L. Charles Jackson "As a twig is bent, so goes the tree."
Likewise, the character of our children is formed as we train
them early in life. Certainly Solomon echoed the same thought
when he said, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and
when he is old he will not depart from it" (Prov. 22:6 NKJV).
What is this training, and what does it look like? Like fixing a
car, this training takes more than one tool. There is one tool,
however, that Presbyterians have always recognizes as basic: the
catechism. Presbyterians have almost universally agreed that
children should have their souls marked and shaped with the good
theology found in the catechism. When we develop the character
of our children, we mark their souls. This marking is actually
part of what we mean by character. The etymology or word history
of character gives us a rather vivid picture of what it is we
hope to do in teaching the catechism to our children. Character
is related to the idea of a distinctive mark impressed on
something. When this con