[FearNotDaniel]

Not to detract from your main point, or from the intended rhetoric of the featured article, but "huge and famously boring" is not really a fair description of the Catholic Catechism from the point of view of its intended audience. I have many textbooks on computer related topics, which most non-computer people would describe as both huge and boring, yet I (and no doubt many more folks here) would find them a source of endless fascination.

The Catechism is perhaps "famously" boring because of the number of people who identify as (culturally) "catholic", probably only go to Mass on Sundays because their grandmothers told them they have to and their mothers will refuse to talk to them at Sunday lunch if they don't; people who in some ways want some of the purported "privileges" of belonging to the faith (access to schools in the UK, for example) without actually being actively engaged or interested in the faith itself. To such people, occasionally being forced to plod through parts of the Catechism while jumping through various hoops in order to maintain membership, is what creates the reputation referenced here.

But to someone actually interested in the faith, what the Church teaches and why, this book is of course a fascinating (and very accessible) read. Dogmas (and doctrines) are not blindly asserted, but justified by reference to both scripture and a tradition of philosophy stretching back thousands of years. It's a nerdy read, and theology nerds will certainly get a kick out of it, but you don't need a degree in the subject to make sense of the contents.

[ex3xu]

These are fair and valid points and I wish I had used more consideration in my attempt to convey the rhetorical usage. The proselytization component is probably a more significant reason behind the word choice than any other aspect of catechesis. I meant no offense to anyone of any faith.

[FearNotDaniel]

Honestly, no offence felt from my end. You did a great job of explaining what that phrase implied in the author's usage. I just wanted to jump on the opportunity to correct a common misconception and share my enthusiasm for another avenue of geeking-out that I happen to enjoy. At the same time hoping I didn't offend any atheists, people of other faiths or different flavours of non-catholic christians...