Gordon Clark: Reply to The Church “Better Off Without Catechism?” (Bible Presbyterian Reporter)

The following is Clark's answer to a response a reviewer wrote to this Clark article (which, I think, must have been written in 1960, not 1961):

Post Mar 1960. Reply to The Church “Better Off Without Catechism?” Bible Presbyterian Reporter. Pgs 7-8

The letter published herewith was apparently written by a devout Baptist woman. In it she expresses the historic Baptist opposition to man-made creeds, and also betrays some misunderstanding of parts of the catechism’s text. An answer, which must be brief, should touch briefly on these three points.

First, should catechisms and “man-made” creeds ever be used? Whenever a minister preaches a sermon, he tells what he believes: that is, he puts his creed into words. Whenever a minister holds a communicant’s class, he instructs them in the doctrines of the Bible. He summarizes what the Bible teaches. He tried to make it clear to them. After some experience and listening to the pupils’ difficulties, he will see the need of emphasizing certain points. He will find that certain phrases make his meaning clearer than other phrases would. And as he has classes year after year, he may get the young people to memorize the most important phrases. That is to say, he catechizes them.

Now, the Westminster Shorter Catechism is one of the best catechisms that has ever been written. It is not the work of one man, but rather the work of many men who carefully studied their task for several years, and studied it in the light of earlier attempts. It summarizes what the Scriptures teach on the most important points, such as sin, saving faith, the three-fold office of Christ, the moral law.

Question 82, which the writer of the letter mentions, asks, “Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God?” The catechism’s scriptural answer is, “No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God…” One of God’s commandments is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Is there anyone who dares to say that he or she perfectly keeps this commandment? Even Paul said that he had not attained unto perfection.

Now, second, the writer of the letter objects to infant baptism. This is too large a subject to be discussed here. May I refer anyone who is interested to my small volume, What Presbyterians Believe. Here, the most that can be said is that infants were received into the covenant in the Old Testament; that baptism takes the place of circumcision, just as the Lord’s Supper succeeds upon the Passover; and that the New Testament never implies that infants are no longer to be included in the covenant.

Finally, third, the letter shows a certain misunderstanding of parts of the text of the catechism. The question, “What is God?”, seems to the writer to deny the personality of God and make God a thing. Such, of course, is not the case, and the question is an important one. In the history of theology and philosophy there have been two questions asked about God. One is, Does God exist? The assertion that there is a God has often been thought to be very important. Is it not atheism to say that there is no God? The that is important; but the what is not less so. In modern times certain theologians have said that God is that character of events which enables us to procure the greatest benefits and avoid the greatest evils. This definition makes God a characteristic of the universe; and a Christian can be excused if he thinks that this is as much atheism as the out-right denial that there is a God. Hence, we cannot be satisfied if someone merely says he believes in God. We must know what he thinks God is.

The catechism tells us what God is. God is a spirit: that is, God is a person, a mind, a consciousness – not just a character of events, not just the totality of the universe, not just a law of nature, or something of the sort. God is a spirit, and that is why those that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

The catechism summarizes what the Bible teaches; it summarizes it much better than a pastor can in a sermon or in a communicants’ class. And to study catechism is to worship God.

- Gordon H. Clark