Reformation Heritage Books has kindly republished a very useful book by John Brown of Haddington. It’s called Questions and Answers on the Shorter Catechism.
This post may contain affiliate links. At no extra cost to you, we may receive a small commission if you purchase through our links. Thank you for supporting this ministry!
Questions and Answers on the Shorter Catechism
John Brown of Haddington was an 18th century Scotsman who was a superb preacher and theologian. This book actually begins with a great biographical introduction of John Brown that is written by Joel Beeke and Randall Pederson. It’s a very concise one (only about 20 pages), but it’s sure to help you better understand the man who wrote this excellent book on the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism is by far one of the greatest documents ever written by Christians (I’m certainly biased; I’m a Presbyterian). But as one reads the catechism, there are many other questions that could come up. For instance, the first question is “What is the chief end of man?” Well, somebody might ask, “What does ‘end’ mean?” Well that’s exactly what John Brown has done with all 107 questions of the catechism. And each of his answers are very concise, making this an excellent tool for teaching Christian doctrine to others.
John Brown shows himself to be an excellent teacher of God’s Word, and a man that is filled with wisdom. This book is jam-packed with great teaching on the Shorter Catechism and ultimately the Bible which the catechism is summarizing. Here’s just one example: Question and Answer #20 of the catechism is followed by 12 pages of Q+A’s about Q+A 20 of the catechism! That’s a total of 154 Q+A’s for just one Q+A of the catechism! That’s absolutely astounding. And even those these are concise answers (as catechetical answers are supposed to be), they are powerful and packed-full of meaning. This method of teaching is incredibly effective and useful. This is why RHB took the time to reproduce a book such as this.
This is an excellent book to use for personal study of the catechism, but it’s also written in a way that you could use it as a tool in teaching your children the truths of the whole counsel of God. My children have been memorizing the shorter catechism over the past year, and this is a book that I’m going to use to help them understand what it is that they are memorizing.
I can’t recommend this book highly enough! This is the kind of book that will help Christians to grow in their knowledge of a glorious God, and will help them to live passionate lives for His glory! Tolle lege, take up and read!
Disclaimer: My thanks to Reformation Heritage Books for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Matt became a joyful follower of Jesus at the age of 21. He is very grateful to be a husband to Lindsey, and a father to four boys. He is an ordained minister (teaching elder) in the PCA. He previously served as a pastor of biblical counseling and is currently a corporate chaplain in southern Delaware. Matt received his Master of Divinity degree in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds an advanced certification in biblical counseling from the Association of Biblical Counselors. In his free time, he loves playing with his boys, traveling with his wife, and reading (and buying!) books.
Leave a Reply