Christianity & Liberalism

As I read this book, J. Gresham Machen reminds me of many things, all characteristic of Old Protestantism, and even overtones of classic Puritanism. His writes with the passion of Whitefield, his words have a fire like Wesley, and he possesses both the clarity and contrarianism of Calvin. He's a conservative Presbyterian who preaches like a revivalistic Pentecostal. Simply put, we need more men like Machen in today's church. I don't know about you, but folks, we need Christ, and Christ crucified. Not the Jesus of our imagination, but the Jesus of the blood-soaked Scriptures. In this book, Machen brings his spiritual hammer (the Word of God), and battles the false philosophies of this world (2 Cor. 10:5-6). He unsheathes his sword, and wields it against a false religion, a pretender that cloaks itself in Christian language - "Liberalism". This religion is a marriage of naturalism, humanism, secularism, and sentimentalism all rolled into one. It's anything but Christian. The voices of Old Liberalism (F. Schleiermacher, A. Ritschl, W. Bousset) that Machen is doing serious war with here, are in so many "conservative" denominations and churches today it's shameful. Every "elementary" Christian issue he speaks about - Christ, the Bible, Sin, Salvation, the Church, God & Man - is so diluted or discarded in today's American "church" that most of us are in a Hebrews 5:11-14 situation at best, and a 2 Tim. 4:1-4 situation at worst. Both our recent and present generations are products of the continued fight for the basic truths of the Bible. Both grandparents and parents who have grown up in the church have not endured sound doctrine, and preachers have not "kept the faith". It's passed on to the "Now" generation of church youth, who believe in an imaginary Jesus, and live in a virtual world. Machen speaks against this false religion in devastating fashion. He speaks matter-of-factly and with biblical exactitude. His writing is not for the weak-stomached Christian. Those who are used to pastoral jokes, cute stories about Easter, and fun vacations at your small group - you probably need a "Diet" or "Baby Machen" version of this book. He'll punch you in the mouth if you're not careful. I'm serious. Even for the weathered Christian, the person steeped in the Puritans, the Old Presbyterians, the serious Pentecostals, the student of Edwards, the lover of Lloyd-Jones, this is honestly a spiritually exhausting book to read. You're basically reading all-out theological/spiritual warfare. You've been translated into another reality of the spiritual battle raging which didn't end with the Fundamentals, with Machen, with the Chicago Statement, etc., but will rage and continue to rage. It's a battle between true and false religion. Between a Jesus who is a teacher and a Jesus who is the Savior. Machen, in a concise 153 pages, opens up the biblical canons and fires everything the Word of God has against this false religion. In my estimation it's a book every Christian must read and arm themselves with. There is a profound and substantive difference between true and false religion - Jesus.

The quality of the text is abysmal, it hurts my eyes. The quality and content of the writing is extraordinary, but the text itself is smeared and muddy. This book is available in the public domain. Don't buy it from Amazon, much better copies are available for free download. That being said, by all means read the book! It's amazing that Menchen can perfectly describe modern liberalism as far back as 1923, before the sexual revolution of the Sixties, which seemed to me the object of liberal worship today. Liberal Christianity is anti-Christian, as Menchen so ably demonstrates in this book.

The argument of the book is that liberalism is distinct from Christianity and is a different religion altogether. Liberalism attempts to reconcile Christianity with science and modern thinking. It finds its source in the feelings and thoughts of men. They deny essential Christian doctrines, such as the inerrancy of the Scriptures, the virgin birth, deity of Christ and many others. Their religion uses Jesus's teachings to combat society's ills. They see Him as a great moral teacher instead of the Messiah. They deny original sin, which is reflected in their optimistic view of mankind. Christianity stands in contrast to liberalism. Christianity is concerned with the solution to sin. It faces sin head-on. It proclaims Jesus died on the cross in our place to forgive us of our sins and that he was bodily resurrected from the dead. Christianity is doctrinal and historically supportable, unlike liberalism. The historicity is attested to by the inerrant Word of God, the Bible, especially Paul's epistles and the Gospels. Christianity sees Jesus as the object of faith, not merely an ethical example. This book packed so much into 152 pages, it is amazing! You can tell the author was passionate about sound doctrine. It still speaks to us today as we continue to defend the Christian faith.

Could a book be more relevant for today? Well, surely God's Word is--but Machen's book written nearly a hundred years ago seems pre-molded for modern America 2015. We live in the age of Creflo Dollar's gospel, Bart Ehrman's textual criticism, Rob Bell's universalism, Joel Osteen's preaching, and Oprah Winfrey's theology. If the circumstances surrounding Dr. Machen's early 20th century world were bad--what has it come to today?! There indeed is nothing new under the sun. The battles that were wrestled in the past are the same battles we are fighting today (though perhaps under different names). Machen iterates, "The greatest menace to the Christian Church today comes not from the enemies outside, but from the enemies within; it comes from the presence within the church of a type of faith and practice that is anti-Christian to the core." It is therefore that menace to the precious church of Jesus Christ that Machen fights against with all righteous tenacity of a shepherd whose flock is under siege by wolves. Machen reveals that "Liberal Christianity" is not Christianity at all. He goes as far as to say that liberalism is no "mere hersey" as it proceeds from a "totally different root". Liberal Christianity, as Machen defines in the opening, is a false gospel. It has a different view of God, a far more positive view of man, a different view of Jesus Christ, and therefore a far different view of salvation. Jesus under the liberal teaching is no longer the "object of our faith" but a faithful example to us of ethics, morals, and love for all. Man needs only follow his example alone and all will be well! To that Machen says--FALSE RELIGION. If Jesus did not live, die, and rise from the dead in historical time and space we have nothing. A gospel without the supernatural, Machen concedes, may be easier to believe--but it would not be worth believing! We are in desperate need of deliverance from our sin, and only the blood of Jesus can satisfy that need. Machen also includes a brief and incredibly strong defense of the authenticity of Paul's letters as well as the unity of the Scriptures as a whole. "Christianity and Liberalism" is an excellent defense for the Truth of the Gospel as expressed throughout Scripture and could not be more relevant for today. I marked down one star because the font was scanned directly from the hard copy--and not the Amazon "Bookerly" font I prefer for the Kindle. Some words were impossible to read as some letters were distorted. All in all 5 stars for Machen. 3 for Kindle edition (99 cent purchase keeps it from going any lower).

Excellent book - since purchasing this, I'd since seen it referenced in various other writings and reference material, so good to have read it personally, and had the back up for knowing what the writing is others are referring to. The reviewer has attended (unknowingly at the time) a 'liberal' so called church all their life, and still does (for certain reasons beyond review material), but not all of them are the same. Ours is one that never mentions the LORD, The Cross, hardly the words, "Jesus Christ" and never Salvation. It mainly talks of 'following his teachings' (despite that Jesus never said to 'follow my teachings', but Follow Me. Last Sunday, we heard on Buddhism by a guest pastor who talked about 'truth' and never mentioned Our LORD , that I Am The Truth, and no one batted an eye-lash over it. This book was comforting to read in that to know others are recognizing such disparities, and the history of what he referred to as a completely different 'religion' altogether (this took me all the way back to Eve's Seeing only of a Tree that was without The Life, having not Heard His Voice in Understanding, but rather being propelled to the inclinations of the heart of the 'natural man', a perpetual situation..

Despite the title of this book, it has nothing to do with politics. Well, it interacts with politics insofar as it critiques a Christianity that is only interested in dogooding. But primarily this book is a robust defense of the fundamental tenants of the Christian faith, and how by discarding the divinity of Christ, the authority of the Scriptures, the reality of sin and the need for repentance, a different religion from Christianity has been constructed. Despite his reputation, Machen is surprisingly gregarious. He waxes about what all true Christian sects have in common that allow us to identify each other as brothers. He discusses the doubts and issues a believer might face while still identifying them as a true Christian. What he has no time for are preachers who reduce Jesus to being a 'good teacher' (For if Jesus is not who he claimed to be, he was a madman, not someone worthy of emulation), discard the Bible and essentially want to turn the church into a social club with a vaguely spiritual gloss. What he especially takes issue with are the ministers who lie, who take oaths confessing they subscribe to doctrines, belief in the Bible, and specific creeds/confessions, then turn around and openly dispute them. He has respect for the Unitarian church as they're honest about what they believe. He disagrees with them appreciates their candor. He has no patience for those who wanted to turn (and are succeeding) in turning the Presbyterian church into a Unitarian church. Machen was right. The denomination he was defending is now rife with those preaching exactly what he feared, that Jesus was not God, God is not Triune, there is no ressurrection, and that there is no hell (and possibly no heaven). This is not a form of Christianity, but something different altogether. And we should be wary of those who use vague spiritual notions to try and make the world a better place. Reading this helped snap into place why Machen stood opposed to the Christian push for Prohibition and why he refused the invitation to speak at the Scopes Trial. This book is just as applicable today as it was when it was first printed.

It would appear that little has changed in the 90 years since this book was first published. Or, perhaps more accurately, the capitulation of large segments of the evangelical church to the relentless tide of what Machen termed "liberalism" has gone unchecked. Either way, the result is the same. Confessing churches have decreasing adherence to their confessions and much of what is labeled as "Christianity" bears little resemblance to the model of faith held up in the Bible. Machen knows this territory well, being on the faculty of Princeton Seminary when the trustees went all in as the philosophy we know today as Modernity swept through society. As a result, he and several of his colleagues left Princeton to found a seminary and a denomination, Westminster Theological Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Their purpose was to continue to teach and uphold those things which had long been essential to the church and were clearly affirmed in its confessions, such as the Westminster and Belgic confessions. Today virtually every denomination that was considered mainline in his day has rolled over to the trends driving society, and the church is infinitely poorer and weaker for it. I found much in this book that rings true, in part because I am a member of perhaps the last mainline denomination that hasn't gone completely off track. But some days it seems as if we are in a car going through a corner at high speed and with only three wheels on the ground. Rollover seems a heartbeat away. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is in church leadership and wonders about the threat to the church from the culture. It is a threat that feels more immediate today than when Machen wrote these words. Yet I also believe, with Machen, that the church itself will survive, for God has always preserved for himself a remnant of the faithful, to be his witnesses in an unbelieving world.

