Book review: a Small Catechism on Human Life (John T. Pless)

I recently watched a video of a Christian presenter responding to some criticism from a transgender person. His response was a clear and firm confession of the Church’s doctrine, but one which left the transgender person asking, “But what does that have to do with the love of God?”

It’s an important question, one which the presenter was able to answer aptly (with the help of his wife). When we think about life issues, it can be easy to get stuck on the Ten Commandments, without going any further. This can reduce our engagement with life is-sues down to political flag-waving, without actually knowing how to approach these is-sues when they arise in our own families or communities. Without an understanding of how these issues fit into the wider framework of the Christian faith, it can be easy to get lost, overwhelmed and tempted to avoid these important topics altogether. In A Small Catechism on Human Life, Pless helps you find your feet and think about life issues like a Lutheran.

Pless gets the Catechism. It’s an organism, a living body of doctrine, with each of its seven parts interacting and feeding into each other, like the various parts of the human body. Using the catechism as an itinerary, Pless shows how the love of God reaches into human life in all kinds of ways. In fourteen brief chapters, he shows how the building blocks you played with in confirmation class fit together intuitively to form a holistic approach to life issues.

At the end of each chapter, a list of discussion questions invites readers to think about these issues for themselves and have important conversations which might otherwise seem too daunting. Pless also has an appendix addressed to pastors, helping them think about how these ethical issues can be ad-dressed in the pulpit. Pless has a clear and practical goal in mind with this book – to help the Church start thinking about how we can share God’s love for human life with each other and with the world. For any family or small group seeking to grow their Lutheran and pro-life identity, this resource is a perfect place to start.