“Seeds Of Truth Planted In The Field Of Memory”: How To Utilize The Shorter Catechism

By Allen Stanton

Several works over the years have ably defended the legitimate use of creeds, confessions, and catechisms in the church. [1] The attempt of this article is more pastoral in intent. I aim not simply to demonstrate the legitimacy of such documents, which is assumed, but to establish some of the practical and devotional benefits offered to those who use them well. [2]

As a pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America, I will use the catechism of my church, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, as a test case for what could truly be affirmed of all the Reformed creeds. If in another tradition, the reader should consider his own catechism as the arguments below will easily apply to most of these evangelical standards. Before we get to the practical benefits, it will be helpful to briefly consider the history of the Shorter Catechism and the historical practice of catechizing.

A Brief History Of The Shorter Catechism

In 1643, in the midst of civil war, English parliament called an assembly for the purpose of establishing religious uniformity and solidifying theological (and thereby political) unity with Scotland and Ireland. The committee consisted of more than one hundred ministers, thirty parliamentarians, and six staunchly committed Presbyterian Scottish delegates who met from 1643 to 1648. [3]

Desiring to establish Reformed Protestantism and to cast off Catholicism and Anglicanism, this Westminster Assembly had four main objectives. The divines were to write a confession that would supersede the Anglican Thirty-Nine Articles; construct a directory for worship to replace the Book of Common Worship; craft a form of government; and compose two catechisms (one for children, or those “of weaker capacity,” and one for the more experienced in religion). [4] These objectives led to the creation of the Westminster Confession of Faith, Directory of Worship, Form of Government, and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, all of which were completed by 1648. [5] The catechisms roughly followed the Confession but much more concisely. It is to this Shorter Catechism, specifically, that we now turn our attention.

Why did Parliament create a catechism? John Owen, a contemporary of the Assembly, expressed the need when he wrote in 1645 that “after the ordinance of public preaching of the Word, there is not anything more needful…than catechizing.” [6] While most readers will be familiar with the concept, a preliminary question should be answered: what is a catechism?

In response to this question, Jerry Bridges has provided a thorough and succinct answer:

I suspect some Christians today might ask, “What’s a catechism?” For many others, catechism might sound like something out of grandma’s attic; old and dusty, and hopelessly out-of-date. And for a large group of Christians today a catechism seems like a man- made add-on to the Bible. Some responses: A catechism is simply a means of instructing by posting a series of questions about God and humankind, and answering those questions from the Bible. A catechism is never out-of-date as it seeks to teach us the eternal truths of Scripture. And a catechism is not a man-made add-on to the Bible; it’s instruction in good theology derived from the Scriptures. None of us are smart enough or spiritual enough to dig out various truths of Scripture by ourselves. We need sound instruction, and a good catechism provides that. [7]

A catechism, then, is a tool for instruction. It doesn’t attempt to say everything, but it does claim to say what is essential to saving faith and to a basic understanding of theology by answering basic questions with the Bible. It doesn’t attempt to “add on” or replace the Bible; rather, it strives to teach it. The catechism is simply an instructional tool which leads the pupil to better understand the basic teaching of the Bible. The catechism, when used rightly, frees one to read the Bible and understand its theology.

The use of this catechetical format reaches far back into the pages of church history and was especially prominent during times of reformation and renewal. In fact, most of the catechisms used today were produced during the Protestant Reformation (1540s–1640s). [8] So confident were the Reformers in the wisdom of using catechetical instruction that John Calvin, in introducing his catechism, boldly asserted, “What we now bring forward, therefore, is nothing else than the use of a practice formerly observed by Christians and the true worshippers of God, and never neglected until the Church was wholly corrupted” (italics mine). [9] In other words, catechesis is the time-tested approach to instructing in the Christian faith. This is a substantial endorsement for the utilization of catechisms in the church today, but there are other significantly practical reasons to employ them.

The Usefulness Of The Shorter Catechism

I want to propose several very practical reasons for why we should utilize the Westminster Shorter Catechism. While many more could be added, I will limit this discussion primarily to individual and family benefits. My hope is that it will induce individuals to employ the Catechism in their personal and family devotional practice.

