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Article: Catechism for today? (Presbyterian Church catechism).
- Article from:
- Presbyterian Record
- Article date:
- November 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Presbyterian Record. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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One might think these words were penned by a Puritan divine. In fact, they were written by Robertson Davies, the well-known Canadian novelist.
As a child, Davies memorized the catechism's 107 questions and answers. His church school teacher, a genial doctor, encouraged his class to learn it. "It's hard work to get it all by heart," he said, "but you'll find it invaluable when you get into an argument -- in the smoking car on a train ... where there is always a lot of talk about religion ...; if you have your catechism cold, nobody can get the better of you."
"True indeed," is Davies' comment, born, no doubt, out of countless smoking car and common room ...