Quote of the Week:
Sunday, September 9, 2007 at 07:04AM One of my favorite things to do on vacation is to explore the local antique shops in the Minocqua area. I never spend much but I always manage to come home with a few small treasures.
The Mill is one of our favorite haunts not so much because of the dusty antiques, which are tucked away in a dusty old smelly basement room, but because of the barn crammed full of used books. I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that there are tens of thousands of books in that old barn.Exploring the "religion" section is always exciting. This year--down on the bottom shelf, tucked away from the multiple copies of more popular books such as "Your Best Life Now" and "The Purpose Driven Life" and the usual assortment of colorful books by Joyce Myers and Robert Schuller--I found a gem.
The Creed of Presbyterians by EgbertWatson Smith. I paid all of $3 for it!
The first chapter of the book is titled The Creed Formulated and tells the history of the Westminster Assembly. Today's quote comes from the section, The Assembly's Task.
The work before the Assembly, therefore, was not the creation of a new system, but the formulation of doctrines already familiar, precious, and baptized in the blood of a hundred thousand martyrs. Its task was to give to the accepted Bible system of truth a complete, impregnable statement, to serve as a bulwark against error, as a basis of ecclesiastical fellowship and cooperation, and as a safe and effective instrument for the religious training of the people of God and their children.
Over a period of five and a half years, the Westminster Assembly produced three documents, The Westminster Confession of Faith, the Larger Catechism and the Shorter Catechism. From time to time, I hope to share a little insight into these documents as I work my way through The Creed of Presbyterians.
Reader Comments (4)
Kim,
What a really great purchase! I was not brought up with any catechism training - in fact I thought it was reserved for Catholicism - silly Baptist me. Anyway, by the grace of God I have come to be trained by the catechisms and excited to teach my children from their youth! And the quote from your new/old book is so good. Thanks for sharing it. (We also LOVE to find good old books - we just do it on **bay)
Lisa J
What a treasure Kim! Looking forward to your posts on this one. I am like a sponge of late with things Presbyterian. Notice how the news overlooked a Presbyterian pastor's passing? Not much heard about the home going of D. James Kennedy was there? Good to have you back, missed you.
I love looking at used book stores.
Definitely a treasure find. Enjoy! And share in blog posts--win/win.