To Learn Basic Reformed Theology

When I began my seminary studies, I was frequently asked, “What is the most challenging thing about seminary?” I often responded: “Learning the language.” Although I grew up in a Reformed church, I was not taught the Catechism. As a result, I didn’t have in place the theological categories necessary for engaging well in theological discourse. Although I had a broad understanding of theology, it lacked clarity and precision. This really didn’t change much until my second year in seminary when I took a class on the Westminster Standards that required learning the Shorter Catechism. Upon doing so, a whole new world was opened up to me. I found that I had learned the “language” and categories which enabled me to engage with theology far more competently.

People might complain about this requirement. “Why should I need to learn a catechism in order to understand the teaching of the church?” Some might say, “Should not the church speak my language?” Aside from the narcissistic overtones of that comment, one should note that every field of knowledge requires this. Consider medicine. One doesn’t simply walk into a hospital and have an informed conversation with a surgeon until he has first learned basic concepts for discourse. The same is true of any other field of knowledge; there is a basic language that one must learn. No professional is required to abandon his nomenclature to accommodate every different individual, each having various degrees of understanding, education, etc.

He may condescend to the untrained but something will be lost in translation—it cannot be otherwise.

Theology functions in much the same way. The Catechism avoids jargon where possible, but some concepts must be accepted on their own terms. The Shorter Catechism provides the tools for communicating and understanding basic Reformed theology. With a little effort, much can be gained in understanding the triune God and our relationship to Him.

Many voices compete in the modern church. The theology of the Shorter Catechism doesn’t articulate a generic evangelicalism but a particular form of theology: Reformed theology. William Edgar has summarized the emphasis of Reformed theology in this way: “The heart of Reformed theology is to credit all good things, especially the comprehensive plan of redemption, to God and no one else.” [10] Reformed catechisms strive to demonstrate that salvation belongs to the Lord. The plan of salvation was authored by the Father, accomplished by the Son, and applied to the elect of God by the Spirit; therefore, all glory goes to the triune God. This is the heart of Reformed theology and, therefore, the heart of this Catechism.

To Understand The Bible

John Calvin, the Reformer of Geneva, recognized that the key to understanding the Bible begins with theology. Everyone has a theology (a working understanding of God), but the question is, how good is that theology? If we approach the Bible with a wrong conception of God, our pre-conceived theology will lead us to read the Bible erroneously and to draw wrong conclusions.

In Calvin’s view, understanding the individual parts of the Bible is impossible without understanding the overarching picture. In order to provide a proper theological grid through which to read the Bible, Calvin wrote a number of works targeting varying audiences.

To teach his parishioners the system of theology, he taught them a catechism. The catechism used in Geneva was authored by Calvin and first written in 1537; a second catechism (revision of previous) was published in 1542 and contained what is normally called the Geneva Catechism. [11]

For pastors, he wrote the classic Institutes of the Christian Religion, a work that outlined in detail the theology of the Bible. [12] He also lectured on the books of the Bible in a format specifically designed for aspiring pastors; these were later published in commentary format. [13]

Before his pastoral students attended Calvin’s exegetical lectures, however, they were assumed to have ingested his Institutes. In Calvin’s mind, good exegesis was impossible without sound theology. Once his students had learned the overall system of the Bible via his Institutes, then they would understand the function of the individual parts. [14] This stems from the Reformed principle of interpretation often referred to as the analogy of faith. The Westminster Confession of Faith describes it this way: “The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself: and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold, but one) it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.” [15]

In other words, because Scripture is the product of God, who is trustworthy and true, He will not contradict Himself. Therefore, the Word of God, regardless of the literary agents He employed and the manner in which they wrote, are consistent with one another. The parts will work together with the whole and vice versa. As a prerequisite to interpreting the individual parts, one must understand the overall system of theology revealed in the Scriptures.

