Second Preface (Short Preface)

p. 387 This little work has been planned and undertaken in order to furnish a course of instruction for children and the simple-minded. Hence of old such works received in Greek the name Catechism, i. e. instruction for children. This of necessity every Christian should know; so that he who does not know this should not be reckoned among Christians nor be admitted to the sacrament, just as a mechanic who does not understand the rules and customs of his trade is rejected and regarded incapable. Therefore the young should be thoroughly instructed in the parts which belong to the Catechism or instruction for children, and should diligently exercise themselves therein.

Therefore it is the duty of every father of a family at least once a week to examine his children and servants, and to ascertain what they know of it, or have learned, and, if they be not familiar with it, to keep them faithfully at it. For I well remember the time—and it may even now be daily seen—when there were adults and even aged persons so uncultivated as to know nothing of these things, and who, nevertheless, went to Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and used everything belonging to Christians, notwithstanding the fact that those who come to the Lord’s Supper ought to know more and have a fuller understanding of all Christian doctrine than children and new scholars. However, for the common people, we would be satisfied with the three parts, which have been in Christendom from of old, but have been little taught and employed, p. 388 until they are generally and diligently practised, and have become familiar to all, both young and old, who wish to be and to be called Christians. These are the following:

p. 388 The Ten Commandments

I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

II. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

III. Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.

IV. Honor thy father and mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

V. Thou shalt not kill.

VI. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

VII. Thou shalt not steal.

VIII. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

IX. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house.

X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.

p. 388 The Chief Articles of Our Faith

I. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

p. 389 II. And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

III. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

p. 389 The Lord’s Prayer

¹ Lit.: The Prayer, or “Our Father,” which Christ taught.

Our Father who art in heaven,

1. Hallowed be thy name,

2. Thy kingdom come,

3. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven:

4. Give us this day our daily bread,

5. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

6. And lead us not into temptation,

7. But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

These are the most necessary parts which every Christian should first learn to repeat word for word, and which our children should be accustomed to recite daily when they arise in the morning, when they sit down to their meals, and when they retire at night; and until they repeat them they should be given neither food nor drink. The same duty is also incumbent upon every head of a household with respect to his man-servants and maid-servants, if they do not know these things and are unwilling to learn them. For a person who is so heathenish as to be unwilling to learn these things is not to be tolerated; for in these three parts everything contained in the Scriptures is comprehended in short, general and simple terms. For the holy Fathers or apostles (whoever they were) have thus embraced in a summary the doctrine, life, wisdom and art of Christians, of which they speak and treat, and with which they are occupied.

When these three parts are apprehended, we ought to know how to speak concerning our sacraments, which Christ himself instituted, viz. Baptism, and the holy body and blood of Christ, according to the text which Matthew (28: sqq.) and Mark p. 390 (16: sq.) record at the close of their Gospels as to how Christ gave his last instructions to his disciples and sent them forth.

p. 390 Of Baptism

“Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

So much is sufficient for a plain person to know from the Scriptures concerning Baptism. In like manner, also, concerning the other sacrament, in short, simple words, according to the text of St. Paul. 1 Cor. 11:23 sq.

p. 390 Of the Lord’s Supper

“Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is given for you: this do, in remembrance of me.

“After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink, ye all of it: this cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you, for the remission of sins: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Thus there are in all five parts of the entire Christian doctrine which should be constantly practised and required [of children], and heard recited word for word. For you must not depend upon that which the young people may learn and retain from the sermon alone. When these parts have been well learned, you may assign besides some psalms or hymns, based thereupon, in order to enforce the same, and thus to lead the youth into the Scriptures, and accustom them to make daily progress therein.

Yet it is not enough for them alone to comprehend and recite these parts verbatim. Let the young people also attend the preaching, especially during the time which is devoted to the Catechism, that they may hear it explained, and may learn to understand what every part contains, and, in their turn, be able to explain what they have heard, and when asked may give a correct answer, so that the preaching may not be without profit and fruit. For the reason that we exercise such diligence in preaching so often upon the Catechism is in p. 391 order that its truths may be inculcated on our youth, not in an ambitious and acute manner, but briefly and with the greatest simplicity, so as to enter the mind readily and be fixed in the memory.

Therefore we propose to take up the above-mentioned articles in regular order, and treat of them as plainly as possible and as fully as necessity demands.