recorded there, let us not search after. For had the knowledge of them been incumbant on us, the Holy Spirit would doubtless placed them there . . . Speak that which is written, and strife will be abandoned."
Amen!!
Stan B
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I suspect that the idea of a catechism originated in the very early church before they had Bibles.
Candidates for baptism, before the pagan Romanist sprinking nonsense began, were designated as catechumens, who were required to take a six month course in the study of their faith to make sure they understood the significance of undertaking they were about to engage. Upon completing the course, they presented an account of their faith, before being immersed in baptism. I assume that the book they studied was probably called a catechism, because that's about all that was available in those early days.
With the Bible now available to everyone, there is no longer a need for a catechism.
I’ll just stick with God and scripture.
SovereignGrace
Certified Flunky
I disagree. Sola Scriptura is not the same as Solo Scriptura. Sola Scriptura teaches that the scriptures have a magisterial role in the church, and articles of faiths, confessions, creeds, catechisms, &c., have a ministerial role in our churches. Solo Scriptura teaches that the scriptures alone are all we need.
Many have solely used the scriptures and ran into all kinds of heresies. God has blessed us with many resources to help us better understand the scriptures we love and cherish. As said in reformed circles, "We stand on the shoulders of giants."
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And let's not forget that the whole idea of catechisms and catechumens came from the Catholic Church, which also put tradition on a par with Scripture.
Furthermore doctrines should be DERIVED from Scripture, not imposed upon Scripture within a predetermined framework. Reformed Theology (or Catholic theology) is within a predetermined framework.
Deborah_
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Actually, the first formal catechism was written by Martin Luther in 1526, to instruct lay people in the basics of Biblical teaching. (Remember that literacy levels were low at the time, there was as yet no German translation of the Bible, and ignorance of doctrine was almost universal). The question-and-answer format enabled even poorly-educated people to learn doctrine and memorise it easily. The first Catholic catechism didn't appear until almost 40 years later.
A catechism is a tool - nothing more, nothing less. Of course all spiritual truth is to be found in the Bible - but it's scattered around and takes a lifetime to fully absorb. A good catechism is derived from Scripture. It isn't a substitute for Bible study; but it helps new believers to get their heads round the basics quickly.
The reason that catechisms vary in the doctrine they contain is that Christians and churches also vary in their beliefs! All are based on Scripture, the differences are in our interpretations. So if you are opposed to certain Reformed teachings you won't want to use a Reformed catechism (just as Protestants don't use the Catholic catechism). It's a bad idea to approach any catechism with the belief that it imposes a framework onto Scripture - that way you do end up studying the catechism itself and not the Bible. But as a tool, it can be useful when used for its proper purpose.
All churches have a sub conscious catechism, positions and views that are acceptable to the fellowship and ones which are not.
For instance Bethel follows a particular view of walking in the Spirit, along with a lot of heretical prophecy and unrestricted spiritual teachings that borders on spiritualism.
Some will use particular phrases like "open heaven", or "once saved always saved".
Whether the church formalises the language into a summary ie a catechism, does not matter, they all follow one within the group.
The whole point of free churches or assemblies which are independent is they discover the Lord through their walk and fellowship, not being part of a denomination with a dictated definition. Funnily though groups emerge who agree a common belief statement who then link up to form a larger group for mutual community support and the supply of pastors and new church planting initiatives. But because it is voluntary, the whole feel is different than a dictatorship. Catechisms as written tend to come from the dictatorial wing of the church.
Catechism = "We have decided, THIS, so you have to say you also accept our conclusions, (even BELIEVE them) or else you cannot be one of us."
Catechisms as written tend to come from the dictatorial wing of the church.
is carnal its good to have a statement of faith so as folks know the basic of how the Body believe. especially this day and age . but a book?
is carnal its good to have a statement of faith so as folks know the basic of how the Body believe. especially this day and age . but a book?
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Aren't you Mormon? So much for sticking with God and Scripture....
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