Only then can we see the marvelous way in which the parts work together. This is one of the proofs that the Westminster divines gave for the Bible’s inspiration. The Larger Catechism reads:

The scriptures manifest themselves to be the word of God, by their majesty and purity; by the consent of all the parts, and the scope of the whole, which is to give glory to God; by their light and power to convince and convert sinners, to comfort and build up believers unto salvation (italics mine). [16]

In other words, all Scripture works together. Revelation doesn’t make sense without Genesis, Christ doesn’t make sense without Adam, and the church doesn’t make sense without Israel. There is one story; the categories of the latter chapters are built upon the former chapters. A catechism offers a way of holding all these things together. It shows how the parts work together so that you can make sense of them in light of the whole.

Some might protest against this. What is so important about this? Should we not just read the Bible and develop an understanding for ourselves? These protests are misplaced for two primary reasons. First, “All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves.” [17] To put it simply, it is not always clear what the Scriptures mean. We could list a number of reasons for these difficulties whether linguistic (the Bible was written in languages foreign to most of us), cultural, historical, or poetical. How can a twenty-first century Christian possibly understand all of Scripture without help?

At other times, numerous passages seem to contradict each other. How can the difficulties be resolved? How can the reader be sure that his understanding of the passage is accurate? Herein lies a second underlying error: the assumption that we are to learn theology independently. This does not appear to be what Christ had in mind when He gave teachers and pastors to the church. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:11-14:

And he [Christ] gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.

To bring the church to maturity and to protect them from “every wind of doctrine” and “deceitful schemes,” Christ appointed apostles, prophets, pastors, and teachers. He gave us helpers! We don’t need to shut ourselves away in a closet and pray that God teach us in isolation from others. The church of Christ is a body that consists of different parts and gifts (see 1 Cor. 12). If we don’t function in unison with one another, we suffer.

The Westminster Assembly, as stated earlier, consisted of more than one hundred ministers, and the Catechism was corporately constructed after much exegesis, deliberation, and debate. This does not make it infallible, but it merits better confidence than the one working in isolation without assistance. Aside from that, the Scripture texts are provided for our help but also for our investigation, to ensure that their teaching is truly biblical. There can be little doubt that the Catechism is the result of Christ’s gift of teachers to the church and we would be wise to utilize their work.

To Distinguish Truth From Error

“Contend for the faith once delivered to the saints“ (Jude 3) is a perpetual dictum of Scripture. Samuel Miller contended, “Does this not imply taking effectual measures to distinguish between truth and error?” He continued, “Before the church, as such, can detect heretics, and cast them out from her bosom…her governors and members must be agreed what is truth.” [18] The call to defend truth is not simply the obligation of the church corporately but also individual members. But how can anyone protect himself and his family from error if he is unable to state truth positively? Herein lies another benefit of learning the Catechism.

The Catechism delineates between essential truths of the Bible and error. Without a written standard in place, no one is able to distinguish truth from error. In an age in which Christ and His apostles warned us that there will be many who attempt to lead us into error (2 Peter 3), such standards are necessary. The possession of such a document is a tremendous mercy to the members of the church and her body at large. The Catechism is especially useful for those who are more vulnerable to false doctrine because they lack training in theology. It helps the untrained learn the most necessary elements of theology and protects them from over-speculation. This is particularly important for those untrained in teaching their children. Beeke and Jones write:

Using the catechisms not only helps the children, but also helps the parent who often lacks theological training. It guards the household teacher from losing sight of central doctrines, becoming entangled in difficult texts of Scripture, and wandering into error. [19]

One cannot discern injustice without a law, or error without clearly defined truth. We would be foolish to abandon our standards of truth. We must protect our flock from error by teaching the truth, and one of the best ways to do that is through catechizing.

To Facilitate Scripture Memory

The psalmist wrote, “Thy word have I hid it my heart that I might not sin against thee” (Ps. 119:11). Many of God’s people acknowledge the importance of memorizing Scripture but wonder where to begin. The Shorter Catechism provides a tremendous resource for help in this regard. It was noted of B. B. Warfield that not only did his parents force him to learn the Catechism, but they also required him to learn the more than 250 proof texts that accompanied them! It is hardly a coincidence that he proved to be one of the most prolific theologians of America.

