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We have previously drawn our readers’ attention to The Presbyterian's Hand-Book of the Church: For the Use of Members, Deacons, Elders, and Ministers (1861), prepared jointly by Joel Parker (1799-1873) and Thomas Ralston Smith (1830-1903). In its guidance to Christian parents and to church officers, the teaching of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is naturally encouraged. But included also is a related tool, described as the Initiatory Catechism, by Joel Parker, which we wish to highlight today.
Originally published in 1855 under the title The Pastor's Initiatory Catechism, or, The Shorter Catechism: Made More Brief and Simple for Young Children (we do not yet have the 1855 edition on Log College Press), it is republished in The Presbyterian’s Hand-Book of the Church. Our author describes it thus:
A short explanation of the design of this appendage may not be out of place.
The Initiatory Catechism passes over the same general ground as the Assembly's Shorter Catechism, with a little additional matter in respect to the ecclesiastical arrangements of our revered and beloved Church. This is the main thing which distinguishes it as the Presbyterian Initiatory Catechism. The Assembly's Shorter Catechism is added in a compact style, in order that these forms of instruction, by being bound up in the Manual, may serve to remind parents of their duty, and that they may not be lost, as they are apt to be when possessed only in the cheap penny editions prepared for children's classes.
Organized under three headings, the first is titled “Christian Doctrine” (73 questions and answers). Next, is “Christian Duty” (48). And finally, there is “The Christian Church” (8) - for a total of 129 questions and answers. It begins thus:
1. Who made you?
God.
2. What else has God made?
He made all things.
3. Of what did God make all things?
Of nothing.
4. For what did God make you?
To love and serve him.
5. What will make you most happy?
To love and serve God.
6. How long will it make you happy to love and serve God?
All my life.
7. Will to love and serve God make you happy in the next world too?
Yes, when I die.
8. What is the rule to show you how to love and serve God?
The Word of God.
9. What does the Word of God teach you?
To love the truth and do right.
10. Is God good?
Yes; in all he thinks and does.
11. Does God know all things?
Yes; he knows all ray thoughts.
12. Does God see all things?
Yes; and he sees me all the time, night and day.
13. Did God make all men at once?
No; he first made one man and one woman.
14. What were their names?
Adam and Eve.
One can see the overlap with Westminster as well as Joseph P. Engles’ Catechism for Young Children, and yet note points of divergence as well. The third section on the church in particular covers fresh ground. It is a catechism that is not well known today, but it was appreciated and employed in its day. To read it in full, see The Presbyterian’s Hand-Book on the Church, pp. 56-70 here. It is a short read and edifying to see how one pastor in the mid-19th century employed a catechism based on Westminster to meet the particular needs of those coming into the Presbyterian Church.
