The Collected Christian Essentials Catechism. Peter J Leithart (writing about the Ten Commandments), Ben Myers (writing about the Apostles' Creed), and Wesley Hill (writing about the Lord's Prayer). 2023. [November] 432 pages. [Source: Review copy]
First sentence: Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ described his word as a seed.
So many conflicting thoughts on this one. First, you should know--according to the copyright page--that these three [long] essays [or articles] were all previously published. So there is always the chance that you might have previously come across these in another publication. Second, each essay is united in that they provide commentary and 'insight' about an essential, historic, traditional Christian document. (Most catechisms, creeds, confessions, statements of faith, etc. use the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostle's Creed as foundational structure (or skeleton)). However, they are all authored by different authors AND approach these historic essential pieces VERY differently. In other words, theologically the authors are all over the place. The strongest essay/article is Peter J. Leithart's coverage/commentary on the Ten Commandments. The other two essays were hit or miss--depending on the paragraph. By far the weakest essay was the last. Wesley Hill's essay was a mess. In my opinion. Granted you might not think it is a mess. And VERY TRUE it is far from the worst I've ever read or heard. Nothing that would make me shudder. It's just I don't know that I could honestly recommend this essay as being helpful or beneficial.
The last section of the book might just be the most practical. But it also might prove hit or miss with readers. I think some will absolutely love it. Others perhaps might not put it into use or practice depending on if you are the type of person who likes to read prayers out of books.
So the last section, shares prayers--"collects," if you will--structured around all the broken down pieces of the Ten Commandments, Apostles Creed, Lord's Prayer. Each of the three is broken down into bite-size fragments/sections/sentences. There's a prayer for each. So there's a prayer for the first of the ten commandments, etc. So if you REALLY were looking to study these three historic, essentials of the Christian faith, then this prayer section might prove just the thing. It could be incredibly impactful and useful. On the other hand, some folks really just don't get much out of praying a scripted prayer.
I liked the beginning and the end. I wasn't as thrilled with the middle.
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