To Aid Evangelism

When my wife and I began memorizing the Catechism, we learned firsthand the value it served in evangelism. She was at work one day when a conversation about religion came up. A co-worker asked her, “What exactly does it mean to pray?” There are perhaps a number of ways to answer that question, but it might be very difficult for the unequipped to answer thoroughly, biblically, and consistently. My wife, however, had recently written out the answer from the Catechism and was able to give a thoroughly biblical response. “Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.” [20]

B. B. Warfield recalled a similar instance in the life of D. L. Moody, the well-known evangelist of the nineteenth century. While he and a Scottish friend were discussing theological topics, they began discussing the nature of prayer, at which point someone asked, “What is prayer?” To their surprise, they received the Catechism’s answer from the mouth of a little girl playing in the hallway. Struck by what they heard, they called the girl and repeated the question. The girl stood upright before them with folded hands and answered in cadence. Moody responded, “Ah! That’s the Catechism!… Thank God for the Catechism.” Following this anecdote, Warfield asked, “How many have had occasion to ‘thank God for that Catechism!’ Did anyone ever know a really devout man who regretted having been taught the Shorter Catechism—even with tears—in his youth?” [21]

I have often been struck by the value of learning question 4, “What is God?” For a theist, that seems like an odd question. It would seem better to ask who is God. But imagine that a person with no religious experience were to ask about God. Perhaps the best place to start is with a general concept of what He is. The Catechism answers, “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” [22] That is a profoundly succinct and helpful answer. It tells us that God is a Spirit and without a body—in other words, He is immaterial and distinct from creation. It tells us of His incommunicable attributes which are unique to Himself (infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being); and it tells us His moral character (He is wise, all-powerful, all-good, just, and true). One could hardly define God more thoroughly and succinctly than that. This basic description of God would prove helpful in conversations with unbelievers from all sorts of backgrounds.

The Catechism also sums up the essential elements of the saving message of the gospel. It defines sin and its consequences (WSC 14-20). It also tells of Christ’s mediatorial work (WSC 21-28) and how sinners are made partakers of it by the work of the Spirit (WSC 29-31). All of these things must be taught to faithfully expound the saving message of Jesus.

To Facilitate Family Worship

Family worship has largely been abandoned today due to lack of discipline or lack of concern. The lack may also be due to an uncertainty of how to lead family worship. Not everyone feels adequate to jump into such things. The Catechism proves a wonderful resource for this. Between the theology of the Catechism and the proof texts which each question provides, a storehouse of information can function as a catalyst for family worship. Consider an example of how this might work. Consider again the question, “What is God?” “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” [23] After opening family worship time with prayer, someone could read this Catechism. If the family has children who can read, parents could assign to each of them one or two of the proof texts. After they look them up, they can each read theirs in turn as a segue to theological discourse.

One child could read John 4:24 (the proof text for the statement that “God is a Spirit”). The father could introduce theological discourse by asking, “Why is it important that God is a Spirit?” After facilitating a brief discussion, he could read the whole of John 4 to explain that Jesus was emphasizing that God is not bound to one particular place as we are. This affirms the omnipresence of God and that He can be worshipped by His people anywhere. The possibilities of discussion on this one truth alone would be sufficient to occupy a family devotion.

With a little preparation, one could also find a hymn or two to sing for pressing the truth further. Consider Immortal, Invisible by Walter Chalmers Smith:

Immortal, Invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, Most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, Victorious—Thy great name we praise.

This hymn presupposes the invisibility yet certainty of God and is built upon the truth that God is a Spirit and does not have a body. Or the family could sing Come, Thou Almighty King which builds upon the truth of John 4:24 that God is omnipresent. The first stanza invokes God’s presence in worship and His enabling true spiritual worship:

Come, Thou Almighty King,
Help us Thy name to sing,
Help us to praise: Father! All-glorious,
O’er all victorious,
Come and reign over us,
Ancient of Days.

