Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen Review
A hundred years ago last month (as I record this), J. Gresham Machen wrote his famous book Christianity and Liberalism. He wrote it from a Presbyterian perspective, in response to what was happening in the Presbyterian Church in the USA. David B. Garner, in the introduction to this edition, says it is among other things a leadership book: it leads us to see the Christian faith in its exclusive, life-giving, freedom-granting beauty.
The book
The book itself is 184 pages, but this Legacy Edition is 274 with essays and an index (and I always mention the index, because I love indexes). It's a paperback from Westminster Seminary Press, printed and bound in Italy. This copy was actually a gift to me from Westminster Seminary, which was very cool.
About Machen
John Gresham Machen was born on July 28, 1881, and died on January 1, 1937, at 55. He taught New Testament at Old Princeton from 1906 to 1929, fighting liberalism the whole time, until the biggest pushback, when in 1920 he left and founded Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania.
It's so sad what happened at Princeton and in the PCUSA. You look back at the giants of Princeton (Charles Hodge, A. A. Hodge, B. B. Warfield, and the list goes on) with their beautiful biblical doctrine, and then it all went liberal and lost the gospel. But Machen held on. He was willing to lose his job and leave everything for the sake of the gospel. He also played a huge role in founding the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1936, and it was during that transition out of the PCUSA that he wrote this book.
Machen was the son of a 45-year-old Episcopalian father and a 29-year-old Presbyterian mother, who taught him the Westminster Shorter Catechism from a young age. He died of pneumonia in 1937 and is buried at Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.
What's in it
A foreword by Peter Lillback, the Legacy Edition introduction by David B. Garner, and then Machen's chapters: Introduction, Doctrine, God and Man, The Bible, Christ, Salvation, and The Church. In each, Machen sets what the Bible actually says against what liberalism says, and shows why we need to push back.
This edition adds essays by every member of the Westminster Seminary faculty, all insightful. Two I especially appreciated were by professors I know: Dr. Chad Van Dixhoorn, who has been extremely kind to me this past year, and John Currid, who preached at my church, which was a huge blessing. But if you just want Machen, the book itself is short and easy to read.
Are there better books on this topic?
Not that I'm aware of. It's a very unique book, and Machen does a great job addressing liberalism and its damning beliefs. And they truly are damning. You won't go to heaven believing this false gospel, and Machen makes that clear from Scripture.
Would I buy it?
Yes. Every Christian ought to read this book, because its topic is still necessary today. It looks at everything through a Presbyterian lens, but it would be helpful to Christians in any denomination.
A few things I marked
- "'Christ died'—that is history; 'Christ died for our sins'—that is doctrine. Without these two elements, joined in an absolutely indissoluble union, there is no Christianity" (p. 27).
- It isn't enough to know Jesus is worthy of trust; we need to know He is willing to save, and that He has saved us (p. 43).
- "Christian doctrine lies at the very roots of faith" (p. 44). Recently a brother and sister in Christ told me I care too much about doctrine and theology. This is such a good reminder: you can't have faith without doctrine.
- "Liberalism is altogether in the imperative mood, while Christianity begins with a triumphant indicative" (p. 47). Liberalism appeals to man's will; Christianity first announces a gracious act of God.
- At the root of liberalism is "the loss of the consciousness of sin" (p. 65). How many churches today never even mention sin in the sermon, because they don't want to offend? That's liberal, it's rotten, and it isn't the gospel.
- Christianity is founded on the Bible; liberalism on "the shifting emotions of sinful men" (p. 81). How many churches treat the Bible as a secondary source, something to appeal to when their feelings can't figure it out?
- If Jesus is merely an example, He isn't a worthy one, because He claimed to be far more (p. 89). It's much like C. S. Lewis's "liar, lunatic or Lord."
- "The imitation of the real Jesus will never lead a man astray" (p. 98). Today, giving something up to imitate Christ is even called legalism in some churches.
- "God is love, but is love God?" (p. 138). A one-sided God isn't the real God. Many churches today only want to preach that God is love. But a God who is only love is a made-up god, and he will send you to hell.
- At the beginning of every Christian life stands "not a process but a definite act of God" (p. 144).
- Faith is exalted so high today that men are satisfied with any kind of faith, as long as it's faith, even faith "less weakened by the alloy of knowledge" (p. 146). There's that charge again, that knowledge weakens faith. But I only want what the Bible says.
- On the church (p. 166): uniting the church by sinking doctrinal differences in favor of a program of Christian service is dishonest, and honesty is one of the weightier matters of the law. Relationship with Jesus and service to the community are good, but when they replace the truth for the sake of unity, they become false.
I apologize for being in such a negative mood! The book itself is excellent. Machen calls these things out and doesn't shy away from the truth, and I wish more Christians would stand up like him, myself included. I pray for a backbone like Machen's, and for greater conformity to Christ.
Soli Deo Gloria!
