The Westminster Shorter Catechism in Modern English [Paperback]

Douglas F. Kelly (Author), Philip B. Rollinson (Author), Frederick T. Marsh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1986

Since its completion in 1647 the Westminster Shorter Catechism has been unsurpassed as a concise tool for teaching the Reformed understanding of Scripture. Though the truths of the catechism are unchanging, the English language has undergive many changes, which have made using the catechism in its original form increasingly difficult.

Product Details

• Paperback: 24 pages
• Publisher: P & R Publishing (August 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875525482
• ISBN-13: 978-0875525488
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Protestantism > Presbyterian
  • #6 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology > Catechisms
  • #32 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Theology > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding, Multi-Purpose Teaching Tool, April 7, 2003

By 

J. F Foster - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Westminster Shorter Catechism in Modern English (Paperback)

This modern translation of the Westminster Shorter Catechism has become the standard modern rendering of this catechism and is a most profitable tool.

As is indicated in the short introduction to this work, the authors/translators were committed to making the Shorter Catechism accessible to today's readers in order to maintain its viability as a modern teaching tool and liturgical reference. The original language of the Shorter Catechism is sometimes difficult to follow, and this resulted in a decreasing emphasis upon its use. This translation eliminates this problem, and allows for a succinct and very faithful reintroduction of the Shorter Catechism to the masses via Reformed liturgy and instruction.

This modern version is quite lucid. As a result, it is a teaching tool that can be used with children, as well as incorporating it into regular worship in ways that seasoned Christians, new Christians, and interested non-Christians can understand and follow. As I will mention below, this is really critical.

It is important to address the major objection that always seems to come up whenever there is an undertaking to produce a 'modern rendering' of some centuries old work. Inevitably, the charge of 'dumbing down' is raised, where it is asserted that by creating a modern version, the accuracy of the original is compromised for the sake of contemporary ease of comprehension. And while I think this objection always has merit to the extent that we should always be very discerning about the faithfulness of any modern work to the original, I find that this particular objection is not valid in this instance. This modern rendering is very faithful to the original, and very accurate in communicating the distinctive truths of Reformed theology. In works like this, there has to be a balance between accessibility and accuracy. Jettisoning accuracy in the interest of accessibility is a bad idea that should always be rejected. However, that does not universally mean that it is impossible to accurately and faithfully make a previously inaccessible work accessible to people today. As a result, I believe this modern rendering is keeping with perhaps the greatest ecclesiastical tenet of the Reformation - the belief that Scripture should be accessible and available to laypeople, rather than confined among a powerful ecclesiastical elite. As the Reformation produced an explosion of Bible knowledge among the masses as a result of taking the Bible out of the priests of Rome and affirming the priesthood of all believers, so this work should take the Shorter Catechism out of the realm of the seminaries and back to the churches as a vibrant and vital teaching tool of Reformed theology. Highly recommended.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful... but lacking, December 2, 2007

By 

Kari A. Reed "lordyhwh" (Mount Desert, ME) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Westminster Shorter Catechism in Modern English (Paperback)

This is a wonderful update of the shorter catechism. It makes it more accessible to a modern generation without changing the actual meaning of the Q. and A. The only downside of this particular publication is that the scripture proofs are lacking. I had to buy this AND the original WSC with scripture proofs. If anyone knows of this modernization with the proofs incorporated in, I would love to know about it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish this had wider circulation!, February 5, 2011

By 

Heather Pink (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Westminster Shorter Catechism in Modern English (Paperback)

Trying to memorize the Shorter Catechism is never going to be easy because the answers are long in order to be complete. Unfortunately, the original version is also filled with "haths" and "continueths" and "executeths," etc which do not make it any easier to remember.

The Shorter Catechism in Modern English is, in my opinion, a great update. They've been able to make it more manageable while not losing the completeness and truth of the original wording.

Highly recommend it. I did all my memorization from this one, and I actually bought a copy for a poor kid I know who is struggling to learn the old version.