Martin Luther’s Small Catechism is a concise presentation of the fundamentals of the Christian faith answering to the question, what every Christian should know.
Luther himself, though a learned theologian and preacher, approached catechism like a child:
he regularly “read” and “recited”
the Ten Commandments,
the Creed,
and the Lord’s Prayer.
Rote learning the Catechism by heart already in the Reformation time, and especially today, appeared not enough. Christian belief is a worldview and a way of life. The Catechism is not to be remembered, it should be privatized, grasped and beloved.
The Catechism should be a book that both children and adults want to return over and over, again and again.
If it is so, the Catechism wouldn’t be a “collection of dogmas”, but a true Enchiridion (from ancient Greek ἐγχειρίδιον, “hand sword”), that is, a “tool” and a “weapon” for Christian education.
This site explores best practices to work with Luther’s Catechism in Christian formation of children.