Though an elitist and pedant, Machen is also an astute critic of modern liberal Christianity, rightly noting that it deviates radically from Biblical Christianity in every fundamental dogma. Read this and you will understand why theological liberalism is a different religion than historic Biblical Christianity. This is an irritating book in certain ways due to the elitism of the author and certain rigidly false views he himself propounds (note especially his description of the essential Galatian heresy and his description of Christ's purpose in preaching the Sermon on the Mount), yet it is an important book and will be influential in years to come when the prickly nature of its author is no longer remembered.

A must read for all Christians in this modern age. We must defend the faith and re educate ourselves when The Gospel is being watered down by liberal thought and society. Written in 1923 this book relates to 2017 like you won't believe. We need to know what we believe and this book will truly educate us in that direction. It will also clarify what we don't believe as Christians! Yes we Christians can be intellectual in our faith and yes we are on a firm ground at the foot of the cross!!!

Text arrived overseas in Korea in just 2 weeks--New book--very good service-- The text gives an excellent definition of liberalism vs. Fundamentalism--Machen calls for the liberals to leave the conservative churches and start their own denominations and churches--that did not happen and most conservatives were timid enough to co-exist with the liberals--Machen separated himself from Princeton Seminary and started his own school: Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, PA--he then left the Presbyterian denomination and started a Conservative Presbyterian denomination--J. Gresham Machen was a great man of God who stood for the truth of the Bible and separated himself from people who would not do the same--must reading for everyone interested in the difference between Conservative Fundamentalism and Liberalism--

As I read this book, J. Gresham Machen reminds me of many things, all characteristic of Old Protestantism, and even overtones of classic Puritanism. His writes with the passion of Whitefield, his words have a fire like Wesley, and he possesses both the clarity and contrarianism of Calvin. He's a conservative Presbyterian who preaches like a revivalistic Pentecostal. Simply put, we need more men like Machen in today's church. I don't know about you, but folks, we need Christ, and Christ crucified. Not the Jesus of our imagination, but the Jesus of the blood-soaked Scriptures. In this book, Machen brings his spiritual hammer (the Word of God), and battles the false philosophies of this world (2 Cor. 10:5-6). He unsheathes his sword, and wields it against a false religion, a pretender that cloaks itself in Christian language - "Liberalism". This religion is a marriage of naturalism, humanism, secularism, and sentimentalism all rolled into one. It's anything but Christian. The voices of Old Liberalism (F. Schleiermacher, A. Ritschl, W. Bousset) that Machen is doing serious war with here, are in so many "conservative" denominations and churches today it's shameful. Every "elementary" Christian issue he speaks about - Christ, the Bible, Sin, Salvation, the Church, God & Man - is so diluted or discarded in today's American "church" that most of us are in a Hebrews 5:11-14 situation at best, and a 2 Tim. 4:1-4 situation at worst. Both our recent and present generations are products of the continued fight for the basic truths of the Bible. Both grandparents and parents who have grown up in the church have not endured sound doctrine, and preachers have not "kept the faith". It's passed on to the "Now" generation of church youth, who believe in an imaginary Jesus, and live in a virtual world. Machen speaks against this false religion in devastating fashion. He speaks matter-of-factly and with biblical exactitude. His writing is not for the weak-stomached Christian. Those who are used to pastoral jokes, cute stories about Easter, and fun vacations at your small group - you probably need a "Diet" or "Baby Machen" version of this book. He'll punch you in the mouth if you're not careful. I'm serious. Even for the weathered Christian, the person steeped in the Puritans, the Old Presbyterians, the serious Pentecostals, the student of Edwards, the lover of Lloyd-Jones, this is honestly a spiritually exhausting book to read. You're basically reading all-out theological/spiritual warfare. You've been translated into another reality of the spiritual battle raging which didn't end with the Fundamentals, with Machen, with the Chicago Statement, etc., but will rage and continue to rage. It's a battle between true and false religion. Between a Jesus who is a teacher and a Jesus who is the Savior. Machen, in a concise 153 pages, opens up the biblical canons and fires everything the Word of God has against this false religion. In my estimation it's a book every Christian must read and arm themselves with. There is a profound and substantive difference between true and false religion - Jesus.

The quality of the text is abysmal, it hurts my eyes. The quality and content of the writing is extraordinary, but the text itself is smeared and muddy. This book is available in the public domain. Don't buy it from Amazon, much better copies are available for free download. That being said, by all means read the book! It's amazing that Menchen can perfectly describe modern liberalism as far back as 1923, before the sexual revolution of the Sixties, which seemed to me the object of liberal worship today. Liberal Christianity is anti-Christian, as Menchen so ably demonstrates in this book.

The argument of the book is that liberalism is distinct from Christianity and is a different religion altogether. Liberalism attempts to reconcile Christianity with science and modern thinking. It finds its source in the feelings and thoughts of men. They deny essential Christian doctrines, such as the inerrancy of the Scriptures, the virgin birth, deity of Christ and many others. Their religion uses Jesus's teachings to combat society's ills. They see Him as a great moral teacher instead of the Messiah. They deny original sin, which is reflected in their optimistic view of mankind. Christianity stands in contrast to liberalism. Christianity is concerned with the solution to sin. It faces sin head-on. It proclaims Jesus died on the cross in our place to forgive us of our sins and that he was bodily resurrected from the dead. Christianity is doctrinal and historically supportable, unlike liberalism. The historicity is attested to by the inerrant Word of God, the Bible, especially Paul's epistles and the Gospels. Christianity sees Jesus as the object of faith, not merely an ethical example. This book packed so much into 152 pages, it is amazing! You can tell the author was passionate about sound doctrine. It still speaks to us today as we continue to defend the Christian faith.

Could a book be more relevant for today? Well, surely God's Word is--but Machen's book written nearly a hundred years ago seems pre-molded for modern America 2015. We live in the age of Creflo Dollar's gospel, Bart Ehrman's textual criticism, Rob Bell's universalism, Joel Osteen's preaching, and Oprah Winfrey's theology. If the circumstances surrounding Dr. Machen's early 20th century world were bad--what has it come to today?! There indeed is nothing new under the sun. The battles that were wrestled in the past are the same battles we are fighting today (though perhaps under different names). Machen iterates, "The greatest menace to the Christian Church today comes not from the enemies outside, but from the enemies within; it comes from the presence within the church of a type of faith and practice that is anti-Christian to the core." It is therefore that menace to the precious church of Jesus Christ that Machen fights against with all righteous tenacity of a shepherd whose flock is under siege by wolves. Machen reveals that "Liberal Christianity" is not Christianity at all. He goes as far as to say that liberalism is no "mere hersey" as it proceeds from a "totally different root". Liberal Christianity, as Machen defines in the opening, is a false gospel. It has a different view of God, a far more positive view of man, a different view of Jesus Christ, and therefore a far different view of salvation. Jesus under the liberal teaching is no longer the "object of our faith" but a faithful example to us of ethics, morals, and love for all. Man needs only follow his example alone and all will be well! To that Machen says--FALSE RELIGION. If Jesus did not live, die, and rise from the dead in historical time and space we have nothing. A gospel without the supernatural, Machen concedes, may be easier to believe--but it would not be worth believing! We are in desperate need of deliverance from our sin, and only the blood of Jesus can satisfy that need. Machen also includes a brief and incredibly strong defense of the authenticity of Paul's letters as well as the unity of the Scriptures as a whole. "Christianity and Liberalism" is an excellent defense for the Truth of the Gospel as expressed throughout Scripture and could not be more relevant for today. I marked down one star because the font was scanned directly from the hard copy--and not the Amazon "Bookerly" font I prefer for the Kindle. Some words were impossible to read as some letters were distorted. All in all 5 stars for Machen. 3 for Kindle edition (99 cent purchase keeps it from going any lower).

Excellent book - since purchasing this, I'd since seen it referenced in various other writings and reference material, so good to have read it personally, and had the back up for knowing what the writing is others are referring to. The reviewer has attended (unknowingly at the time) a 'liberal' so called church all their life, and still does (for certain reasons beyond review material), but not all of them are the same. Ours is one that never mentions the LORD, The Cross, hardly the words, "Jesus Christ" and never Salvation. It mainly talks of 'following his teachings' (despite that Jesus never said to 'follow my teachings', but Follow Me. Last Sunday, we heard on Buddhism by a guest pastor who talked about 'truth' and never mentioned Our LORD , that I Am The Truth, and no one batted an eye-lash over it. This book was comforting to read in that to know others are recognizing such disparities, and the history of what he referred to as a completely different 'religion' altogether (this took me all the way back to Eve's Seeing only of a Tree that was without The Life, having not Heard His Voice in Understanding, but rather being propelled to the inclinations of the heart of the 'natural man', a perpetual situation..

Despite the title of this book, it has nothing to do with politics. Well, it interacts with politics insofar as it critiques a Christianity that is only interested in dogooding. But primarily this book is a robust defense of the fundamental tenants of the Christian faith, and how by discarding the divinity of Christ, the authority of the Scriptures, the reality of sin and the need for repentance, a different religion from Christianity has been constructed. Despite his reputation, Machen is surprisingly gregarious. He waxes about what all true Christian sects have in common that allow us to identify each other as brothers. He discusses the doubts and issues a believer might face while still identifying them as a true Christian. What he has no time for are preachers who reduce Jesus to being a 'good teacher' (For if Jesus is not who he claimed to be, he was a madman, not someone worthy of emulation), discard the Bible and essentially want to turn the church into a social club with a vaguely spiritual gloss. What he especially takes issue with are the ministers who lie, who take oaths confessing they subscribe to doctrines, belief in the Bible, and specific creeds/confessions, then turn around and openly dispute them. He has respect for the Unitarian church as they're honest about what they believe. He disagrees with them appreciates their candor. He has no patience for those who wanted to turn (and are succeeding) in turning the Presbyterian church into a Unitarian church. Machen was right. The denomination he was defending is now rife with those preaching exactly what he feared, that Jesus was not God, God is not Triune, there is no ressurrection, and that there is no hell (and possibly no heaven). This is not a form of Christianity, but something different altogether. And we should be wary of those who use vague spiritual notions to try and make the world a better place. Reading this helped snap into place why Machen stood opposed to the Christian push for Prohibition and why he refused the invitation to speak at the Scopes Trial. This book is just as applicable today as it was when it was first printed.