The family could close with prayer that particularly focused on God’s omnipresence. Each member of the family could take turns praying about what they have learned from God’s Word about God. Prayer time could focus on His omnipresence to stir up adoration, confession and contrition, thanksgiving, and supplication.

You can see how effectively the Catechism can be used for promoting religion in the home in the study of theology that is built upon the Bible, in singing, and in prayer. This is certainly a tool worth utilizing.

To Train Children In The Reformed Faith

R. L. Dabney, the famous nineteenth-century Southern Presbyterian, once said, “God’s way of promoting revival…is not to increase the activity of any outward means only, but “to turn the hearts of the parents to children (Mal. 4:6).” [24] In other words, true revival starts with parental fidelity. “Train up your child in the way he should go and he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6). This verse sounds simple enough, but how do we train them? Where do we start? Thankfully, our fathers went before us and have not left us without help. We have inherited resources to assist us, and one of these resources is the Catechism under consideration.

Some have noted that perhaps Calvin’s greatest contribution to the continuation of the Reformation was not his most famous work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion (a perennial bestseller since 1536), or his commentaries (also still in use to this day), but his Geneva Catechism. Over his three decades in Geneva, Calvin instructed several generations in the Reformed faith through this simple question-and- answer format. Each Sunday morning, after preaching the sermon, he would call the children to the front of the church. He would stand before them and ask one after the other to explain the basic tenets of the Christian faith. He also did this during his frequent house calls. Calvin’s work in this regard is worth emulation. It is lamentable how poorly children have been educated in recent church history. It can hardly be doubted that some of the difficulty has stemmed from the neglect of catechetical instruction. [25]

There are countless other examples of the effective use of catechisms. Another involves the brilliant theologian of Old Princeton, Charles Hodge. In his autobiographical writings, he recalls how diligently his mother and pastor drilled him in the Shorter Catechism (his father died when he was very young). He wrote appreciatively: “There has never been anything remarkable in my religious experience, unless it be that it began very early.” [26] This early and diligent instruction prepared Hodge to teach generations of pastors over his more than fifty-year career at Princeton Seminary.

John Paton, nineteenth-century missionary in the New Hebrides, also gives us a remarkable testimony to the benefit of catechesis in his adolescence. He wrote:

The Shorter Catechism was gone through regularly, each answering the question asked, till the whole had been explained, and its foundation in Scripture shown by the proof-texts adduced. 

It has been an amazing thing to me, occasionally to meet with men who blamed this “catechizing” for giving them a distaste for religion; everyone in all our circle thinks and feels exactly the opposite. It laid the solid rock-foundations of our religious life. After-years have given to these questions and their answers a deeper or a modified meaning, but none of us have ever once even dreamed of wishing that we had been otherwise trained. Of course, if the parents are not devout, sincere, and affectionate—if the whole affair on both sides is task work, or worse, hypocritical and false,—results must be very different indeed. [27]

The character that catechetical training has produced serves as a tremendous endorsement of catechizing in general and in using the Shorter Catechism particularly. As Warfield wrote, there is hardly a better resource to give the child godly knowledge—“not the knowledge the child has, but the knowledge the child ought to have” (italics mine). [28]

Conclusion

We have addressed some of the potential benefits for using the catechisms of the Reformed tradition and particularly the Shorter Catechism, but it must be noted that the benefits will not be obtained without extensive and tireless labor. Memorizing, acquiring understanding of its theology, and learning its scriptural supports will take a great deal of effort and discipline, yet the benefits are certainly worth the labor. In the Shorter Catechism, we have a considerable resource if we will but utilize it.

