I love the Baltimore Catechism. Like the Presbyterian Shorter Catechism I learned as a child, it gives a clear and correct, although not exhaustive, definition for key concept. I’ve been learning and teaching it since we began homeschooling when my oldest daughter was 4 (she’s in college now), and I constantly find it useful in discussions or in teaching classes at church.
For example, take an apparently simple question like, “Q: What are angels? A: Angels are created spirits, without bodies.” How many people know that, and understand that angels are distinct from human beings *from creation*, and that one never turns into the other?
There’s much more to say about angels, of course. The CCC says much, the Bible says a great deal, Thomas Aquinas has a contribution or two. But how many Christians have even assimilated the basic definition, created spirits without bodies? The Baltimore Catechism is like learning the alphabet and phonics, as it were.
Exactly. It is so well done. It was a big part of my path to the True Church.