It would appear that little has changed in the 90 years since this book was first published. Or, perhaps more accurately, the capitulation of large segments of the evangelical church to the relentless tide of what Machen termed "liberalism" has gone unchecked. Either way, the result is the same. Confessing churches have decreasing adherence to their confessions and much of what is labeled as "Christianity" bears little resemblance to the model of faith held up in the Bible. Machen knows this territory well, being on the faculty of Princeton Seminary when the trustees went all in as the philosophy we know today as Modernity swept through society. As a result, he and several of his colleagues left Princeton to found a seminary and a denomination, Westminster Theological Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Their purpose was to continue to teach and uphold those things which had long been essential to the church and were clearly affirmed in its confessions, such as the Westminster and Belgic confessions. Today virtually every denomination that was considered mainline in his day has rolled over to the trends driving society, and the church is infinitely poorer and weaker for it. I found much in this book that rings true, in part because I am a member of perhaps the last mainline denomination that hasn't gone completely off track. But some days it seems as if we are in a car going through a corner at high speed and with only three wheels on the ground. Rollover seems a heartbeat away. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is in church leadership and wonders about the threat to the church from the culture. It is a threat that feels more immediate today than when Machen wrote these words. Yet I also believe, with Machen, that the church itself will survive, for God has always preserved for himself a remnant of the faithful, to be his witnesses in an unbelieving world.

Though an elitist and pedant, Machen is also an astute critic of modern liberal Christianity, rightly noting that it deviates radically from Biblical Christianity in every fundamental dogma. Read this and you will understand why theological liberalism is a different religion than historic Biblical Christianity. This is an irritating book in certain ways due to the elitism of the author and certain rigidly false views he himself propounds (note especially his description of the essential Galatian heresy and his description of Christ's purpose in preaching the Sermon on the Mount), yet it is an important book and will be influential in years to come when the prickly nature of its author is no longer remembered.

A must read for all Christians in this modern age. We must defend the faith and re educate ourselves when The Gospel is being watered down by liberal thought and society. Written in 1923 this book relates to 2017 like you won't believe. We need to know what we believe and this book will truly educate us in that direction. It will also clarify what we don't believe as Christians! Yes we Christians can be intellectual in our faith and yes we are on a firm ground at the foot of the cross!!!

Text arrived overseas in Korea in just 2 weeks--New book--very good service-- The text gives an excellent definition of liberalism vs. Fundamentalism--Machen calls for the liberals to leave the conservative churches and start their own denominations and churches--that did not happen and most conservatives were timid enough to co-exist with the liberals--Machen separated himself from Princeton Seminary and started his own school: Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, PA--he then left the Presbyterian denomination and started a Conservative Presbyterian denomination--J. Gresham Machen was a great man of God who stood for the truth of the Bible and separated himself from people who would not do the same--must reading for everyone interested in the difference between Conservative Fundamentalism and Liberalism--

Written in a bygone era when liberalism was just beginning, today this book is almost prophetic as we see Machen's words of warning fulfilled in denominations like the ELCA and the Episcopal Church among others. Even within what were once staunchly conservative evangelical denomination the "emergent church" theology has taken root. Perhaps this is the time to follow Machen's advice and just assemble as the faithful in Congregations that still hold to the authority of God's Word and fellowship in the true Gospel as we await God to move and eradicate the cancer of liberalism!

Even skeptic H.L. Mencken respected Machen as the foremost public exponent for orthodox Christianity in the early decades of the 20th Century. This deep yet accessible exposition of Christianity against its alternative is perhaps the most famous and perennially republished contribution by the Presbyterian leader and Princeton theologian, J. Gresham Machen. By "Liberalism" he means the modernist product of academicism, sentimentalist pop philosophy, and pernicious unbelief that became the impotent churchianity of mainline protestantism; it was enshrined doctrinally in the 1924 "Auburn Affirmation" signed by a thousand modernist ministers, such as Harry Emerson Fosdick. Against that sort of nominal Christianity, Machen was willing to align himself with "the Fundamentalists." Scion of an eminent Baltimore family, Machen (he pronounced it like the German word "Maedchen", and jokingly called himself "Das", the neuter article matched to that in German) became a bright light in the Princeton classics department; his grammar for New Testament Greek is still used widely. "Christianity and Liberalism" is presented in philosophical and theological terms, but Machen clearly points to political and broader cultural consequences of lukewarmness among professing liberal Christians. Understanding Machen's analysis is essential for anyone wanting to understand Progressive political theory and why today's western culture has fallen apart totally.

This is one book where it's hard to not highlight the entire book. There's just so many gems in here. So much of what Machen was fighting is still running rampant now and we are still desperately in need of strong defenders of the faith to stand for biblical truth. The biggest takeaway from this book is that liberal theology really is a different religion from Christianity even though it uses much of the same vocabulary. I highly encourage everyone to read this!

Even though this book was written and published almost a century ago (1923), it might as well have been published today. The infiltration of liberalism in the modern church is prevalent, and this author saw it coming a hundred years ago. For anyone who adheres to a conservative Biblical worldview, this is a must-read. And for anyone who is leaning toward the liberal theology of the 20th century, there are persuasive arguments against. In an evenhanded yet firm manner, the author presents a clear case for Biblical orthodoxy and explains why liberal Christianity is not Christianity at all.

John Gresham Machen was Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary in the early twentieth century. He, along with some other professors, resigned their posts after Princeton Seminary was reorganized in such a way that allowed theological liberalism to be taught. He felt that liberalism was a distinctly different religion than Christianity, and this book is an exposition of his views on this matter. He went on to found Westminster Theological Seminary in order to continue the propagation of the Reformed Faith as outlined in the Westminster Confession of Faith, which is the doctrinal standard that the original Princeton Theological Seminary was founded upon. Machen's prose is clear and easy to grasp. There are no big words that are designed to confuse the meaning of things. In fact, he wanted this book to set forth the issues as plainly as possible. He had too much integrity to blur the distinctions, which is a large part of why he was booted out of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. The book is brimming with integrity. His main point is that liberalism is an entirely different religion, in terms of what it teaches. He felt that it was fundamentally dishonest for clergy to say that they ascribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith, when in their hearts they disavowed the central doctrines of that document. He shows that liberalism is based on naturalism, and that Christianity is based on supernaturalism. He makes many good arguments, but two really stand out for this reviewer. First, liberalism denies the substitutionary atonement of Christ for his elect. It seems to me that to deny this doctrine is to deny the heart of the Christian theological system. Machen felt passionately about this issue. The second point he makes, that really makes sense to this reviewer, is the fact that liberalism came after Christianity. Therefore, it is incumbent upon those who hold to liberalism to leave the denomination and form a different church. Past generations had left money for the propagation of the faith grounded in the Westminster Confession of Faith. If there are clergy who don't believe that system of faith, then they should, as a matter of honesty and truth, admit that, and, leave to form another religious institution founded upon liberalism. Of course, history shows that the liberals won, and the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. has strayed from anything resembling a Christian church. That denomination seems to be little more than a theologically confused, humanistic social club. In point of fact, many churches that hold to the Westminster Confession of Faith left the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. at great cost. In summary, Professor Machen makes sound argument after sound argument for his position. His arguments are valid. Whether or not the God he believes in is real or not, is another matter entirely. While I no longer believe in the existence of the supernatural, I admire his integrity.

This book is timeless! Should be required reading in every Christian home, school and university today! Liberalism is run amok in Evangelicalism and needs to be snuffed out. As Machen said, it is because of simple ignorance. How long will men and women of God go on ignorant of what Christianity is or of the Liberalism in their churches? This book explains the threat thoroughly and what to do to combat it, by a man who knows.

I just read Christianity and Liberalism and it had a profound impact upon me spiritually. I was expecting an academic argument, but this book was a page-turner and I couldn't put it down. Machen pours his soul out to demonstrate that without the facts of the gospel (Jesus' death and resurrection) and doctrine interpreting those facts (He died for me), there is no such thing as Christianity. It doesn't matter whether we admire a historical figure named Jesus, whether we try to follow his teachings or believe in His "love," -- those elements do not Christianity make. It is only a bloody Cross with a dying Savior that reconciles the sinner to God and can bring peace to the troubled conscience. Machen cannot tolerate liberal ministers who claim to love people but offer no remedy for the dreadful problem of sin and guilt, who offer no miraculous Savior to save them. His heart is on fire with the love of Christ and he uses stellar rhetoric in argument upon argument to show how so-called liberal Christianity is -- No Christianity at all. Written in 1923, it addressed issues slightly different than we have today, and yet is still highly relevant. Conservative churches today aren't officially denying the cross, but it has become a peripheral issue that get's mentioned for purposes of "getting saved" but then is ignored. I have been languishing in such a church and just recently moved to an Orthodox Presbyterian Church (founded by Machen) where the Gospel of Christ is central in everything that is said and done. It has brought real spiritual healing to hear the Good News of what Christ has done. Thank you, Dr. Machen, for your faithful and zealous message to the church.

Excellent insight into what is held as pure Christianity. For anyone who honestly desires an understanding of the foundation component of the Christian faith. 2 Peter 1:5-8 NASBS [5] Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, [6] and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, [7] and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. [8] For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He does a great job of explaining the deep things of the doctrines of the Reformed Evangelical Church. He clearly speaks of our need for God, who can only be found through His Son Jesus the Christ. He shows the the difference of true biblical Christianity from humanistic & liberalistic biblical thought.

Machen wrote about Liberalism infecting Christianity over the previous 50 years, and he wrote this in 1925. He nailed it, as the discerning Christian can see has blossomed today. Should be required reading in Seminaries of today.

J. Gresham Machen has bestowed to posterity one of the finest literary examinations of the Body of Christ's internal struggle for integrity and identity. "Christianity and Liberalism" brilliantly deciphers the codes and illusions of the latter while illuminating the Gospel Truth that so many in modern Protestantism have confined to the shade. Doubtless, your typical liberal sees nothing but naivite and obsolescence in Machen's little maserpiece, but more's the pity. Christianity is in fact an inherently conservative theology, a point which Machen proves over and over with lucidity and a calm but impassioned literary voice. This is so simply because Christianity is based upon certain obvious facts (in particular the blessed fact of the Resurrection)and the historical creeds that were produced by those facts. Liberalism, with its insistence upon a religion which owes nothing to fact but much to the vagaries of individual prejudice, can never replace the glory of the real thing. Even so, modern Protestantism and its so-called leaders seem all-too determined to drag the Gospel down to the lowest common denominator at any cost--and have succeeded to such a point that it's unlikely more than a handful of laymembers from an average congregation could even decipher Machen's prose style, let alone make a reasonable decision about whether or not to agree with his thesis. And yet Christianity survives, albeit with whatever scars, and the voices of men like Machen continue to sound the warning-trump. There have always those in the Church who want it to be something other than the Ark of Salvation that it is. Fortunately, the Church is and has always been bigger than its sins. The reality of the Gospel still works, and it will do so until the end of the age.

