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notwithoutwitness's review
5.0
This little book has not lost it's punch! At 95 years old, J. Gresham Machen's Christianity and Liberalism remains as relevant today as it was in the mid-twenties.
Fuller review to follow...
Fuller review to follow...
fdes_817's review against another edition
2.0
A very reactionary piece against Protestant Liberalism. Protestant Liberalism has a lot to be brought to task for, but Machen presents an equally fallow conservatism. While many liberals were too quick and radical with their conclusions regarding scripture, they did produce significant challenges to how the church should understand scripture. Machen digs his heels in and produces an argument that lacks muster in our current era. Furthermore, he shares many presuppositions with his liberal counterparts that I think bog down his argument, disallowing him from truly articulating traditional faith. Also, though sadly this is not uncommon from writers of his era, his thinking privileges "Anglo-Saxons" and certainly shows racial insensitivity.
hoey's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved how Machen broke down the essence of the Christian faith, explains the core tenants of it, and shows how they are completely contradictory to this once new Christianity that liberals claim to profess. The book is broken up into seven chapters, each highlighting the differences between Christianity and Liberalism on the following six main sections:
1. Doctrine
2. God and man
3. The Bible
4. Christ
5. Salvation
6. The Church
Machen does an amazing job at explaining not only what Liberalism is, but also does a wonderful job at explaining Christianity, which brought me to tears and have to confront parts of my sinful nature that I didn't even realize.
The whole book is worth a read, but the one chapter that stands above the rest is the final chapter, The Church . He gives great insight, areas for growth, and encouragement for the church of the early 20th century that still rings true today.
New edition info
I read the new publication of this book from Canon Press featuring an introduction by Doug Wilson and a brand new cover design that is absolutely beautiful. It was published in November 23, 2020
This edition is 178 pages:
- 7 are the table of contents, publication info, etc
- 8 are Wilson's intro
- 163 are Machen's original words
1. Doctrine
2. God and man
3. The Bible
4. Christ
5. Salvation
6. The Church
Machen does an amazing job at explaining not only what Liberalism is, but also does a wonderful job at explaining Christianity, which brought me to tears and have to confront parts of my sinful nature that I didn't even realize.
The whole book is worth a read, but the one chapter that stands above the rest is the final chapter, The Church . He gives great insight, areas for growth, and encouragement for the church of the early 20th century that still rings true today.
New edition info
I read the new publication of this book from Canon Press featuring an introduction by Doug Wilson and a brand new cover design that is absolutely beautiful. It was published in November 23, 2020
This edition is 178 pages:
- 7 are the table of contents, publication info, etc
- 8 are Wilson's intro
- 163 are Machen's original words
johnmarkstow's review against another edition
4.0
a MUST read!
my highlighter ran out of ink by the time i got to the end! this book is full of so much truth and God-inspired teaching. definitely recommend to every Christian, even if you are not personally dealing with liberalism.
Machen clearly explains liberalism and its teachings and he refutes everything very clearly and intentionally. read this book for a class but sincerely enjoyed it! very easy to understand, unlike some other doctrinal books.
the book’s clear, seven-chapter layout makes it extremely easy to read and digestible. Machen has perfect pace. He doesn’t go to fast or too slow. 10/10
highly highly highly recommend to any Christian!!!
my highlighter ran out of ink by the time i got to the end! this book is full of so much truth and God-inspired teaching. definitely recommend to every Christian, even if you are not personally dealing with liberalism.
Machen clearly explains liberalism and its teachings and he refutes everything very clearly and intentionally. read this book for a class but sincerely enjoyed it! very easy to understand, unlike some other doctrinal books.
the book’s clear, seven-chapter layout makes it extremely easy to read and digestible. Machen has perfect pace. He doesn’t go to fast or too slow. 10/10
highly highly highly recommend to any Christian!!!
nate_s's review
2.0
Preface: A basic understanding of the different ways in which the word "liberalism" is used, and which use this particular book makes of the word, is required. Overall, the book means "theological liberalism." One friend tried to sell it to me as a tract denouncing political leftism. Not so for the vast majority of the book. The book's argument moves in this direction once and the case is precarious, out of place, and poorly substantiated.
A book that majors on polemics and preaches to the converted, thus creating little more than an occasion for triumphalist back-slapping and chest-bumping among the True Chosen.
The problem that afflicts Christianity, so much of the time, in narrative order:
1. A challenge faces the church.
2. The church answers the challenge.
3. People get really enamored of the answer, and the identity that comes with it, over against the proper centers of gravity of the faith.
4. The particular answer gradually becomes the centerpiece of the faith. A contrary identitarianism develops in which it ceases to be enough to be a Christian; now you've got to be a "not-liberal" Christian, and perennially prove that identity to the world with every penstroke or keystroke.
