THE ILLUSTRATED WESTMINSTER SHORTER
CATECHISM
By Andrew Green, Saško Nezamutdinov and
Ben Preston. Illustrator Ira Miniof.
Christian Focus, 111 pages, £13.99
ISBN 978 1 527 109 025
In this excellently illustrated version of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, an old text is brought to life in a fresh way to enable ‘generations of children… [to be] taught the great Biblical truths by way of catechesis and memorisation’ (p.9).
It’s slimline, well produced, and, for anyone who hasn’t thought through the benefits of catechism as a teaching method before, a great thing to try.
Enticing by design
Part of the triumph of this edition is the clever and attractive design which entices the reader. Having been gifted a copy of the Westminster Confession of Faith some years ago, I remember feeling it was the sort of thing that would double up well as a doorstop! This edition has a lovely feel and could take its place as an attractive option on a child’s bookshelf or sitting on a coffee table for those slightly older. Questions and answers are short enough to see this effectively used for family devotion or personal recall.
The team have updated the language to aid accessibility, which is a difficult task when trying to preserve much-loved text whilst not diluting its meaning. Sure enough, some purists might find these changes off-putting, but some may feel – as I do – that these probably could have gone further.
For example, the first (and, perhaps) best known of the catechism questions, ‘What is the chief end of man?’, has been updated to read ‘What is man’s foremost purpose in life?’ An even simpler formulation could have asked, ‘What is humanity’s main purpose in life?’ Given that the catechism already contains theological language that requires explanation, it would have been helpful to ensure all other older or more complex language (e.g., man, foremost) was avoided to aid simplicity in reading and understanding.
Halfway there
Currently, the book sits in a slight halfway house with its attractive modern illustrations sometimes jarring with the use of more dated wording. Stretching children’s understanding with theological terms will surely be a good thing, but some small changes to the non-theological wording could have potentially broadened the appeal of this edition beyond those already familiar with reciting forms of catechism.