This is one of the first books I have read out of college and graduate school. What Machen does is establish a definitive difference between the liberal and Christian movements. That demarcation is well articulated. He talks about some of the centerpieces of Christian faith and how these cornerstones are actually undermined ("deconstructed")by liberalism and then reconstructed to cater to a new set of philosophical and theological presuppositions. I would like to reiterate an earlier reviewer who noted that Machen is not trying to critique liberalism, but rather to show that it is a movement quite significantly different in almost every way from Christianity. Now if liberalism cannot survive except in fringes outside of its usage, or even usurpation, of Christian imagery; then that in itself is telling. However, Machen's primary task is one of definition: What is a liberal? What is a Christian? Given the connotations, denotations, and intensions of each definition, Machen concludes that "liberal" and "Christian" are two different entities. I admit my analogies stink, but let me put it another way. If you define a duck as something that goes "moo," you must fundamentally change the nature of the object perceived. This is basically the philosophical idea of correspondence; namely that our definition is only as good as it actually represents the thing defined. Perhaps if enough people began thinking this way (that a duck makes the moo sound), it could become so. That's really more of a Wittgenstein thing, anyway. The hope of many liberals is to make Christianity something it has not been and maintain that change long enough so that the very definition of the faith changes. In my heart of hearts, I and perhaps Machen, want to believe they are doing this for the good of the faith. Even with the best of intentions, however, liberalism is still an attempt of some to reconstruct or revise Christianity, to customize it to their own ideological palates. Some of the book actually makes predictions that are becoming truer of the cultural climate in the U.S. today, including that the Christian character of seminary/divinity education is fading to make way for a more Unitarian way of thinking. Doctrines on salvation, the church, Jesus, and God that were indispensable to historical Christianity are being replaced by more "digestable" theologies. If you are a Christian, this book is for you.

Enough has been said about the content of this book that I won't go into that. It's just the same, and just as good and relevant today, as it has been for the last 80+ years. The twist is reading a classic book on the Kindle. I really enjoyed (re-)reading this book on the Kindle. As you probably know, one of the neat features of the Kindle is that when a passage is highlighted, that text is available on a web page. It is thus very easy to capture this text for posting to a blog for further commentary. Or drop it into Evernote where a file of great quotes is kept. The possibilities are numerous. If you've never read Machen's book, and care about evangelical Christianity, get a copy and read it. It is a timeless work.

A classic that never seems out of date. Machen clearly proves that liberal Christianity is not genuine Biblical faith. This edition has a wonderful forward by Carl Trueman that again highlights its importance and continuing relevance today. Truly a must read if you care about the Gospel, the church, and defending the faith!

Needed the book for class and was cheaper on Amazon for a brand new one and is well worth the money, book arrived in perfect condition. Would recommend buying if needed for class or interested in a good read.

Machen's book, Christianity and Liberalism, is a power-packed defense of classic Christian orthodoxy. Written in 1923, the book is perhaps more relevant now than when it was originally written, since the fruit of theological liberalism is seen more fully in our day through many mainline denominations, as well as some (but not all) seeker-sensitive and emergent expressions. Even traditional, theologically conservative churches have not been unaffected, for the cultural drift toward theological liberalism has left the traditional church uncertain and hesitant to earnestly defend the faith. In the introduction, Machen sets up the problem by arguing that liberalism is really allegiance to naturalism rather than God. He then moves on in the remarkable second chapter on Doctrine, to argue that liberalism undercuts both the historical and personal foundations of Christian faith by its imprecision and vague appeals to general principles like the brotherhood of man. In chapter 3 Machen contends that liberalism misinterprets the gospel because it misunderstands the doctrines of God and man. Chapter 4 makes the case that Christianity is based on the special revelation of God, the Bible, while liberalism is a man-based religion, based on feelings or notions or a generally accepted consensus about what is right. Chapters 5 and 6 are brilliant defenses of historic Christian beliefs about Christ and Salvation respectively. Chapter 7 concludes the book with application of Christianity in the Church. This is just an overview and could never do justice to the depth of Machen's work. I know of no better place to go to find a robust defense of biblical faith and a careful analysis of the shaky foundations of theological liberalism.

This book was a wonderful read! I quickly read this book over 4 days. I found this book so interesting because I have witnessed in the Southern Baptist Convention the battle over the influence of liberalism among its churches and seminaries. Liberal and self-described "moderates" are gaining a hearing among otherwise conservative churches by using the same doubletalk and redefinition of terms. As with all false doctrine, Christians must be so familiar with the Truth, that the counterfeit is seen for what it is. Likewise, Machen says, "...by showing what Christianity is not we hope to be able to show what Christianity is, in order that men may be led to turn from the weak and beggarly elements and have recourse again to the grace of God." (pg 16) A. Regarding DOCTRINE... LIBERALISM believes: Certain doctrines, such as miracles, the Atonement, and heaven and hell are unimportant. Much more important are the ethical implications of Jesus as an example of right living. (pg 37) CHRISTIANITY believes: We cannot "attend to the Person of Jesus of Jesus and neglect the message." Pg 43). The message is that "which makes Him ours." (pg 42) B. Regarding GOD AND MAN... LIBERALISM believes: There is really no such thing as sin. Instead, there is a "supreme confidence in human goodness." (pg 64) CHRISTIANITY believes: There must be an consciousness of Sin for true salvation. "Without the consciousness of sin, the whole of the gospel will seem to be an idle tale." (pg 66). C. Regarding THE BIBLE... LIBERALISM believes: 1.) Salvation is based on an idea, not in an event [such as the resurrection] (pg 70-71) 2.) Present experience is valued over scripture. (pg 71) You should not accept the words of portrayal of Jesus at face value. (pg 77) The authority of the bible is superseded by a self-invented "authority of Christ". A liberal says he "depends on Jesus alone" (pg 76). CHRISTIANITY believes: 1.) salvation is dependent on "the narration of an event." (pg 70) 2.) Scripture is inspired of God and all accounts are true (pg 73) D. Regarding CHRIST... LIBERALISM believes: 1.) Jesus is "an example for faith, not the object of faith" (pg 85) He is the mere "founder of Christianity" (pg 85) Machen says, "the modern liberal tries to have faith in God like the faith which he supposes Jesus had in God; but he does not have faith in Jesus." (pg 85) 2.) Jesus Himself is to be revered as the "fairest flower of humanity" (pg 96) He is only god in the sense that he is the "highest thing we know." (pg 111) He differs from the "rest of men only in degree and not in kind."(pg 112). 3.) The resurrection of Christ, the virgin birth and other miracles are doubted (pg 104, 108). They try to separate the "historical" Jesus from the supernatural Jesus portrayed in the Gospels. (pg 107) Resurrection is redefined as "a permanence of the influence of Jesus or a mere spiritual existence of Jesus beyond the grave." (Pg 108) CHRISTIANITY believes: 1.) Jesus was no mere example for the life of faith. He claimed to be the object of faith (pg 86). He is the Savior. 2.) Jesus is to be worshiped as the supernatural God (pg 96-97) Scripture fully attests to this fact (pg 113-114) 3.) We should accept the Jesus as He is portrayed in the Scriptures. He was born of a virgin and was absolutely sinless. In His resurrection, he rose bodily proving the full acceptance of His sacrificial death. F. Regarding SALVATION... LIBERALISM believes: 1.) Salvation is within a man (pg 117) 2.) We should rehabilitate a man, such as a prisoner, by finding "good that is already in them and build upon that." (pg 137) 3.) Undogmatic faith should be valued and it makes no difference what is believed (pg 141) 4.) Salvation is obtained "by our own obedience to the commands of Christ" (pg 143) On this point, Machen says this is nothing other than "a sublimated form of legalism" (pg 143) Lliberalism, which means freedom, is in reality nothing other than "wretched slavery.'" (pg 144). "Here is found the fundamental difference between liberalism and Christianity," says Machen, "liberalism is altogether in the imperative mood, while Christianity begins with a triumphant indicative; liberalism appeals to man's will, while Chrstianity announces, first a gracious act of God." (pg 47) 5.) Religion is "thought to be necessary for a healthy community" (pg 151) (ie. pragmatism) 6.) In practice, "God exists for the sake of man" (pg 154). 7.) "...applied Christianity is all there is of Christianity." (pg 155) CHRISTIANITY believes: 1.) You find salvation "in an act of God." (pg 117) "He is our Savior not because He inspired us to live the same kind of life that He lived, but because He took upon Himself the dreadful guilt of our sins and bore it instead of us on the cross." (ie vicarious atonement) (pg 117) 2.) Man is in need of a "new birth" or regeneration...or a "foreign good" that a man naturally does not posses (pg 138) (only that Christ possessed) 3.) Faith is only as good as the object. Faith is receiving the gift of salvation in the cross of Christ. 4.) Salvation is obtained by Justification by faith in the Gospel (Galatians) (pg 144). 5.) "Christianity refuses to be regarded as a mere means to an end. "if any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother...he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26). 6.) "Man exists for the sake of God (pg 154). 7.) "...Applied Christianity is the result of an initial act of God [in Justifying the sinner]" (pg 155) G. Regarding THE CHURCH... LIBERALISM believes: "...all men everywhere, no matter what their race or creed are brothers." (pg 157) CHRISTIANITY believes: yes, there is a brotherhood of man but ONLY in the sense that all men are created by a Creator. Scripture declares that there is a true "brotherhood of the redeemed" (pg 158). Those who have been redeemed from sin. Transformation of the masses occurs as individuals are transformed through the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ.

I've been under the impression that only very recent changes in Protestantism in America have led to the decline of Christianity but Machen writing much earlier sees the ball rolling much sooner than I would have ever realized. It's really too bad there were no Machens until the last 30 years or so. I truly appreciated this book. Machen understood that a retreat from intellectualism into solitary confinement for believers would never benefit the culture or the unconverted and labored to show that Christianity had the ability to come out standing after taking many blows from secularism. Thank God for the Machens we don't deserve at all...

