A Non-Denominational Catechism for Young Children
There was a time in my Christian thought when I was frustrated with theological disputes and the seeming “gaps” in the Bible on major issues. Not errors, but rather just a lack of organization might be the way to put it. The New Testament, particularly, starts off well with straightforward narratives, but then proceeds to various epistles, snapshots of theology based on the problems of local churches at the times. For example, Paul supposedly wrote three letters to the Corinthians, yet we have only the latter two. Why do we not have the first? What information might it contain?
In short, I wished the Bible were so explicit in its theology that theological disputes would be greatly reduced. I have a probabalistic mode of thinking, and on many non-essential issues I can put probabilities surrounding various doctrines. If you’d like entertainment, I can cite odds for you. For example, I think the Church of Christ people might have a point about losing your salvation, but that would also require belief in free will, so the probability of their being correct is approximately 30% (the chance of free will being correct in my view) times 40% (the chance that the “losing salvation” interpretation is correct, if one assumes free will), for a rolled average of 12% chance of correctness.
I realize I am weird for thinking this way. Having had much experience seeing precious hypotheses crushed by experimental data in my business and other pursuits, I have learned to be humble about my assumptions.
It was only recently that a particularly interesting hypothesis hit me that might explain why God would not make the Bible as theologically organized as we might prefer. It’s the same reason that continues to frustrate globalists- part of God’s Grace is His division of man into tribes and camps so that evil is compartmentalized and cannot take over the entire world.
Multiculturalism, then, can be seen as a particular evil, as it seeks to mix, and thus destroy, real diversity to create a false uniform diversity. Any chemical engineer can tell you it’s easier to mix something than take it apart- hence all of those insanely tall towers at the refineries. Thus, if the end result of multicultural mixing is a destruction of differences, then the globalists would finally have a perfect scenario for world government, which could and almost certainly would propagate a great deal of evil.
Similarly, doctrinal disputes in the Christian community prevent a Church with a false unity under a common government, a situation where evil can flourish. With legitimate doctrinal disputes, it follows naturally that there will be administrative divisions as well, ensuring that heresy is firewalled within one denomination at a time.
However, this is not to say that doctrine is worthless, or a mere hedge of protection. It is worthy of study, and good Christians should pick one and stick with it, particularly when raising children. This a particular challenge for me, as three-year-olds don’t pick up well on probability trees.
Recently a friend of mine, inspired by the catechisms of the Presbyterian Church (yeah, I know that’s a weird sounding word to Baptists like myself, but it’s really just a series of questions and answers about doctrine), decided to create a children’s catechism for use in educating his kids about doctrine. However, he modified it to focus less on particularly Reformed elements (predestination and the like), and more on the basics of the faith, as would be acceptable to most Baptists and non-denominational Christians.
I’m starting to use it with my oldest girl, and besides her thinking that the questions are actually short answer (her favorite response to question 3 is “so he could get some glory”) instead of calling for a memorized response, it’s going pretty well. With a child even older, it should be even easier.
The text document is below, feel free to copy and paste for your own use.
Non-Denominational Catechism for Young Children
Q. Who made you?
A. God.
Q. What else did God make?
A. God made all things.
Q. Why did God make you and all things ?
A. For God’s own glory.
Q. How can you glorify God?
A. By loving God and doing what God says.
Q. Are there more gods than one?
A. No, there is only one God.
Q. In how many persons does this one God exist?
A. In three persons.
Q. Who are the three persons of God?
A. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Q. Where is God?
A. God is everywhere.
Q. How long has God existed?
A. God has always existed.
Q. What does God know?
A. God knows everything.
Q. What can God do?
A. God can do anything.
Q. Where do you learn about God?
A. In the Bible.
Q. Who wrote the Bible?
A. God wrote the Bible.
Q. What is the Bible?
A. God’s Word to all men.
Q. Why is man special?
A. Man was made in the image of God.
Q. Who was the first man and woman?
A. Adam and Eve.
Q. What did Adam and Eve do in the garden of Eden?
A. Adam and Eve sinned against God.
Q. What is sin?
A. Disobeying God.
Q. Who has sinned?
A. Everyone has sinned.
Q. What is the penalty for sin?
A. Death.
Q. What should we do with our sin?
A. Repent of it.
Q. What does repent mean?
A. To turn away from our sin.
Q. Who should we trust to save us from sin?
A. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Q. Who is Jesus?
