Roughly edited copy Concordia university education network Cuenet Lutheran confessions 2-2 Dr. Robert kolb Captioning provided by: caption first, inc. P.o. Box 1024 Lombard, il 60148 800-825-5234 *** This text is being provided in a rough draft format. Communication access realtime translation (cart) is provided in Order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a Totally verbatim record of the proceedings. *** Lc2-2 >> thank you. Let me ask another question, if i may. Did Luther invent the catechism? I suppose i mean by this: is the Form of the catechism his creation? Was he the first to Recognize the need for such a document? >>dr. Robert kolb: no, not at all, josh. The catechism as a Term wasn't applied to a specific book, a specific handbook for Catechization or christian instruction until luther's small Catechism became a common textbook in german lutheranism in the Middle of the 16th century. But the term catechism was used Early in the church. And the most important part of that word For us to remember is the e-c-h in the middle. It's related to Our word echo. The early church understood that christians who had just Come to the faith needed instruction, needed to be given a Framework for the whole of their christian life and especially For the reading and hearing of the scripture. And so the early Church formed a catechism, that is a program of instruction. Now, there were doctrinal catechisms and there were Ethical catechisms in the early church. And scholars have Disagreed to a certain extent about whether there was one line or One school of instruction that focused on doctrine and another School that focused on ethics. My own feeling is that when we Have separate programs of instruction for doctrine and for the Moral life, that probably they were peas in the same pod. That The early church never gave instruction in doctrine without Following it up with moral instruction. And that moral Instruction was always set within a doctrinal framework. We have to remember that in the early church this is Somewhat like our own age. People came to faith in jesus christ From totally different ways of looking at the world. And not Only looking at reality and the kinds of things we classify under Christian doctrine, but also looking at how to live the good Christian life. Because other ways of life were so totally Different. And so luther, too, he didn't invent this form of Instruction. But what he did was to take that general model over From medieval instruction and so he gave us the six chief parts Of christian doctrine. And then he followed it up with Instruction for our devotional life and our life in our christian Callings. He didn't invent the catechism. But he streamlined it. He improved it. He made it talk to northern europeans and he Made it talk to those who had become convinced of the gospel of Jesus christ as he understood it. *** This text is being provided in a rough draft format. Communication access realtime translation (cart) is provided in Order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a Totally verbatim record of the proceedings. ***