Great book by J. Gresham Machen. Immediately upon finishing the book, I thought, man this was almost prophetic then I remembered. From the time of the fall there have always been men opposed to the truth. From the prophets of old to the apostles of Christ to our present day, Gods truth has always been surrounded by the threat of perversion. But praise be to God his word has ALWAYS and will ALWAYS stand at last.

Machen's zeal to defend the place of Jesus in salvation, the authority of the Bible and the need for preachers who are submitted to God and his Word is stirring. Chapter by chapter, Machen answers the Liberalism that was emerging in his day (1920's) at Princeton Theological Seminary and continues even today. He points out the emptiness of a Christianity that removes Christ, arguing that this is exactly what Liberal theology is aiming to do! As relevant today among the world of "ear-tickling" self-help sermons as it was when it was written, Machen's book is a classic.

If you want an old fashioned conservative perspective on the ills of modern theological innovations, read this.

A great book comparing Christianity with liberalism --- a biblical approach to Christianity by fighting against a completely different thing called liberalism. First clearly stated opinions from both sides, then logically and biblically analyzed them and concluded that liberalism is not simply a different interpretation of the Bible but a completely different thing that is far away from the Cross and the Word of God. The book was written very clearly, not simply give an answer of "yes" or "no", but analyzed the origin of the problem, unfolded the underlying presumptions, and suggested a possible solution. So this book is not boring at all but directed us to first seek His righteousness and His kingdom, then live a life with a regenerated heart. I feel so blessed and encouraged to read this book.

J. Gresham Machen very clearly explained in this book why liberalism is not compatible with the long-held confessions of the Christian churches and how liberalism often uses dishonesty to gain its ends. Most denominations (notably his own, the PCUSA) did not return to their roots as Machen hoped, but his words still show the dangers of compromise on this issue. Many liberals today would probably deny teaching some of the things of which he accused the liberals of his day, but Machen does cover fairly extensively the liberal tendency to use bait and switch with words and their definitions.

This book remains the standard for the presentation of post-Fundamental Evangelicalism and how it differs from the liberalism and now post-liberalism of the 20th and 21st centuries. Machen is equal parts scholar and prophet as his critiques not only address the concerns of 1923 but he anticipates and repudiates developments of subsequent iterations of liberalism. His writing is engaging and clear, his arguments are tight and lucid, and his conclusions have stood the test of time. At times he may paint with too broad a brush, missing the nuances of various liberal positions, but on the whole, nearly every word of every sentence is devoted to clearly articulating and defending his thesis. This books should be required reading for every pastor, seminarian, and interested lay person. Whether you agree with his conclusions or not, Machen's concise yet taut exploration of the divergences between Christianity and liberalism frame the debate in such a way as to alleviate much of the current confusion and contention. The new foreword by Carl Trueman, while interesting, is really unnecessary. He gives a brief exposition of Machen's main thesis and the way in which he unpacks it through the book, but such an explanation is almost superfluous as Machen's argument is so clearly presented that it is almost impossible to misunderstand him. Overall, though, this book is a classic that should be read and reread by anyone engaged in ecumenical discussions.

In pointing out the heresy and danger of liberal theology, Prof. J. Gresham Machen, the founder of Orthodox Presbyterian denomination, also succinctly summarizes the fundamentals of Christian beliefs, and thus fulfilling his goal to show what Christianity is after showing what it is not (p.16). By fundamentals I do not mean to include subjects like eschatology, continuity of extraordinary gifts and the means of baptism and who should be baptized though it is not to say they are unimportant. The fundamentals cover the views of God and man, the Bible, Christ, salvation and the church. This is why this small-yet-loaded book could also serve as a systematic theology text in a nutshell. The gospel may seem to have become so very familiar to some that we are prone to think there is no need for reminder or refreshment of what it is. But looking at today's pluralism and globalization almost everywhere in which there are so many different beliefs and so many different denominations including the garden variety of non-denominational churches, it is not an option that every Christian; laymen, ministers and missionaries rightly understand what the gospel is and what its underlying doctrinal truths are. The reason I include missionaries here is because liberal theology is not only a threat in the west, but also has become a global threat considering it has gained ground in Africa and Asia as well, so it is important for them to understand its nature and to be able to defend orthodox Christianity against its assaults. Here it is important to distinguish between the necessity "to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" as Jude 3 commands where matters that concern eternal life and death are at stake, and getting into foolish unnecessary squabbles; picking fights over disagreements on minor subjects elevated to an unbalanced exaggerated importance such as Psalm-singing only in the Christian worship that the apostle Paul actually warns against (Titus 3:9). Prof. Machen rightly only deals with the former; the subjects that truly matter; "things that are sometimes thought to be the hardest to defend are also the things that are most worth defending," (p.8). The major issue with liberal theology is its abhorrence to doctrines (p.18). Doctrines divide and therefore, "Forget doctrines, can't we just get along?" This presupposition understandably leads to an erroneous view, abusive interpretations, criticisms and denial of the authority of the Bible that inevitably result in erroneous views about God, man, Christ, salvation and the church. On the other hand, it puts a premium on human experience, where facts must be based on experience, not the other way around. Moreover, among many other contra-biblical views, the gospel is viewed as a merely way of life where it seems that the general theme of the liberal gospel centers around the Sermon on the Mount, not the cross. It is an interesting yet sadly a false view on the cross where liberal theology teaches as chiefly an example of self-sacrifice or anything else but atonement for sins; that Jesus Christ is an example of faith, not the object of faith (p.113). But these principles directly contradict Christianity. Machen gives an excellent basis of the non-negotiable nature of the cardinal doctrines in the gospel when he brings up Gal 1:8 where the apostle Paul severely warns everyone against preaching a different gospel. And here is where he made it clear early in the book that what the liberal theology teaches is indeed a different gospel which is no gospel at all. Then he moves on with what the true gospel is. The gospel is an event and the Person who is at the center of that event, namely, the crucifixion and resurrection of the God-Man Jesus Christ, as well as the meaning and message of the event. These set forth the basis of the discussion on other subjects in the book; the views on the Bible, God and man, Christ, and salvation. The meaning of the cross teaches that there is a holy God who must punish sinners for their sins and therefore, there is such a reality as sin and that it is the very thing that separates man from God. The message of the cross is that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim 1:15) by what he did on the cross, which constitutes a promise that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (the familiar John 3:16 passage). Here is a humble, robust, and succinct apology of orthodox Christianity Machen presents that I believe is done in the spirit of 1 Pet 3:15-16 which I appreciate greatly and have much to learn from. Walter Lippman puts it this way, that this book is "a cool and stringent defense of orthodox Protestanism."

This is a good read as it J.C. Ryle's "Warnings to the Churches". The statement by Voltaire below, is what the liberal church today is advocating today. "Christianity and Liberalism" will help you understand the liberal churches of today. There is a big difference between a Christian Religion of faith and a Christian philosophy of a cookie-coffee fellowship. “If we would destroy the Christian religion, we must first of all destroy man’s belief in the Bible.” Voltaire (French philosopher 1694-1778 )

This book was excellent. I am continually amazed at how history repeats itself - particularly in the Christian realm. It seems as though the same issues in Church history keep coming up and this book illustrates the same phenomena. Machen's "Christianity and Liberalism" is as valid today as it was when it was written in the early twenties. Machen addresses the creeping in of liberalism into the Church and how on the surface, the differences don't seem so striking, but underneath liberalism makes itself out to be a completely different religion. Machen stresses the importance of doctrine for preserving the orthodox Christian faith while urging for unity without compromising the fundamentals. I highly recommend this book to anyone for the means of promoting awareness and discernment in these "liberal" times.

It is lamentable that many Christian groups have failed to stand against the liberals. Churches have died because the teaching of liberalism doesn't meet our spiritual need.

Gave this book to an inmate in the Polunsky prison where I am a chaplain.

This book is about 100 years old, but as I was reading it kept surprising me the accuracy of which liberalism is described. And how well that description fits our modern (post-modern) theological controversies. The foundation for Christianity’s opposition, liberalism, was laid some time ago.

One of my heros of the faith, writing about a topic that is just as important now as it was then.

The timeliness of this book for 2020 is unreal. I know Machen was ministering in a different world in one sense, but in another sense this world simply never changes. This book is helpful and brilliant. Great book.

Very readable and rather amazing that it wasn't written in the past 5 - 10 years. Obviously liberalism and Christianity have been at loggerheads for decades. I think the insight that I appreciate the most is the emphasis on honestly defining ones theological framework and terms. If you are redefining Christian theology, don't call yourself "Christian"; rather demonstrate enough integrity to call yourself something else. Just because you disagree with the major tenants of Christian doctrine doesn't mean you're any brighter or more insightful, necessarily, but it does mean you should call yourself something other than Christian.

NOTE — The criticisms of the typeface that appear in many of the reviews no longer apply. This is a 2019 edition, and the typeface is the normal Kindle typeface. It is excellent, and very readable.

This is a fascinating, and very enlightening book. Well-written, with much good information. It is amazing that it was written almost 100 years ago. It sounds so relevant today. True believing Christians will find this book helpful in understanding the many voices that represent Christianity, correctly or incorrectly. When someone says they believe in God and Jesus, maybe they mean Jesus only as a moral teacher, and "God" is somebody/something we can decide or create. The true Christian believes that the Bible truly tells us who God is, and what he thinks about our sin. .

Church should all be required to read. Great work and warning to all who truly care about the purity of the Church.

First Machen book. A must read.... Way more relating to this book in this present age... Great truth, encouragement and even responses.

I used to religion and philosophy history, especially from the last 150 years was boring. I was wrong. Understanding the direction of scholars and church leaders in the early days of the debate on Science and Religion could not be more timely in light of the recent Bill Nye and Ken Ham debate. Machen in the Introduction " What is the relation between Christianity and modern culture; may Christianity be maintained in a scientific age?" A clear presentation to aid you in deciding the answer for yourself. Machen, J. Gresham (2011-10-18). Christianity and Liberalism (Kindle Locations 87-88). Fig. Kindle Edition.

