Thoughts from the Heritage Staff
Why are we encouraging people to use this?
It is our conviction that the Word of God is the perfect tool for our lives and walks with Christ. We work hard to make it central in every aspect of everything we do in and around Heritage. And while a catechism is not directly Scripture, it is a useful tool for learning and retention.
As the goldfish swimming in the bowl is unaware of the temperature and taste of the water in which he swims, so often the most powerfully formative forces of our societies and cultures are those with which we are so familiar as to be functionally unaware of how they shape our thinking, even our thinking about what exactly it means to say that Scripture has supreme and unique authority. It would be a tragic irony if the rejection of creeds and confessions by so many of those who sincerely wish to be biblically faithful turned out to be not an act of faithfulness but rather an unwitting capitulation to the spirit of the age.
Trueman, Carl R. (2012-09-20). The Creedal Imperative (Kindle Locations 256-260). Good News Publishers.
If you are interested in learning more about the purpose, benefits, and even a bit of history of the creeds we would recommend reading:
Grounded in the Gospel, Parret, Gary 
Historically, the church’s ministry of grounding new believers in the essentials of the faith has been known as catechesis–systematic instruction in faith foundations, including what we believe, how we pray and worship, and how we conduct our lives. For most evangelicals today, however, this very idea is an alien concept. Packer and Parrett, concerned for the state of the church, seek to inspire a much needed evangelical course correction. This new book makes the case for a recovery of significant catechesis as a nonnegotiable practice of churches, showing the practice to be complementary to, and of no less value than, Bible study, expository preaching, and other formational ministries, and urging evangelical churches to find room for this biblical ministry for the sake of their spiritual health and vitality.
The Creedal Imperative, Trueman, Carl R. 
What if “No creed but the Bible” is unbiblical?
The role of confessions and creeds is the subject of debate within evangelicalism today as many resonate with the call to return to Christianity’s ancient roots. Advocating for a balanced perspective, Carl Trueman offers an analysis of why creeds and confessions are necessary, how they have developed over time, and how they can function in the church of today and tomorrow.
We are NOT endorsing every thought expressed...
Just because we are recommending this does not mean we are in total agreement with everything written by it’s authors. This is not new and should not come as a surprise. We are a fellowship with a wide range of thoughts on issues. Though we believe it to be good, don’t go to far in thinking each and everyone of us is in full agreement with every view presented.
The New City Catechism is it’s own App.
We are encouraging you to download it to support them. The reasons we have included it in our app are as follows: 1) Their App only works on the iPad. 2) By porting it into our App we can give access to people on a number of different platforms. If this last sentence did not make sense to you, just know it should work for you. 3) It is simpler to get it into everyone’s hands by just putting it there and not telling everyone where to go.
And YES, we checked, and the New City people have given us permission to do this.
The following is the specific legalese they asked us to include.
New City Catechism Copyright Information:
New City Catechism was adapted by Timothy Keller and Sam Shammas from the Reformation catechisms.
Copyright © 2012 by Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
NIV Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
ESV Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New City Catechism was devised by Timothy Keller and Sam Shammas. Produced by Ben Peays.
Videos produced by The Gospel Coalition and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Directed by Sam Shammas. Filmed by Scott Smith. Edited by Peter Ostebo.
App by Brushfire
The Gospel Coalition and Redeemer Presbyterian Church would like to thank all those who trialled, reviewed, and participated in the filming of New City Catechism.