5. Much of Christianity's central content is then evacuated and forgotten, or rearranged into a structure alien to Scripture. The structure is perceived as the faith. To challenge the structure becomes a challenge to orthodoxy. The faith turns into statuary, or rots away while people revel in their momentary cultural victory.
But we're ahead of ourselves. A little history:
The situation in the western church at the turn of the 20th century was that "modernism" had emerged as the fruit of enlightened, rationalist thinking, and was deconstructing classical and traditional Christian theology: Biblical authority, the deity of Christ, miracles, the doctrine of salvation... it was all being put to the question, and often found wanting, all with the aim of making certain Christian practices central, over and against historic doctrines. "Shouldn't we all stop worrying about who's going to heaven, or if Jesus was born of a virgin, and just do good works? Like feeding the hungry?" "Hasn't human reason displaced the Bible as our highest authority?" This kind of thing remains and has gained popularity over a hundred and fifty years or so.
So the "fundamentalist" movement set out to counter this modernizing tendency, and maintain traditional doctrine alongside the practice of good works. Christianity and Liberalism is an example of the classic fundamentalist response to the modernist movement. In the current milieu, we'd call this "culture war." This book is more grounded than much that could be given that name, and it's perhaps one of the original culture war works from the cusp of modernity and post-modernity. But it is that- culture war.
I'm bored with this stuff, even if Machen's work isn't quite as bad as the movement to which it is germane. I'd say skip all of it and read the actual classics.
The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis is a different kind of book, but does a great job critiquing some similar worldview elements. Far more profound, and caters to a wider audience. I’d re-read it a hundred times before I read this again.
A book that majors on polemics and preaches to the converted, thus creating little more than an occasion for triumphalist back-slapping and chest-bumping among the True Chosen.
The problem that afflicts Christianity, so much of the time, in narrative order:
1. A challenge faces the church.
2. The church answers the challenge.
3. People get really enamored of the answer, and the identity that comes with it, over against the proper centers of gravity of the faith.
4. The particular answer gradually becomes the centerpiece of the faith. A contrary identitarianism develops in which it ceases to be enough to be a Christian; now you've got to be a "not-liberal" Christian, and perennially prove that identity to the world with every penstroke or keystroke.
5. Much of Christianity's central content is then evacuated and forgotten, or rearranged into a structure alien to Scripture. The structure is perceived as the faith. To challenge the structure becomes a challenge to orthodoxy. The faith turns into statuary, or rots away while people revel in their momentary cultural victory.
But we're ahead of ourselves. A little history:
The situation in the western church at the turn of the 20th century was that "modernism" had emerged as the fruit of enlightened, rationalist thinking, and was deconstructing classical and traditional Christian theology: Biblical authority, the deity of Christ, miracles, the doctrine of salvation... it was all being put to the question, and often found wanting, all with the aim of making certain Christian practices central, over and against historic doctrines. "Shouldn't we all stop worrying about who's going to heaven, or if Jesus was born of a virgin, and just do good works? Like feeding the hungry?" "Hasn't human reason displaced the Bible as our highest authority?" This kind of thing remains and has gained popularity over a hundred and fifty years or so.
So the "fundamentalist" movement set out to counter this modernizing tendency, and maintain traditional doctrine alongside the practice of good works. Christianity and Liberalism is an example of the classic fundamentalist response to the modernist movement. In the current milieu, we'd call this "culture war." This book is more grounded than much that could be given that name, and it's perhaps one of the original culture war works from the cusp of modernity and post-modernity. But it is that- culture war.
I'm bored with this stuff, even if Machen's work isn't quite as bad as the movement to which it is germane. I'd say skip all of it and read the actual classics.
The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis is a different kind of book, but does a great job critiquing some similar worldview elements. Far more profound, and caters to a wider audience. I’d re-read it a hundred times before I read this again.
sarahwolfe's review
4.0
The most encouraging thing about this almost century-old book is how relevant it is to our time. There is nothing new under the sun, and God's truth is marching on!
bryanthebroome's review
5.0
Machen lays out a clear and concise (if dense) comparison between the "faith once delivered unto all the saints" and its modern counterfeit found in theological liberalism. Recommended reading for anyone who wishes to understand the actual points of conflict between the two and where the mainline denominations fell headlong down the path into error.
jnepal's review against another edition
2.0
I heard about this book in college and wanted to read it, so it has been on my to-read list for awhile. My views on a lot of things have changed since then and I have heard more about Machen, so this review reflects that.
The first chapter is a mess of Machen’s personal beliefs on individualism and government and socialism and etc. I wish he had left it out completely, but it does help to reveal some of where Machen goes wrong.
