Catechising
Charles Buck Theological Dictionary [1]
Instructing by asking questions and correcting the answers. Catechising is an excellent mean of informing the mind, engaging the attention, and affecting the heart, and is an important duty incumbent on all who have children under their care. Children should not be suffered to grow up without instruction, under the pretence that the choice of religion ought to be perfectly free, and not biased by the influence and authority of parents, or the power of education. As they have capacities, and are more capable of knowledge by instruction than by the exercise of their own reasoning powers, they should certainly be taught. This agrees both with the voice of nature and the dictates of revelation, Deuteronomy 6:7 . Proverbs 22:6 . Ephesians 6:4 .
The propriety of this being granted, it may next be observed, that, in order to facilitate their knowledge, short summaries of religion extracted from the Bible, in the way of question and answer, may be of considerable use.
1. Hereby, says Dr. Watts, the principles of Christianity are reduced into short sentences, and easier to be understood by children.
2. Hereby these principles are not only thrown into a just and easy method, but every part is naturally introduced by a proper question; and the rehearsal of the answer is made far easier to a child than it would be if the child were required to repeat the whole scheme of religion.
3. This way of teaching hath, something familiar and delightful in it because it looks more like conversation and dialogue.
4. The very curiosity of the young mind is awakened by the question to know what the answer will be; and the child will take pleasure in learning the answer by heart, to improve its own knowledge.
See next article.
Webster's Dictionary [2]
(p. pr. & vb. n.) of Catechise
