'I could cheerfully, even thankfully, give up the Catechism if it were, or I had ever treated it as being, a summary of the doctrines whereby the Church of England is distinguished from Dissenters. ... I have always contended that, by its form as much as by its spirit, such a notion of it is shown to be untenable; that the "What is thy name?" gives the hint of the most personal as well as the most catholic, or, to use the modern phrase, the most "unsectarian," education. I should be very loath to give up this testimony just at a time when it seems most needed, when we want most to show that secularism is narrow and exclusive, Faith comprehensive.' ---F. D. MAURICE to PROF. HORT, April 1870. PREFACE DURING the years which I spent at Chester, it was my duty to instruct the first-year students in the Catechism. I then became strongly impressed with the very imperfect way in which it seems usually to be understood, and the, in my judgment, great defects of existing textbooks. The following book is the outcome of that experience. I have endeavoured to explain-not explain away-as clearly as I could the meaning of the Catechism, I have tried to show how much, not how little, sound teaching is involved in it, and further, to show that this teaching agrees with the teaching of our Lord and His Apostles. Above all, I have tried to connect the teaching of the Catechism with the life of the Catechumen. The divorce between life and teaching is, I fear, widespread, and seems to me to be the curse which accounts for the comparative failure of the enormous efforts which have been made by the Church on behalf of religious education. How far I have succeeded in these aims, I must leave others to judge. At Chester, I used Dr. Maclear's Class-book of the Catechism as a text-book, and it is hard to say how much I owe to it, but I have not referred to it, or any of the other current manuals during the composition of my work. My great debt is to the life and writings of F. D. Maurice. It was from him that I first learnt the real meaning and immense value of the Catechism. It would be well if those who take his name in their mouths would really study his works and lay his teaching to heart. In citing Scripture I have uniformly quoted the Revised Version. The gain in accuracy, especially in the New Testament, compared with the Authorised Version, is very great, and for purposes of instruction it should always be referred to. In conclusion, I have to express my thanks to my friends the Rev. J. J. Lias and A. Potts, B.A. The former has kindly read the whole of the proof-sheets, and has furnished me with valuable suggestions and criticisms; to the latter, I owe the collection of a large portion of the questions at the end. A. J. C. A. CAMBRIDGE, November 1891. CONTENTS § 5. Catechising as enjoined by the Church, CHAPTER II.-HISTORY OF THE CATECHISM. §3. Henry VIII.'s Books of Instruction, § 5. The Hampton Court Conference, CHAPTER III.-THE CONTENTS OF THE CATECHISM. § 1. The Object of Religious Teaching, . § 2. History and Contents of the concluding Rubrics, PAGE CHAPTER I.-THE CHRISTIAN'S PRIVILEGES. § 1. The First Question and Answer, § 2. The Second Question and Answer- i. Evidence from Scripture, . § 4. The Need of Perseverance, CHAPTER III.-THE CHRISTIAN'S FEELings. |