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A recent acquisition of interest from the library of the late Dr. Morton Smith is a small booklet titled Presbyterianism in Catechetical Form, compiled by Mrs. M.W. Pratt and published by the Presbyterian Committee of Publication in Richmond, Virginia (1893). This work has not yet been uploaded to Log College Press, but it is hoped that we can do so in the future.
It is written for the Presbyterian in the pews and others who desire to better understand the system of doctrine and polity embraced by our church and articulated in its standards. A particular extract concerning the Westminster Assembly may serve to whet the appetite for this valuable and rare little work.
Question 1. What are the names of the Presbyterian standards of faith and government?
Answer. “The Confession of Faith,” “The Larger and Shorter Catechisms,” and “The Book of Church Order.”Q. 2. When were the Confession of Faith and Catechisms written?
A. In 1643-1649.Q. 3. Where?
A. In England, in Westminster Abbey.Q. 4. By whose order?
A. The British Parliament.Q. 5. Who composed the Assembly that wrote them?
A. One hundred and forty-two divines, including four from Scotland, thirty-two laymen, including two from Scotland. (Hetherington’s Hist. Westminster, pp. 98, 99.)Q. 6. Of what denominations were they?
A. Presbyterians and Independents.Q. 7. Were they learned and good men?
A. Yes; they were among the most learned and godly men who ever adorned the British empire.Q. 8. What did Richard Baxter of them?
A. That the Christian world since the days of the apostles had never had a Synod of more excellent divines than this and this and the Synod of Dort.Q. 9. What vow did they take before beginning their work?
A. I do sincerely and solemnly protest, in the presence of Almighty God, that in the Assembly of which I am a member I will not maintain anything in matters of doctrine but what I think in my conscience to be the truth, or in point of discipline but what I consider to conduce most to the glory of God and the good and peace of the church.Q. 10. How long were they in preparing this work?
A. More than five and a half years.Q. 11. What did they was their object in thus formulating their doctrine and form of church government?
A. That a scheme of doctrine and form of church government pure and scriptural would be the most excellent means for establishing the rights for which they were contending, and forming the virtues by which freedom is blest.Q. 12. Has their work proved them wise prophets?
A. Yes, it has done more good for the world than any other books ever written except the Bible.Q. 13. What country approved and adopted their work?
A. Scotland, in their General Assemblies of 1647-1648.Q. 14. Were these standards adopted by the church in America?
A. Yes, in Philadelphia, in May, 1788, with a slight change in regard to civil government.