... the more they stay the same. Machen wrote in the early 20th century, in the years shortly following World War 1. Yet, if you stripped away the references to particular events and cultural institutions of his day, you would have little problem imagining that he was writing in our current, postmodern context. The critical issues he faced as a conservative, confessional Christian during the days of the Modernist-Fundamentalist divide were largely the same issues faced by the church today. In fact, I personally found his writing to be more engaging than many contemporary authors I've read who share his views. While some will no doubt disagree, this was a book on Christianity and culture--my category for it--that kept me reading from start to finish with great interest. As several other people who've reviewed the book have no doubt covered the essential ground, I'll keep this review relatively brief. It's also been a few months since I finished reading it, so please forgive a few lapses in coverage! The overarching thesis in the book is that modernity presents us with two separate religions that call themselves Christianity. The one is orthodox Christianity, while the other is Liberalism. Machen highlights a variety of critical issues over which these two religions differ, and as mentioned previously, one could just as easily bring those issues forward to our day and see that they still stand. I'll note a couple here. Scripture: Machen argues that Christianity looks to the Bible as the authoritative and infallible source of spiritual revelation. Modernism rejects the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture, and elevates alternatively either scientific knowledge or personal religious experience. Atonement: Christianity, Machen says, looks to the blood of Jesus as a payment for a debt of sin and a satisfaction of the wrath of God. Liberalism rejects a substitutionary atonement as immoral, and rejects the idea that God exercises wrath towards mankind. Faith: Faith in Jesus is necessary for salvation and eternal life, according to Machen. Liberalism, however, denies that personal faith in Jesus is the only way to Heaven. We don't have to look far today, with the advent of postmodernism, the so-called Emergent Church, or simply mainline Protestant liberalism to see these same issues, merely articulated with slightly more finesse. Thus, for those of us who consider ourselves, and strive to be, orthodox Christians, Machen's book serves well to define the boundaries. It will focus us on battles that still remain important, while helping us to assess our own faith and practice to correct those areas where we've yielded more to the spirit of this age than to the Spirit of God.

Reads like it was written 100 days ago, rather than nearly a century. Dr. Machen illuminates the stark contrast, and incompatibility of liberalism & Christianity, and sounds a prescient warning.

Great book, while written years ago it still reflects the problems of this nation and others that have been at the center of the liberal-conservative-fundamental religious battle. I fall to the right of center and my best friend to the left of center. He and I have discussed this book for hours.

I would heartily recommend everyone read Christianity and Liberalism, written in 1923, but as applicable today as it was then. 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, entitled “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 quarreling 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.

This was a great read - "liberalism" is a term so misunderstood anyways. Machen explains the situation of the encroachment of liberalism so very well. It is so applicable to today's church and so well written that it is easy to forget that it was written almost 100 years ago! I recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand the dangers of sloppy theology in the church. It is not for the faint of heart, but it is well worth it.

This short work laying out the contrast between True Christianity and Liberalism could have been written last week. It is that relevant to today’s situation with the Evangelical Church in America.

A fantastic argument against liberalism and how it has permeated the church. It's hard to believe this book was written back in the 1920s! It's almost prophetic at points.

good read

Historical book with a timeless message...

If you are a Christian who is paying attention to the world today, you will read this book and think it was written for today. Written almost a decade ago, there is nothing new under the sun. If your hope is to diagnose the problem so Godly change can begin, this is a tool you will find very useful.

Should be read by every Christian at least once a year. Read it to your children... stay Presbyterian! Soli Deo Gloria!

This was a magnificient read due to the author's scaple like dissection of beliefs on both sides. It also pointed out that the words 'God,' 'Jesus,' and many others mean very different things to both camps. I highly recommend this book to conservatives and liberals alike so that reasonable discussions between the two on important issues can be more meaningful.

To read this little book is to encounter a towering intellect. While the theological elitists abhor and object what Machen wrote, the cannot answer him.

Timely even as we head for the 21st century. Surprised, or maybe not surprising that many of the issues Machem writes about in the spirit of his age spirals into ours.

With all the Liberalism infiltrating the "Christian" church, doctrines and post modernism views, J. Gresham Machen's book is a must read and re-read for those who really want to know what true Liberalism is.

Very relevant almost 100yrs later.

Adds perspective to where much of our church pragmatism and current liberal secularism comes from. Pure Christianity and true doctrine is needed.

Not easy to find but a great read.

A must-read for anyone who considers themselves a Christian. Machen exposes much false teaching.

A must read of classic literature, very current.By the way, Machen's thesis was Christianity or Liberalism.

Excellent apology for conservative Christianity. Entirely relevant critique of today's progressive and emergent views even though written in 1923 against liberalism.

Great read, still relevant today even though it was written in the early 1900's

Even a hundred years ago the attack on classical Christianity was well under way.

Machen's message is still as relevant to the Church today as it was in his day. And the dreaded influence of liberalism which he defines and describes shows its teeth even more so in our culture. A worthy read for those who desired to be prepared for spiritual battle.

Machen does a great job challenging the liberal theologians of his day and how little they've changed . Like theologians of his day modern liberals continue to rid the Bible ironically of anything supernatural ( miracles , resurrection , ... etc) but Machen augments stand up to counter their claims ...

Terrific and thought-provocative read. Still quite relevant!

LIBERALS ARE NOT CHRISTIANS AND THEREFORE NOT SAVED!!!! First let me give the Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 Doctrine 3 God and Man 4 The Bible 5 Christ 6 Salvation 7 The Church First it should be noted that I am a member of the United Methodist Church (UMC). I fiercely reject J. Gresham Machen's Calvinism. As a Methodist and as one who attended for a year a college that was Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) I have so much experience with liberalism. Liberals don't believe the Bible Doctrines are important, they are completely indifferent to it. And they never say lets solve it, lets reconcile our difference by finding the objective teaching of the Bible. It is always lets ignore differences since they are not important Liberals interpret God's love to be blind stupidity. Thus every thing is okay, no such thing as sin and repentance. For the liberal the Bible is full of contradiction error mistake myth and folklore. It even teaches things that are shameful immoral and embarrassing in this "modern" world. The Jesus of liberalism isnt a Savior or God but just a good moral teacher and hippie who walked around with long hair picking flowers and talking about love As long your a good and decent person you are saved Now of course any one with intellecutal honesty knows that this is far from the Christianity of the Bible. Dr. Machen does and excellent job in showing that Liberals differ from the Bible on so many issues that they are all together apostate. EVERY METHODIST NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK

Excellent

Masters Program School Study Book so not read yet, but presents itself very well

J. Gresham Machen lays out in plain terms his defense of historic creedal Christianity against the liberalism he saw in the 1920s. This book is often harsh, and does not deal lightly with what the author sees as heresy. This book is certainly no nonsense and forces a person to make a decision either for or against theological liberalism in many places. Machen forces the liberal to admit their divergence from historic Christianity, from a historical Jesus, and from nearly all that the Church claims to hold dear. This book unlike most railings against one viewpoint or another covers its bases well, and any reader regardless of theological position will learn much about how to make arguments using scripture and history. This truly is a great work.

Before my pastor would write me a recommendation for me to enroll at Princeton Seminary he REQUIRED me to read this book. I am eternally grateful that he did. It remains one of the most important books I have ever read. I've since given multiple copies to others starting graduate studies at liberal schools.

Every Christian needs to read this books. Vary well thought out book. The makes you look at the church and its teachings in a different light.

Machen defends biblical Christianity in a way that is relevant in this century as when he wrote this in the last century.

A Christian modern classic, this book is just as relevant today as when it was first written. Machen (1881-1937) took a conservative (biblical-truth) stand at Princeton Seminary opposing the downward slide caused by recent-man-developed principles that were replacing long-held Christian principles based on the literal meaning of biblical texts. The relatively short book thoughtfully focuses on the definitions (biblical vs. modern alternate-definitions) of key biblical concepts such as the Person of Jesus and salvation. Machen's engaging arguments and presentations are all sound; though perhaps a bit harder to understand without a good high school education.

Machen lived what we live today and this book is a must read for every Bible teacher who takes Scripture as the Word of God

A compelling call to distinguish between the true Christian faith and a pseudo-Christianity falsely so called that is still relevant in the 21st century!

Great book!

Great read about the move away from "sola scriptura"!

Amazing how this guy wrote many decades ago and yet it's still coming true today. Good book.

good book

this is the second time reading this great book. it is as though Machen were writing it today. The great books are timeless.

A classic work arguing the thesis that liberal or "modernist" Christianity is actually a different religion altogether.

This is one more book I wish I could get every Christian to read, especially anyone who has any connection with mainline churches.

Amazing book written some time ago and is just as true today.

The book gives a clear picture of the meaning of the two terms. The author then goes on to make a meaningful comparison of the weaknesses and strengths of the two.

Read hard..

Great read!

Written some time ago but seem current. Not much really changes in the world.

Throughout church histroy men have struggled to protect truth. This book is an excellent study of one man's battle to stay true to his fatih. It serves as a reminder to us of how truth is often lost one small step at a time.

Excellent!

Great book, still true with our present phenomenon.May we know the truth and cling to the truth,and fight for the truth.

Though this book was written over a hundred years ago, it is appropriate for these days. It is for this time a must read.

Excellent book!

This book really draws the sharp contrast between genuine Christianity and the Liberalism that attacks the truth. This book should help the reader see many similarities between the time of Dr. Machem and the present challenges faces the church and it's purity.

Important reading

great

Although an older book, the predictions and concerns voiced could not be more valid for the Western church in our times. The conspiracy of liberal denominational organizations, seminaries, and pastors is long past due for the light of the gospel to shine on it and show it for what it is. A business scam. Meanwhile, millions are going to hell without realizing they never really heard or received the gospel, but a bunch of liberal psychobabble. It's time for a spiritual awakening in our churches if not an outright revolution. Those braver enough need to call church organizations and their unskilled, poorly trained and manipulative pastorate for what they are and draw a clear and distinct line between what it means to be Christian.

The original material is excellent and well worth reading. However, the Kindle version is less than perfect, with obvious editorial errors consistent with freely available public domain sources. This Kindle edition is NOT based on the Eerdmans editions.

Still a very relevant and necessary book. It's helps the biblically orthodox keep their noses sensitized to the smell of things not Christian posing as Christian.

This book is phenomenal as a tool for thought-provoking truths and ideas to spurn thought in the modern Christian. Machen seems to have a strong grasp at the thoughts of men, and it comes across clearly in this book. An excellent read, to be sure!