A. Jesus is God’s Son.
Q. What three offices does Jesus have?
A. Prophet, Priest, and King.
Q. Did Jesus ever sin?
A. No, Jesus is perfect.
Q. How did Jesus pay for my sin?
A. Jesus died on the cross for me.
Q. Did Jesus stay on the cross?
A. No, Jesus was buried.
Q. Is Jesus still buried?
A. No, Jesus rose from the dead after three days.
Q. Where is Jesus now?
A. Jesus is in Heaven.
Q. Will Jesus come again?
A. Yes, on the last day at the sound of the trumpet.
Q. What will Jesus do on the last day?
A. Judge all men.
Q. Where will all men go after judgement?
A. Heaven or Hell.
Q. What is Heaven?
A. A happy place where we will be with God.
Q. What is Hell?
A. A bad place of eternal separation from God.
Q. Can you get to Heaven by being good?
A. No, good works will not get you to Heaven.
Q. Who will go to Heaven?
A. All who trust in Jesus.
Q. Who will go to Hell?
A. All who do NOT trust in Jesus.
Q. Who helps us to trust in Jesus?
A. The Holy Spirit.
Q. What does the Holy Spirit give us?
A. The Holy Spirit gives us faith.
Q. What is faith?
A. Trusting in Jesus.
Q. How do you get the help of the Holy Spirit?
A. By prayer.
Q. What is prayer?
A. Asking God for things He promised to give us.
Q. In whose name should we pray?
A. In the name of Jesus.
Q. What has Jesus given us to teach us how to pray?
A. The Lord’s Prayer.
Q. Can you repeat the Lord’s Prayer?
A.
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy
will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And
forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the
glory, for ever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13
Q. How many commandments did God give to Moses?
A. Ten commandments.
Q. What is the first commandment?
A. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Q. What is the second commandment?
A. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
Q. What is the third commandment?
A. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.
Q. What is the fourth commandment?
A. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Q. What is the fifth commandment?
A. Honour thy father and thy mother.
Q. What is the sixth commandment?
A. Thou shalt not kill.
Q. What is the seventh commandment?
A. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Q. What is the eighth commandment?
A. Thou shalt not steal.
Q. What is the ninth commandment?
A. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Q. What is the tenth commandment?
A. Thou shalt not covet.
Q. What did Jesus say was the greatest commandment?
A. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.
Q. Who else should we love, other than God?
A. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Q. Who is your neighbor?
A. Everyone is my neighbor.
Q. What are sacraments?
A. Signs and seals of God’s covenant.
Q. What is Godís covenant?
A. Godís promise to save us from sin.
Q. How many sacraments are there?
A. Two.
Q. What are the two sacraments?
A. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Q. Who appointed these sacraments?
A. Jesus.
Q. Why did Jesus appoint these sacraments?
A. To make us different from the world.
Q. What sign is used in baptism?
A. The washing of water.
Q. What does baptism signify?
A. That our sins are washed clean by the blood of Jesus.
Q. In whose name are we baptized?
A. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Q. What is the Lord’s Supper?
A. Breaking and eating bread and drinking the cup.
Q. Why do we take part in the Lord’s Supper?
A. To remember the death and suffering of Jesus.
Q. What does the broken bread represent?
A. The body of Jesus, broken for our sins.
Q. What does the cup represent?
A. The blood of Jesus, shed for our salvation.
Q. Who should partake of the Lord’s Supper?
A. Believers in Jesus.
April 5th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
One suggestion is to have the kids say the ten commandments all together rather than to ask for each individually.
April 8th, 2007 at 7:06 am
Remove the “thou” and “shalt” language. This artificial, Victorian cultural overlay has become idolatrous.
April 8th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Actually, Martin, what’s idolatrous is the cavalier way with which many Christians refer to God these days. “Jesus is my homeboy”, and other stupid t-shirt Christianity phrases. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. And cavalier language about God is much closer to idolatry, which is the reduction of God from divine being to something humans can comprehend and control, than those who choose to use archaic pronouns to distinguish their speech with reverence for the Lord.
Functionally, some of the old KJV language is actually more functional and precise, for example, thou is singular, whereas you is plural. Now all we have the the ambiguous you.
Don’t judge someone else’s religous preferences simply because they are more conservative than your own- most of the time this “assymetrical intolerance” is voiced by someone who has a feeling of guilt or offense, whether deserved or not, at the person who takes the more conservative stance.
Whereas they are often laudatory of someone who takes more liberties with religous practice than they do, in keeping with the liberal spirit of the time, they reserve vile accusations of legalism and idolatry for those who are more conservative.
Of course, this is just the truth popping up its head in their hearts in my view, and their attempts to squash it back down. Or as another archaic English writer said, they “doth protest too much, methinks”.
April 10th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
I think this is a wonderful idea. Statistics show that the earlier we are exposed to the Truth, the more likely we are to accept it. Children understand alot more than they are given credit for. My grandson was truly excited Easter because “Jesus is Alive.” I did not have that kind of exposure or comprehension at his age.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Thank you! Tom for posting this. I have poured over everything to find a way to explain all GOD’s truths to Mason on a 6 year old Level.
And you had the answers this whole time. Thanks again,for helping a mother out,so she can teach her son.
April 20th, 2007 at 9:08 am
You’re welcome- it’s not my creation, but adapted to non-denominational use by a friend from a Reformed Presbyterian catechism for children.
April 26th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
I’ve rebelled for a long time against the ‘old fashioned’ KJV language - mostly because I was told for so long it was the only one I was ’supposed’ to use.
However, as my children have grown and have started memorizing Scripture, I am finding that the KJV is MUCH better suited to memorization than the more modern, conversational-type language. It is also more specific in getting the point across, and often requires fewer words than other versions.
Add to that the fact that it is actually at a higher reading level (similar to a Kindergartener learning Shakespeare - it may suck at the time, but once they get it, they’re lightyears ahead), and I am starting to back more and more teaching them the “oldfashioned” Scriptures.