It is the age of Christianese. Vague is in vogue. Theology stripped from doxology. Out with the doctrinal substance of psalms and hymns, in with the upbeat, theologically-starved emotional joy rides. Church history is left for the public high school teachers and college professors to spin. The historic creeds, confessions, and catechisms sealed with the blood of the martyrs1 have been practically blacklisted behind Church doors.
All of this is lamentable because the prognosis is not good – frankly, it is dangerous. For two millennia of Church history, there was an important trend of increasing doctrinal precision to avoid serious errors and heresies.2 Now, the times are quickly a-changing. Like a rampant superinfection without modern antibiotics to treat, the church disconnected from the past finds itself in a deadly situation. Without her historical roots, the Church has lost its immune system. Failing to recognize old foes wearing new and attractive faces (2 Timothy 4:3-4), the modern Christian is easily fooled. We have a Church with amnesia.
The 21st century is witnessing a phenomenon similar to the days of the Protestant Reformation – an uncatechized Church. An illustration students will appreciate, a catechism is essentially a study guide to Scripture. Discovering the reformed catechisms is like finding the handwritten notes left behind by Berean (Acts 17:11) students who graduated with A’s in the class. In the hands of a Christian pilgrim in the crucible of the world (1 Peter 5:10) around him, they build guard rails against drifting into the errors of the past while simultaneously hiding the God-breathed words of Scripture deep within the sinews of the heart. (Psalm 119:11) When the ancient serpent whispers his old deceits (Genesis 3), the catechisms train us to pick up our Bible and say, “it is written”.
When the ancient serpent whispers his ancient deceits (Genesis 3), the catechisms train us to pick up our Bible and say, “It is written.”
The time is now to excise the theological apathy that has metastasized in the Church like cancer. This immunosuppression needs to be aggressively treated with passionate regimens of catechesis. We need Christians who know what they believe and why they believe it! (1 Peter 3:15)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…
Colossians 3:16
- The chief author of the Belgic Confession of Faith, Guido de Brès, died as a martyr in 1567. Read more.
- The doctrine and confession of the Christian church has developed over centuries of controversy. The historic confessions of faith amount to the fruit of over a thousand years of studying the scriptures. We neglect this inheritance to our shame.