Very well done.

This is an excellent little tome by the late Dr. J. Gresham Machen and though it was written many years ago his critique concerning Christianity and Liberalism is still very valid. Many of the points he makes can be applied today as well.

A thought provoking book that is relevant for our day. It goes to the heart; rather, to the roots of the issues that plague us today in Evangelical Christianity. But it doesn't stop with just a diagnosis; It presents a biblical solution that we would do well to obey. A treasure I am thankful I found.

This is an amazing book that precisely outlines the basis of attacks that liberalism makes on Christianity, including the most subtle. Insightful and no holds barred!

Machen lays out the core of the Christian faith superbly. His analysis is just as cogent today as it was ninety years ago.

Great

Excellent service. As advertised.

Still as relevant today as the day he wrote it.

Hue book was good and helpful. As theology goes the book bogs down as it combated every argument that might be raised against it but all in all not too slow and an easy read

Incredibly relevant 90 years later. I was handed a book by one of the leaders of the recent Emergent movement and Machen's arguments gave a defense against just about everything the author was propogating. Though an apologetic against Protatest Liberlism, it is also a very comforting book setting forth the foundational truths of the Faith that give us hope in this life and the life to come.

Much of this book could have been written today. The Liberalism which concerned him in the church of 1923 has taken control in many formerly evangelical and conservative denominations. The reminder of who we are as true Christians and why our churches exist is a call to Bible study and missionary action in our troubled world. My only objection is his use of the term "the Christian man" when his meaning was obviously "the Christian [person], or the Christian man "or woman." The publisher, Eerdmans, usually excellent, was negligent in not correcting this outdated and offensive approach to Christian women.

In my opinion, in a well ordered age this would unquestionably be obligatory reading for the education of literate people.

A credit to any Bible Believers library, it exposes Liberal theology as sham Christianity.

Should be in every pastor's library

One of the most truthful and interesting books I've ever read!!

Written in 1920s, but could have been written today! Great description of what is crazy about certain areas of modern Christianity in America in 2011.

It was very dry, not a good read. I would put it down thinking if I waited and picked it up later I would enjoyed it that never happen

Christianity and Liberalism is a book about standing firm upon the solid ground of historic, orthodox, Christianity. The approach that Machen takes in this work, is one of contrasting authentic Christian religion with an imposter that was wreaking havoc upon the church in the early twentieth century. This fraudulent form of the true faith was liberalism. Machen sets his tone early on stating that, “the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight” (p. 1-2). Machen is clear from the start that this is something that is not only worth contending for, but is a necessary battle for the very substance of the Christian religion. Machen finds the root of liberalism to be in naturalism, which is, “the denial of any entrance of the creative power of God (as distinguished from the ordinary course of nature) in connection with the origin of Christianity” (p. 2). A driving concern will be the role of Christianity in a scientific age, or how Christianity may be reconciled with science. Machen critiques modern liberalism’s attempt to reconcile science and Christianity as un-Christian and unscientific. He states that, “modern liberalism not only is a different religion from Christianity but belongs in a totally different class of religions” (p. 7). In an attempt to answer the modern questions of science, the modern liberal has “abandoned what he started out to defend” (p. 8). He goes on to discuss some areas in deep decline because of modern liberalism. He mentions art, literature and education as the most noteworthy examples. With all of these examples, there is a common theme that the decline has come about because of a loss of appreciation for the things of the past and a profound reliance upon utilitarianism. Machen is so alarmed by the false doctrine of modern liberalism, that he states the need for a new Reformation, arguing that the message of divine grace was “almost forgotten” as it had been in the middle ages. He will now proceed in the following chapters to set forth what Christianity is not, in order to see what it really is. The first topic under consideration is doctrine, and the remaining chapters discuss essential Christian doctrines—ones with which liberalism’s teachings are, not only innovative, but also at odds with historic Christianity. Machen makes it abundantly clear that, “the Christian movement at its inception was not just a way of life in the modern sense, but a way of life founded upon a message. It was based, not upon mere feeling, not upon a mere program of work, but upon an account of facts. In other words it was based upon doctrine” (p. 21). Not only was Christianity based upon doctrine, but “logically the doctrine came first” (p. 28). Machen makes it clear that for Paul, doctrine was a central concern of Christianity, and if doctrine is made independent from the Christian faith, “then Paulinism must be removed from Christianity root and branch” (p. 26). These essential doctrines were not only of paramount interest to Paul, but to all of the disciples of Jesus. The disciples were not merely concerned with eternal principles, but “an historical message, an account of something that had recently happened, it was the message, He is risen” (p. 29). In addition, “the primitive Church was concerned not merely with what Jesus had said, but also, and primarily, with what Jesus had done” (p. 29). It was the doctrine, and the meaning behind why Jesus had come that was the driving concern of Church, and liberalism has essentially gutted and removed this message and replaced it with one that is foreign, not only to the New Testament, but historic, Christianity. It is with this gutting of historic Christianity that Machen finds most troublesome about liberalism. Not only has the entire message of Christianity been removed and replaced with modern pragmatism, but also there has been a complete disregard for the accomplishments of the past. Machen notes, “In no branch of science would there be any real advance if every generation started fresh with no dependence upon what past generations have achieved” (p. 46). The modern liberal preacher’s rejection of doctrine is a rejection of the entire substance of the Christian religion. “Here is found the most fundamental difference between liberalism and Christianity—liberalism is altogether in the imperative mood, while Christianity begins with a triumphant indicative; liberalism appeals to man’s will, while Christianity announces, first, a gracious act of God” (p. 47). Machen’s primary purpose will be to expose liberalism as an entirely different message to that of Christianity. He saw liberalism has Christianity’s “chief modern rival” and with the remainder of the book sought to demonstrate how “at every point the two movements are in direct opposition” (p. 53). Machen now proceeds to talk about the doctrines of God and Man, and notes that these are “the two great presuppositions of the gospel” (p. 54). Differing from historic Christianity, many of the liberal preachers sought to emphasize only the teachings of Jesus and the new, false, doctrine of the universal fatherhood of God. With their emphasis on Jesus, the liberal preachers would teach that this was the only way one would become acquainted with God. They denied the need of the theistic proofs for the existence of God, and instead focused on practical knowledge. Specifically, the liberal preacher’s message was of the universal fatherhood of God, which taught that God is Father equally, whether we have repented of our sin and have been adopted into His family or not. As Machen rightly asserts regarding this doctrine, “it is not to be found in the New Testament” (p. 61). Another error of modern liberalism is its tendency to pantheize the Christian faith. As Machen notes, “It tends everywhere to break down the separateness between God and the world, and the sharp personal distinction between God and Man” (p. 63). Machen saw this error to be at the very root of modern liberalism, stating that, “there is really no such thing as sin” and that there is a “loss of the consciousness of sin” (p. 64). The result of this low view of the sinfulness of man, and the holiness of God, is a Paganistic worldview that subscribes to an overly optimistic view of man, and a small view of God. With such a worldview antithetical to Christianity, there is no gospel, and with not gospel, there is no Christianity. Machen wisely notes, “Without the consciousness of sin, the whole of the gospel will seem to be an idle tale” (p. 66). The result of the liberal undermining of biblically sound doctrines of God and Man is a church filled with people taking sin lightly and worldliness. Liberalism has no room for repentance. “Modern preachers are trying to bring men into the Church without requiring them to relinquish their pride; they are trying to help men avoid the conviction of sin” (p. 68). This concern of Machen’s was stated from the beginning when he described the lack of emphasis on the message. With no Christian gospel to preach, the Church has lost her identity. This loss of identity is rooted in a more fundamental problem with liberalism, namely, its view of Scripture. Liberalism cuts off Christian experience from the source of that experience, which is rooted in the Bible alone. Machen notes, “Christian experience is rightly used when it helps to convince us that the events narrated in the New Testament actually did occur…But cut it from its root in the blessed Book, and it soon withers away and dies” (p. 72). Furthermore, Liberalism allows for Scripture to err, which is problematic because as Machen notes, “the God whom the Christian worships is a God of truth” (p. 75). In place of the authority of the Bible, the modern liberal gives the impression that they substitute the authority of Christ, but upon closer scrutiny, “This impression, however, is utterly false” (p. 76). More importantly, Machen notes how the modern liberal only accepts Jesus’ teachings when they agree with modern ideas, but “such an authority is obviously no authority at all” (p. 78). “Christianity is founded upon the Bible. It bases upon the Bible both its thinking and its life. Liberalism on the other hand is founded upon the shifting emotions of sinful men” (p. 79). Not surprisingly, having a lack of a solid foundation in the Bible, causes the modern liberal to stumble over the person of Christ. Instead, Liberalism uses Jesus for their own ends. As Machen notes, “Jesus for him is an example of faith, not the object of faith” (p. 85). Though “the imitation of Jesus has a fundamental place in the Christian life”, it is something that is attained and rooted solely in “the redeeming work of Christ” (pp. 92-92). Once again, Liberalism makes the mistake of capitulating Christianity to serve its own ends, and emptying it of all theological content. Machen notes, “Liberalism regards Him as an Example and Guide; Christianity, as a Saviour; liberalism makes Him and example for faith; Christianity, the object of faith” (p. 96). This liberal view of Jesus, also strips Jesus of His supernatural power. Naturally, this leads to Liberalism’s problem with Jesus’ person and work. “Without the miracles we should have a teacher; with the miracles we have a Saviour” (p. 104). Not only is this, as Machen notes, “the very root of the Christian religion”, but the “supernatural is the very ground and substance of the Christian faith” (p. 105). A final Christological error propagated by Liberalism is its false view regarding the two natures of Christ. While the modern liberal used the same orthodox terminology, they often engaged in a double use of language and poured entirely different meanings into their usage of biblical vocabulary. As Machen notes, “when the liberal preacher uses the word God, he means something entirely different from that which the Christian means by the same word” (p. 110). Liberalism rejected Scripture’s plain teaching regarding Jesus’ humanity and divinity. Machen rightly points out that, “The Jesus of the New Testament has at least one advantage over the Jesus of modern reconstruction—He is real” (p. 116). Because of its errors regarding doctrine, its low view of God and sin and deficient view of Christ, it is not surprising to observe Liberalism also presenting a false gospel. The central truth of Christianity is that Jesus “took upon Himself the dreadful guilt of our sins and bore it instead of us on the cross” (p. 117). This doctrine is not only ridiculed by Liberalism, but almost entirely denied. In its place is substituted a message that Jesus provided an example of “self-sacrifice” that we should follow. However, the gospel is primarily a message concerning good news about what Jesus has done on our behalf. According the historic, Christianity, salvation is something necessary because of our hopeless predicament, but for the liberal it is merely good advice. The modern liberal also viewed salvation through Christ as one way among many others. However, the true gospel presents us with something entirely different. “Salvation, in other words, was not merely through Christ, but it was only through Christ. In that little word only lay all the offence” (p. 123). With modern Liberalism’s low view of sin and exalted view of man, there is no need of a doctrine of salvation whereby the sinner is recued from their hopeless state. Liberalism seeks a mere influence upon the life while Christianity seeks an entire new life rooted in new birth. As Machen notes, “A cardinal doctrine of modern liberalism is that the world’s evil may be overcome by the world’s good; no help is thought to be needed from the outside world” (p. 136). Liberalism also removed the doctrine of justification by faith and replaced it with a legalistic message of making Christ your Master. However, this works-based system inherent in Liberalism is antithetical to Christianity. “Faith is the exact opposite of works; faith does not give, it receives” (p. 147). Because of Liberalism’s flawed soteriology and man-centered system of works, it had very little interest in the other world. For the modern liberal, Christianity was just a means to its own end. “According to Christian belief, man exists for the sake of God; according to the modern liberal Church, in practice if not in theory, God exists for the sake of man” (p. 154). In sum, “the Christian man believes that there can be no applied Christianity unless there be a Christianity to apply. The liberal believes that applied Christianity is all there is of Christianity” (p. 155). Liberalism’s doctrine of the Church fares no better than all the rest of its erroneous doctrinal positions. “The modern liberal doctrine is that all men everywhere, no matter what their race or creed, are brothers” (p. 157). Though in in a certain sense this is true, the far greater reality is the brotherhood of the redeemed. Liberalism finds its hope in the “improvement of earthly conditions” and the redemption of “human institutions”, while Christianity finds its true purpose in the community of the redeemed. “The Church is the highest Christian answer to the social needs of man” (p. 159). Instead of the communion of the saints, Liberalism has a community of citizens devoted to the mere improvement of the city of Man, and this predicament is most problematic within the walls of the Church. “The greatest menace to the Christian Church to-day comes not from enemies outside, but from enemies within” (p. 159-160). This attack of Liberalism upon the Church is “no mere heresy”, but a “movement which is anti-Christian to the core” (p. 172-173). The fight for the true church calls not for compromisers of the faith, but “sturdy contenders for the truth” (p. 174). What Machen observed as perhaps the greatest need of the Church, was a “renewal of Christian education”, but instead lamented Liberalism’s “exaggerated emphasis on methodology” (p. 176). The remedy of this perilous state in the Church would be “by the renewal of Christian education in the family” (p. 177). The Church needs to be filled with families devoted to the truth and content of the Christian faith above all things, not pragmatism. Ultimately, Machen was hopeful for change and sincerely believed that “another Reformation in God’s good time will come” (p. 178). Christianity and Liberalism is a well-written and cogent defense of the Christian faith. Machen presents basic Christian doctrine to the reader in a compelling and lucid manner. He also does a fine job of exposing the errors of Liberalism, and of alerting the Christian Church to the urgency of this matter. Christianity and Liberalism is a well-written and cogent defense of the Christian faith. Machen presents basic Christian doctrine to the reader in a compelling and lucid manner. He also does a fine job of exposing the errors of Liberalism, and of alerting the Christian Church to the urgency of this matter. He clearly demonstrates throughout his book that Liberalism is a completely different set of beliefs as Christianity, and that Christians must reject it.