Notes

1. Samuel Miller, The Utility and Importance of Creeds and Confessions Addressed Particularly to Candidates for the Ministry (Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1824); Archibald Alexander, “The Duty of Catechetical Instruction” and “Lectures on the Shorter Catechism: A Review.” Both reprinted in Princeton and the Work of the Christian Ministry, 2 vols. (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2012), 1:314-25; 327-43; and B. B. Warfield, “Is the Shorter Catechism Worth While?” in Selected Shorter Writings, ed. John E. Meeter (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P&R Publishing, 2010), 1:381-84. For a more modern treatment of the issue see Carl Trueman, The Creedal Imperative (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2012).
2. The quotation from the title is taken from Thomas Manton’s ‘Epistle to the Reader’ in Westminster Confession of Faith (repr., Glasgow: Free Presbyterian Publications, 2003), 10.
3. These Scottish delegates included the well-known George Gillespie and Samuel Rutherford.
4. Assembly at Edinburgh, July 28, 1648, “Act of Approving the Shorter Catechism,” in Westminster Confession of Faith (1646; repr., Glasgow: Bell and Bain Lt., 2003), 286.
5. Details of these events can be found in great detail in a number of places. One good treatment is found in Robert Letham, The Westminster Assembly: Reading its Theology in Historical Context (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P&R, 2009), 11-100.
6. John Owen, “Two Shorter Catechisms: Wherein the Principles of the Doctrine of Christ are Unfolded and Explained” in The Works of John Owen, 16 vols. (repr., Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2000), 1:465.
7. Jerry Bridges, foreword to The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism, by Kevin DeYoung (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2010), 10.
8. Philip Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, 3 vols. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1983). For a brief summary on the Reformed Catechisms in particular, see Joseph H. Hall, “Catechisms of the Reformed Reformation” in Presbyterion 5, no. 2 (1979), 87-98.
9. “The Catechism of the Church of Geneva that is a Plan for Instructing Children in the Doctrine of Christ” taken from Calvin: Theological Treatises, Library of Christian Classics vol. XXII., ed. J. K. S. Reid (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1954), 88.
10. William Edgar, Truth in All Its Glory: Commending the Reformed Faith (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P&R, 2004), 19. If you are not familiar with Reformed theology, I recommend B. B. Warfield, “A Brief and Untechnical Statement of the Reformed Faith” in SSW 1:407-10. See also Daniel R. Hyde, Welcome to a Reformed Church (Lake Mary, Fla.: Reformation Trust, 2011) and Joel Beeke, Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism (Lake Mary, Fla.: Reformation Trust, 2008). For a helpful reference resource see Kelly Kapic and Wesley Vander Lugt, Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2013).
11. Herman Selderhuis, John Calvin: A Pilgrim’s Life (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009), 184, and John Calvin, “The Catechism of the Church of Geneva that is a Plan for Instructing Children in the Doctrine of Christ,” reprinted in Calvin’s Theological Treatises, ed. J. K. S. Reid (Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox Press, 1954), 88-141.
12. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 vols., ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1950). See also a detailed analysis of those purposes in François Wendell, Calvin: Origins and Development of His Religious Thought, translated by Philip Mairet (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997), 144– 49, or Randall Zachman, John Calvin as Teacher, Pastor, and Theologian: the Shape of His Writings and Thought (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006).
13. John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries, 22 vols. (repr., Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003).
14. See the prefatory letter in the Institutes.
15. WCF 1.9.
16. WLC 4.
17. WCF 1.7.
18. Samuel Miller, The Utility and Importance of Creeds and Confessions (Greenville, S.C.: L A Press, 1987), 15-17.
19. Joel Beeke and Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life (Grand Rapids: Reformed Heritage Books, 2012), 871.
20. WSC 98.
21. B. B. Warfield, “Is the Shorter Catechism Worth While?” Selected Shorter Writings of Benjamin B. Warfield (Nutley, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1970), 1:382-83.
22. WSC 4.
23. WSC 4.
24. Robert Lewis Dabney, “Parental Responsibilities: A Sermon Preached before the Synod of Virginia, at Danville, Va., October 1879” in Discussions: Evangelical and Theological (repr., Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1967), 1:677.
25. See Herman Selderhuis, John Calvin: A Pilgrim’s Life (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2009), 183-85.
26. Archibald Alexander Hodge, The Life of Charles Hodge (New York: Charles Scribner and Sons, 1880), 13.
27. John G. Paton, John G. Paton: Missionary to the New Hebrides. An Autobiography, ed. James Paton (repr., Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2013), 16.
28. B. B. Warfield, Is the Shorter Catechism Worth While?, 381.