Why didn’t Jesus write a Catechism?

[spangler1982]

I’m going to a young adult group meeting tonight, and the topic is going to be WHY DIDN’T JESUS WRITE A CATECHISM? A priest will be there and will pass-out an article that he wrote on this topic. I think he may be kind of leftist in his theology, so I want to make sure that I’m prepared with some good, solid authentically Catholic contributions that I can make to this topic when it is my turn to share. I have not seen the article yet, so I can’t forward it to you guys, but based on the title; what do you guys think are some good answers to this question?

Thanks!

 

[DavidFilmer]

Or, “Why didn’t Jesus write a Gospel?” Why didn’t Jesus write ANYTHING? (except for doodling in the dirt with a stick when the Pharisees were asking him about the adulterous woman).

He left that to the Church. The Church wrote the Bible. The Church wrote the Catechism (actually, the Church has written many Catechisms).

 

[midori]

What did Confucius write? Nothing.

What did Socrates write? Nothing.

What did Buddha write? Nothing.

What did Muhammed write? Nothing.

All their works were collected, recorded, and written down by their disciples and followers. Most major teachers that come to mind were busy teaching. Why would they be writers, in a world without printing presses, where having what we think of as an education wasn’t the norm, in a world where books might cost anywhere from a month’s salary to five years’ salary, no mail order, no tv or radio broadcasts, no internet, no reams of notebook paper and cheap pens at the corner store, etc?

We know Jesus could read and write-- he read from the scrolls in the synagogue; he wrote in the dust. He also only had three years in which to compress his entire public ministry. Instead of leaving behind a manual or a handbook, he spent his time healing the sick, raising the dead, curing the blind and lame, preaching about the Kingdom of God and what was necessary for salvation, and telling profound truths couched in parable form.

If Jesus had chosen to incarnate somewhere important, like a cultural hub like Athens or Rome, maybe his methods would have been different. If he had chosen to incarnate in a different time period, like Renaissance Italy or the modern US, maybe he would have chosen different methods. But he chose to incarnate in the far-off isolated nowhere that was first-century Judea, accomplished what he set out to do, and then left the church with the Holy Spirit to help guide it and mature it.

If you’ll notice, a lot of our writings tend to be written by guys who are locked away in prison. Revelations is supposed to have been written by John while imprisoned on Patmos; how many of Paul’s epistles came from periods of imprisonment? Obviously, Jesus wasn’t the only person who was too busy with his day-to-day ministry to sit down and write; it took forcible detention to slow those men down long enough to leave such valuable written records. And you’ll also notice that Christianity spread because of persecution. So despite the immediate troubles and perils the early church suffered, we still manage to profit from the benefits that came from such trials, even without Jesus having to draft any manuscripts for us to argue over and dissect.

 

[kimmielittle]

What did Confucius write? Nothing.

What did Socrates write? Nothing.

What did Buddha write? Nothing.

What did Muhammed write? Nothing.

All their works were collected, recorded, and written down by their disciples and followers. Most major teachers that come to mind were busy teaching. Why would they be writers, in a world without printing presses, where having what we think of as an education wasn’t the norm, in a world where books might cost anywhere from a month’s salary to five years’ salary, no mail order, no tv or radio broadcasts, no internet, no reams of notebook paper and cheap pens at the corner store, etc?

We know Jesus could read and write-- he read from the scrolls in the synagogue; he wrote in the dust. He also only had three years in which to compress his entire public ministry. Instead of leaving behind a manual or a handbook, he spent his time healing the sick, raising the dead, curing the blind and lame, preaching about the Kingdom of God and what was necessary for salvation, and telling profound truths couched in parable form.

If Jesus had chosen to incarnate somewhere important, like a cultural hub like Athens or Rome, maybe his methods would have been different. If he had chosen to incarnate in a different time period, like Renaissance Italy or the modern US, maybe he would have chosen different methods. But he chose to incarnate in the far-off isolated nowhere that was first-century Judea, accomplished what he set out to do, and then left the church with the Holy Spirit to help guide it and mature it.

If you’ll notice, a lot of our writings tend to be written by guys who are locked away in prison. Revelations is supposed to have been written by John while imprisoned on Patmos; how many of Paul’s epistles came from periods of imprisonment? Obviously, Jesus wasn’t the only person who was too busy with his day-to-day ministry to sit down and write; it took forcible detention to slow those men down long enough to leave such valuable written records. And you’ll also notice that Christianity spread because of persecution. So despite the immediate troubles and perils the early church suffered, we still manage to profit from the benefits that came from such trials, even without Jesus having to draft any manuscripts for us to argue over and dissect.

Plus: How many followers would have / could have read His works?

 

[Bearontherun]

Also, leaving a catechism might have downplayed the importance of the Church as His body here on earth (if he had to leave a detailed document, it could imply that the Church could not be trusted to present divinely inspired instructions?)…just a thought.

 

[FCEGM]

Also, leaving a catechism might have downplayed the importance of the Church as His body here on earth (if he had to leave a detailed document, it could imply that the Church could not be trusted to present divinely inspired instructions?)…just a thought.

A very good one!

 

[ESMDHokie77]

Also, leaving a catechism might have downplayed the importance of the Church as His body here on earth (if he had to leave a detailed document, it could imply that the Church could not be trusted to present divinely inspired instructions?)…just a thought.

