Talk:Heidelberg Catechism

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Is there any traction for adding the entire catechism here, or to a page names something like Heidelberg Catechism (Complete Text)? I think will good <ref> tags and links, it would really add a lot to the Catechism. External links are all well and good, but we want to add content here, right? :-) Aquatiki 15:02, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

Yes, but it depends what kind of content. :) The actual content of the catechism? Or content about the catechism so readers know why it exists, how it was formed, etc.? Perhaps both. :) I'm cool with adding the full text if others agree to it. JordanBarrett (talk) 15:46, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

Could you show us an example of how you think that WikiTags will improve the formatting of presently-available versions? I'm not completely against adding catechisms, confessions and creeds to TP (speaking purely personally) but I would want to answer a few questions first.

1. Is the material added notable, considering TP's approach?
2. Considered against presently-available web-based sources:
   • Is there a significant improvement in the content?
   • Or, is there a significant improvement in the formatting?
3. Is the material prohibitively large?

So convince me.  : ) Wooster (talk) 17:04, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

I picked the "Heidelberger" (as the kids call it) because it is such a personal Q&A session, not an abstract document. I, for one, was convinced of the human-ness of these austere Reformed people by the HC. Many conservative Dutch Reformed churches (like mine) have a sermon in the morning going through a book of the Bible and an evening sermon for each Lord's Day of the HC in the evening, every Sunday. A series of pages like HC:LD1, HC:LD2 (which may or may not redirect to the elongated Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 1 etc.) would allow for users to contribute this material in a coherent manner. These could also be subpages (i.e. HC/1, HC/2 etc.)

As to size, it would be smaller that the other sources' site because we would just have links:

Example 1

1. What is thy only comfort in life and death?
2. That I with body and soul, both in life and death, ^[1] am not my own, ^[2] ...

Discussion

Comfort 

Some might asked what we need comfort from, upon first hearing this, and we can see from LD 2 that we're speaking of the misery that comes from Sin. What is sin? Sin is ...

Notes

1. ↑ Romans 14:7 Romans 14:8
2. ↑ 1 Corinthians 6:19

I think that such a format would include the original text, improve on it's depth because all concepts would be clickable and therefore readable instantly, and would be instructive in their application, not just the bare facts. Aquatiki 00:18, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Okay, so you'd envisage a running commentary alongside the questions. If I were you, I'd have a chat with Tom to see if this is technically feasible: to have a page which just had a Q-A, and then to include that (dynamically) in a page which carried commentary. That way, we can keep the original source separate (in the database) from the commentary, which would allow us to stitch it together as the whole catechism as well as put in commentary. It carries benefits in terms of referring to individual questions, as I'm sure you can tell. I hope I'm making sense. Incidentally, Heidelberg is my favourite catechism, too. Wooster (talk) 06:17, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Well, I could imagine some technical work arounds, but I don't think those are necessary. If we have the current page (I'll abbreviate) HC with links to HC/Complete Text and 52 little HC/LD1 or HC/1 we could chop it up. We could even have HC/All simply transclude/include HC/1, HC/2, etc. and then have HC/1/commentary et al. even more seperated. I'm always a fan of giving people what they want up front and then have more and more details available for those who take the time to dig. Aquatiki 06:45, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

My two-cents: I think having a way to view the entire text resident in Theopedia is a good idea. The same would go for the Westminster longer and shorter Catechisms. Beyond that, I'm not sure of the benefit all the other stuff you guys are contemplating. Seems like a lot of work for limited pay-off. ala the Pareto principle. Gomarus 12:44, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Oh Gormus! You haven't sat under HC sermons every night for even just a few years! I, for one, am willing to do the work, and I think you'll see the rich, spiritual pay off over time. If no one ever joins me in contributing to the individual Heidelberger Lord's Days pages, I'll archive them myself! Aquatiki 12:52, 18 August 2006 (UTC)