I have finished reading two books this weekend. One was a book called Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen, and another was J. Gresham Machen: a Guided Tour of His Life and Thought, by Stephen J. Nichols. I would heartily recommend everyone read Christianity and Liberalism, written in 1923, but as applicable today as it was then. It can be purchased here at monergismbooks.com, or downloaded as a pdf file here. Machen was a faithful defender of the faith, who stood his ground in defense of the Word of God and the gospel at a time when unbelievers and church people alike, including pastors and professors, were trying to make the Bible sensible to modern thought. Such things as the atonement of Christ through his sacrifice, the virgin birth, and the miracles of Christ, and the inerrant inspiration of the Bible all stood (and still stand) in opposition to modern thinking based on naturalism and only what the senses can perceive. These doctrines, and others, are just too old, and we need to make the Bible and its message more palatable to modern thinking. Sound familiar? This was a huge problem in the early 20th century and Machen stood firm for the truth of the gospel against such assaults. Unfortunately, as today, the onslaught is strong, and the once conservative Presbyterian Church and the stalwart Princeton Seminary both succumbed to the liberal and modern notions of a Jesus that is mere example and a religion that is not Christian at all.
Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism should be read by all concerned Christians today because the same problems that Machen faced in 1923 are still with us today. The term “liberalism” should not be taken in a present day political sense, but rather in a theological sense. Machen’s book was essentially a response to a sermon by Harry Emerson Fosdick, enetitled “Shall the Fundamentalists Win?” in which he labeled fundamentalism divisive and intolerant. Fosdick viewed them as backwards thinkers, quite out of step with modern thinking, so he proposed a more tolerant and more modern approach to the Bible. He argued centered on three topics primarily, Christ’s virgin birth, the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, and Christ’s second coming. In his sermon, he argues that the church is big enough for both conservative and liberal views. However, the liberal views are confusing at best, and heretical at worst. For instance, he states that the virgin birth was not a historical event, and that it was merely a way to show that Christ was unique. He states that the biblical writers “phrased it in terms of a biological miracle that our modern minds cannot use.” He applies the same line of arguments to the inerrancy of the Bible and the atonement. He ends his sermon with two points: one, Fosdick calls for a spirit of tolerance and Christian liberty, and second, he rebukes the church for quarrelling over such petty matters when “the world is dying of great needs.” Over doctrinal verity and precision, Fosdick preferred personal piety and devotion and tolerance.
Machen did not deny that Fosdick could hold these views, but he insisted that they were not Christian, and should not be called such. Christianity was not first and foremost a life, but a doctrine, and from that doctrine followed life. To Machen, these were not little matters to be pushed to the background, but fundamental to the Christian faith. Machen did not disagree with the need for piety and devotion, but if doctrine did not matter, then to what end and to whom were we supposed to be devoted? If doctrine did not matter, and Christ’s death and sacrifice did not remove sin, then what was He doing on the cross? Machen held that when Fosdick brushed aside doctrine, he was destroying the very center of Christianity. Christianity that was not built on doctrine was living on borrowed time, and would soon degenerate into mere moralism. In the first chapter of his book, Machen stressed that there were two separate systems vying for the church: “the great redemptive religion which has always been known as Christianity” on the one hand, and on the other hand “a totally diverse type of religious belief, which is only the more destructive of the Christian faith because it makes use of traditional Christian terminology.” Essentially, Christianity is basically supernatural, from God, while liberalism elevates man and lowers Christ, and is basically a natural religion. He makes his argument in the next six chapters of the book examining six major doctrines of the church: doctrine, God and humanity, the Bible, Christ, salvation, and the church.
Christianity and Liberalism is a must-read classic, not simply for historical purposes, but because it addresses issues that are prevalent today. Fosdick was the grandfather of the seeker sensitive movement of Schuller and Warren. The view that doctrine doesn’t matter and that all we need is Jesus pervades the modern evangelical church. Many pastors, churches, and Christians use Christian terminology that is devoid of Biblical and orthodox meaning. Seeker-sensitive liberalism appeals to man, whether modern or not, because it addresses our fundamental sin, pride. Liberalism allows man to save himself using the example of Christ, rather than depending on him for our very lives. The issue may even be more pressing today, because at least in Machen’s time people still had some knowledge of Biblical doctrines and of the Bible itself. Today, however, after nearly 100 years of fluffy preaching and anti-intellectual and anti-doctrinal mamby-pamby, most people in our churches don’t even know what to believe and why.
Read this book and it will change your world. Preach this and people will call you intolerant, narrow, and divisive. Great. Christianity is what it is. Being steadfast and faithful to the Word of God and to the doctrines it contains is not popular, but it is the difference between life and death. Jesus, Peter, and Paul were not tolerant or broad-minded when it came to what Christianity was (and is) and why it was necessary to believe certain things. Too many people today who call themselves Christians believe that they are believers and love Jesus. The problem is that they don’t hold to what the Bible states, and they believe in a Jesus that is not Biblical. Machen makes this clear.
Nichols book is a great primer on Machen’s life and work. It is a relatively short read, at 240 pages, and reads very quickly. I started it on Friday evening and finished Sunday afternoon. I even had time over the weekend to spend with my older daughter for her birthday and my younger daughter at ice skating, among other family time. That is not to say that it isn’t full of meat. It is. If you would like somewhere to start, then I would recommend Nichols. I am currently reading selections from Machen’s other shorter writings, and will post thoughts as soon as I can. In the meantime, I would recommend that you pick up Nichols and Machen and get to know a true defender of the faith!