But praise the Lord that the Church was, is, and forever will be trusted to spread the gospel and to lead the faithful into eternal life, through Christ our Lord Amen! :extrahappy:

 

[Windfish]

I will have to double-check, but I think there was a rule against it in Jewish custom.

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

Seems to me that the fundamental premise of the question is flawed. It makes as much sense to me as asking why Jesus didn’t wear a chasuble at the Last Supper. Even the Jewish oral traditions and rabbinic teachings that became the *Mishnah *weren’t codified until the 3rd century AD. The concept of “catechism” didn’t seem to exist at the time. The contemporary Jewish teaching tradition at Jesus’ time was oral, which made sense given that the majority of the people were illiterate.

 

[ESMDHokie77]

Seems to me that the fundamental premise of the question is flawed. It makes as much sense to me as asking why Jesus didn’t wear a chasuble at the Last Supper. Even the Jewish oral traditions and rabbinic teachings that became the *Mishnah *weren’t codified until the 3rd century AD. The concept of “catechism” didn’t seem to exist at the time. The contemporary Jewish teaching tradition at Jesus’ time was oral, which made sense given that the majority of the people were illiterate.

And therein lies the reason why relying only on written scripture leads to problems!

 

[I_Thirst]

Jesus didn’t write a catechism because He is the Cathechism.

 

[chaunceygardner]

It would be interesting to learn from the OP what happened at the young adult group meeting and how the discussion went.

Regarding the question, as others have said, Jesus did not “write” anything. But he did have a catechism, a very simple but effective one. It was based on his teaching about the primacy of the first two Commandments. He also gave many examples of what that meant, and taught in more detail about it during his ministry, particularly in the discourses called “Sermons” found in Matthew and Luke.

 

[Monica4316]

as they say, Jesus didn’t just come to give us an answer, He Himself is the Answer

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

What did Confucius write? Nothing.

What did Socrates write? Nothing.

What did Buddha write? Nothing.

What did Muhammed write? Nothing.

Not to get off topic but Muhammed did write the Quran. The Haddith was written by his followers about him.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

I’m going to a young adult group meeting tonight, and the topic is going to be WHY DIDN’T JESUS WRITE A CATECHISM? A priest will be there and will pass-out an article that he wrote on this topic. I think he may be kind of leftist in his theology, so I want to make sure that I’m prepared with some good, solid authentically Catholic contributions that I can make to this topic when it is my turn to share. I have not seen the article yet, so I can’t forward it to you guys, but based on the title; what do you guys think are some good answers to this question?

Thanks!

So how was the article and how did the meeting go?

 

[midori]

Not to get off topic but Muhammed did write the Quran. The Haddith was written by his followers about him.

Ah, cool beans. I had been under the impression that the Quran had been compiled primarily through the efforts of Abu Bakr and Zaid ibn Thabit. If they didn’t recognize a fragment that was claimed to be Quranic (?), they accepted it in on the testimony of two sahaba. I’d heard about one of his wives having a copy that they had used to base their work upon, but if they had to scramble around looking for fragments, that didn’t quite make sense that she wouldn’t have had a complete copy herself.

Thanks for the clarification!

 

[steve_b]

I’m going to a young adult group meeting tonight, and the topic is going to be WHY DIDN’T JESUS WRITE A CATECHISM? A priest will be there and will pass-out an article that he wrote on this topic. I think he may be kind of leftist in his theology, so I want to make sure that I’m prepared with some good, solid authentically Catholic contributions that I can make to this topic when it is my turn to share. I have not seen the article yet, so I can’t forward it to you guys, but based on the title; what do you guys think are some good answers to this question?

Thanks!

Well it’s now 7-18.

How did the meeting go?

 

[Mungling]

Ah, cool beans. I had been under the impression that the Quran had been compiled primarily through the efforts of Abu Bakr and Zaid ibn Thabit. If they didn’t recognize a fragment that was claimed to be Quranic (?), they accepted it in on the testimony of two sahaba. I’d heard about one of his wives having a copy that they had used to base their work upon, but if they had to scramble around looking for fragments, that didn’t quite make sense that she wouldn’t have had a complete copy herself.

Thanks for the clarification!

Sorry to bring this further off topic, but you’re correct. Mohammed did not write the Koran, he instead recited the oral version. The written version would come later. Mohammed would ask Abu Bakr to compile a written version of the Koran out of fear that all who knew its contents would die in battle. At least, that’s the traditional Muslim view. Actually, if I’m not mistaken, Muslims belief Mohammed to have been illiterate, but I digress.

Very good answer in this thread. I would also be very interested to learn how that meeting went.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

Ah, cool beans. I had been under the impression that the Quran had been compiled primarily through the efforts of Abu Bakr and Zaid ibn Thabit. If they didn’t recognize a fragment that was claimed to be Quranic (?), they accepted it in on the testimony of two sahaba. I’d heard about one of his wives having a copy that they had used to base their work upon, but if they had to scramble around looking for fragments, that didn’t quite make sense that she wouldn’t have had a complete copy herself.

Thanks for the clarification!

Yes, it was complied by others but the author is Muhammad.

This is why the verses of the Quran are not in any sort of chronological order.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

Yes, it was complied by others but the author is Muhammad.

This is why the verses of the Quran are not in any sort of chronological order.

I want to further clarify what I said. Muhammad is the author not in that he wrote down everything but in that what he quoted as oral tradition was written down just as he spoke it by others.

Then later on these writings where collected and complied into the Quran. Other versions were also complied but they were all destroyed so that there was only one version which is the Quran Islam uses today.