The Heidelberg Diary: Daily Devotions on the Heidelberg Catechism. William J Ouweneel. 2019. 768 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death? A. That I am no tmy own, but belong--body and soul, in life and in death--to my faithful Saviour, Jesus Christ. What a tremendous start for the catechism! We are not plunged right away into complex theological subjects, instead we are asked a very personal and very practical question. "Your" is singular here. You, Christian, what is your comfort? Whatever your sins, whatever your health condition, whatever you social, economic or any other circumstances, where do you find the comfort and consolation that helps you persevere?
The Heidelberg Diary is a daily devotional. It is a thoughtful walk through the Heidelberg Catechism. That catechism has fifty-two "Lord's Day" questions and answers. Each Lord's Day has one to three questions and answers. (Sometimes less, sometimes more). Ouweneel has 'stretched' or 'expanded' those questions and answers to last all year long. Some questions and answers have four to five 'parts' or 'days' in this devotional. [I do wish that when he does this he would repeat the question! That would be my only suggestion really, to make it easier what question this answer is in response to.]
The Heidelberg Catechism covers the basics. What are the basics? Well, at the very least--the Apostle's Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer. I believe there are also questions and answers about the sacraments of communion (aka Lord's Supper) and baptism.
I absolutely LOVE the Heidelberg Catechism, I do. Especially the earlier questions.
I read this library book in a few weeks. Obviously two weeks is not enough time to read this one as it was designed--one per day all year. I ended up reading twenty plus days per day. (Sometimes more! I remember one day covering a hundred days. Then I realized I didn't have to read it that quickly. That I could slow down some.)
I enjoyed this one for the most part. It does add in a lot of extras. (For better or worse). I think it adds context and detail on some theological issues. The devotions mainly are meaty and substantive. I would say that sometimes the author is critical of the original question and answer. Again for better or worse. (I can't say that I honestly agree 1000% with every single phrase in the original.) This comes into play when it comes to communion. He feels the original is inappropriately harsh and unfair to Roman Catholics. (This doesn't surprise me that the original would be strongly worded. And that *any* differences between Protestants and Catholics would be VERY strongly worded.) It also doesn't surprise me that modern believers would try to 'calm' the original. The author stresses that the original isn't always fair to Catholics because they are writing from a position that may unfairly represent what Roman Catholics believe(d).
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