Machen, at least in this work, is not very nuanced in his thinking in areas. It’s troubling how he castigates “liberals,” but never really defines the term, such that liberal can mean whatever the reader wants it to mean. Yes, he does give examples in each of these chapters of what he means by liberal and the modern liberal church, but this also leaves the term “liberal,” open to misunderstanding. It allows the reader to say, “well, liberals also believe this, so that must mean this is also wrong.” This book, in places, reads like a conservative culture warrior’s manifesto.
It’s also frustrating how he bifurcates, as do many Christians, the calls to share the gospel and to do justice. These are both meant to flow from the two greatest commandments: love God, love others. But Christians have a tendency to split these two calls of the church, such that we get churches that almost only preach the gospel message, and other churches that almost only do justice. Shouldn’t it be both?
Yes, eternal welfare is greater in importance, but social welfare is the living out of the gospel, it too is the love of God and love of others, it must not be sidelined by the call to Evangelize, for if it is, what are we Evangelizing people to? A message that is all head, a message that is not warm, but cold, a message of the love of God in Jesus, but which does not show the love of God in Jesus?
Sigh.
I’m not arguing that everyone must have an equal balance in preaching the gospel and doing justice. That would be silly. Some are made for preaching, some for justice. I am arguing that all Christians should be engaged/concerned for both to some extent, and that the church should recognize and affirm both callings on/for Christians. The call of God’s love requires it.
Sadly, too, Machen was a racist, at least when he was in Seminary; we know this through an infamous letter to his mother and from some of his other writings. In this book, he actually calls for peaceful race relations, but that doesn’t mean much if you aren’t even willing to live in the same building in Seminary with your black brothers. That’s not simply lamentable, that’s evil, and directly contradicts the gospel he preached.
Perhaps he changed later in life, I guess I don’t know...
But for everything I didn’t enjoy, Machen still managed to say good things in this book. He remained connected to the message of God in Jesus, as Jesus the true God, and the true man. He preached the resurrection of our Savior, he preached our need of salvation and repentance in Christ. He preached the atonement. In these things, he fed my soul.
So will I be reading this book again or recommending it to others?
No, unless of course you’re studying the history of Evangelicalism in America :) Or you want to learn about Machen or etc.
The first chapter is a mess of Machen’s personal beliefs on individualism and government and socialism and etc. I wish he had left it out completely, but it does help to reveal some of where Machen goes wrong.
Machen, at least in this work, is not very nuanced in his thinking in areas. It’s troubling how he castigates “liberals,” but never really defines the term, such that liberal can mean whatever the reader wants it to mean. Yes, he does give examples in each of these chapters of what he means by liberal and the modern liberal church, but this also leaves the term “liberal,” open to misunderstanding. It allows the reader to say, “well, liberals also believe this, so that must mean this is also wrong.” This book, in places, reads like a conservative culture warrior’s manifesto.
It’s also frustrating how he bifurcates, as do many Christians, the calls to share the gospel and to do justice. These are both meant to flow from the two greatest commandments: love God, love others. But Christians have a tendency to split these two calls of the church, such that we get churches that almost only preach the gospel message, and other churches that almost only do justice. Shouldn’t it be both?
Yes, eternal welfare is greater in importance, but social welfare is the living out of the gospel, it too is the love of God and love of others, it must not be sidelined by the call to Evangelize, for if it is, what are we Evangelizing people to? A message that is all head, a message that is not warm, but cold, a message of the love of God in Jesus, but which does not show the love of God in Jesus?
Sigh.
I’m not arguing that everyone must have an equal balance in preaching the gospel and doing justice. That would be silly. Some are made for preaching, some for justice. I am arguing that all Christians should be engaged/concerned for both to some extent, and that the church should recognize and affirm both callings on/for Christians. The call of God’s love requires it.
Sadly, too, Machen was a racist, at least when he was in Seminary; we know this through an infamous letter to his mother and from some of his other writings. In this book, he actually calls for peaceful race relations, but that doesn’t mean much if you aren’t even willing to live in the same building in Seminary with your black brothers. That’s not simply lamentable, that’s evil, and directly contradicts the gospel he preached.
Perhaps he changed later in life, I guess I don’t know...
But for everything I didn’t enjoy, Machen still managed to say good things in this book. He remained connected to the message of God in Jesus, as Jesus the true God, and the true man. He preached the resurrection of our Savior, he preached our need of salvation and repentance in Christ. He preached the atonement. In these things, he fed my soul.
So will I be reading this book again or recommending it to others?
No, unless of course you’re studying the history of Evangelicalism in America :) Or you want to learn about Machen or etc.
elle002k's review
5.0
This is at least the third (but maybe the fourth) time I have read this, and I enjoyed it as much as ever - interesting to read it this time having just finished Chesterton’s Orthodoxy, which was written 15 years before it. Machen and Chesterton are so different in terms of personality, background, tradition and style, yet it is the similarities of the books that struck me.