Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - May/93

Contributor - A. Gardiner Skelly

Title - Wise or Otherwise

Topic - Jesus Christ

We had been close friends at university so naturally I was pleased to learn that he had been appointed General Secretary of the YM.C.A. in the city of Cork, on the southern shore of Ireland. At that time, and in that land, the "Y" was a conservative, Christian, evangelical movement, and it was exclusively Protestant in membership. The Protestant community, which constituted a minuscule minority of the local population, was happy to have it that way, and I imagine that the leaders of the Roman Catholic community were equally satisfied with such a system of segregation. So there was never any hint of hassle about a perceived violation of the precious principle of inclusivity. Indeed, that cherished contemporary concept had not yet been invented!

One afternoon my friend was sitting in his office when two young men, scarcely out of their teens, called to see him. They needed some financial assistance to get back home to the north of Ireland. They were, they assured him, staunch Protestants and therefore deserving of his help. When he pressed them for some of the details of their spiritual lineage, one of them said to him, "Of course we are Protestants. In fact we are Presbyterians, and I can prove it to you. Ask me any question in The Shorter Catechism and I'll answer it for you!

Now, The Shorter Catechism is a terse and luminous document based upon the Westminster Confession of Faith and consisting of some 108 questions and answers. Back in those distant days it enjoyed a kind of quasi-scriptural status in Irish Presbyterianism. Indeed it was said, with a touch of humour, that the ability to recite all the answers in The Shorter Catechism would get you anywhere except into heaven!

Meantime, back in the city of Cork, the test was made. A random sampling of questions was put, for my friend was also proficient in the said catechism. The respondent proved to be word perfect and passed with flying colours. So on the basis of such an impressive display of theological erudition, an indeterminate sum of money changed hands and forthwith the lads were on their way back north!

This little episode must surely constitute the most unusual use to which The Shorter Catechism has ever been put in the course of its historic existence! It also raises the pertinent question of the purpose of catechisms, confessions and creed, in general. Catechisms, though they may appear to some unenlightened minds to be dull, dry, dehydrated documents, have in the end of the day a significant and crucial function. On the one hand, they crystallize for us the distilled essentials of the faith; on the other hand, they protect against the creeping intrusions of heresy. They are both a DIGEST and a DEFENCE of the fundamentals of the faith, and as such they are to be cherished and celebrated as a precious part of our spiritual heritage.

But having said that, we must never forget that the faith is expressed not just in creeds but also in DEEDS. Our dear Lord not only taught the truths of the faith but also translated those truths into sensitive, compassionate action. He healed the sick. He fed the hungry. He befriended the outcast. He forgave the sinner. And it is to such a program of caring concern that He calls you and me today... and every day.

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