J. Gresham Machen's main burden in his book, Christianity and Liberalism, is to make a clear distinction between true Christianity and what had, by that time, been termed as liberalism. It was primarily within the context of the unparalleled advances in industry, technology, and science of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century that liberalism began to take form. Contrary to what some may believe today, liberalism did not begin as a bold-faced attempt to undermine Biblical Christianity; rather, it grew out of a growing need to address serious questions confronting Christianity at a time of such cultural upheaval and change: "What is the relation between Christianity and modern culture; may Christianity be maintained in a scientific age (6)?" Unfortunately, however, liberalism, in its attempt to `rescue' the truths of Christianity in an age where the historical and scientific accounts in Scripture where being heavily questioned and disregarded, actually began to abandon those tenets of the faith that appeared to be in contradiction with modern science. Thus, liberal teachers sought to "rescue certain of the general principles of religion, of which these particularities are thought to be mere temporary symbols, and these general principles he regards as constituting the `essence of Christianity'"(6). For example, if a bodily resurrection seemed incongruous with a modern understanding of science, then liberalism attempted to demonstrate that such teaching in Scripture, though perhaps not historically true, was symbolic of Christ's permanent influence or a "mere spiritual existence of Jesus beyond the grave" (108). As a result, Christianity could maintain its credence within the modern age, while at the same time preserving its religious form. Consequently, liberalism inserted new content into Christian language and in their endeavor to make Christianity more believable, actually turned away from the historic Christian faith. As such, liberalism, in Machen's mind, cannot be considered merely another denomination of Christianity, or even a weakened system of Christianity, but rather a whole other religion, altogether separate from Christianity. The need for a lucid demarcation between Biblical Christianity and liberalism is especially important because, as we have already observed, and as Machen substantiates throughout the rest of the book, liberalism makes use of traditional Christian language, yet the content of that language is vastly different from that of historic Christianity. Throughout the main body of the text, Machen deals with seven areas where liberalism has departed from historic Christianity: doctrine and its attendant importance in the life of God's people, God, man, the Bible, Christ, salvation, and the Church. In each section, he examines the subject matter by first accurately presenting the liberal position, and then by contrasting this teaching over against the historic Biblical position. This is a well-reasoned and powerful treatment of the differences between Christianity and Liberalism. And despite its age, this is a much-needed book today. Some questions that we might ask are: is this kind of linguistic slight-of-hand occurring today? Where and in what form? Are there movements today that are, out of good intention, endeavoring to contextualize the gospel, yet are abandoning the faith that they are seeking to proclaim. How can we expose this? And when we do find fault, are we laboring to present the opposing views honestly and accurately so that Christ will not be discredited by our devious proliferation of the truth? I believe this book will help us correctly answer these inquiries.

I grew up in a home with a VERY literate, college-educated father. He entered the ministry of a mainline Protestant church before Including was in kindergarten. What I lived with from my earliest memories was a father who was 'righteously angry' with social injustice and racial discrimination, but apparently was unable, due to an abusive father in a home without natural family love and affection, to acknowledge his own faults. I supposed myself to be Christian because I had been raised in a mainline, supposedly confessional denomination. Near my graduation from high school, I was presented with a picture of Jesus that was foreign to me. I had grown up seeing my faults and sinful self-indulgent behavior.. I had been instructed from my earliest years that my behavior was simply the 'human condition.' The Jesus I encountered was a real person, not just an historical teacher, and not a myth or legend. He lives today(the empty tomb is an historical fact apart from the Biblical text) and His words answer my present-day questions. My conclusion, from observations of almost 70 years, is that the majority of objections come from those who have held onto a Jesus that they were introduced to in Sunday School and have never met the adult Jesus. These people have constructed a 'straw man' and made that the focus of their attack. When actually confronted with historical evidence, they simply cannot or will not believe. Believing the simple truth of the 'Good News' would be having to abandon their agenda, their 'beef' with God, and they would no longer have an 'ax to grind.' I found this work to be a call for honesty, not compromise and appeasement.

John Gresham Machen 1881-1937) was a Presbyterian New Testament scholar who was Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary from 1906-1929, then led a conservative revolt against modernist theology at Princeton and formed Westminster Theological Seminary. He also led a group of conservatives out of the Northern Presbyterian Church to form the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He wrote other books such as

John Gresham Machen 1881-1937) was a Presbyterian New Testament scholar who was Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary from 1906-1929, then led a conservative revolt against modernist theology at Princeton and formed Westminster Theological Seminary. He also led a group of conservatives out of the Northern Presbyterian Church to form the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He wrote other books such as

I read Machen's "Christianity and Liberalism" twice. The first time was a half century ago when I was an undergraduate at Wheaton College. It was assigned reading in one of my freshman classes. The second time was within the past year. After graduating from college I became what one might describe as a classic Christian liberal. Although I wanted to retain some of the language of Christianity I stripped it of its supernaturalism and reinterpreted it in a way that I thought was applicable to "modern" man. (By this point I had read Tillich, Bultmann, and many other liberal theologians extensively.) It was only when I came back to an evangelical and Reformed Christianity grounded on the Word of God that I began to see the folly of attempting to pass off liberalism as Christianity. It is precisely this attempt that Machen so devastatingly analyses in this book. The overall message can be stated simply: Though liberalism may seek to retain the external trappings of Christianity, it is not Christianity at all. In fact, it presents a worldview that is diametrically opposed to the historical and biblical faith. As such, it is deceptive in its practice. Whether we're talking about the German higher critics of the nineteenth century, the subjectivism of Schleiermacher and his followers, the form critics of the early and mid-twentieth century, the liberation theologians and feminists of the second half of that century, or whatever the latest fad may be, the problem is the same. Any view not grounded on the revelation of the Word of God is not Christianity. Machen's message gets to the heart of the matter. And this is why his book is still relevant today, nearly a century after it was written.

As a more or less fundamentalist Reformed guy I am ashamed to admit to having just now finished reading J. Gresham Machen's prophetic early 20th century masterpiece, Christianity & Liberalism. I don't use words like "prophetic" and "masterpiece" lightly but they apply in this case. This isn't a sweeping novel or a supremely deep theological treatise, it is just common sense that clearly became uncommon long before I was born. Machen could clearly see the direction that "Christianity" was taking even back then and the intervening years have validated his concern. His writing is not going to win awards for nuance or prose but they hit like a hammer on page after page. The basic premise of the book, written at the beginning of the 20th century when the "mainline" denominations were starting to rot from the inside out, is that Christianity is not divided into conservatism and liberalism (or progressivism in today's parlance where liberal is a dirty word). Rather the divide is between Christianity and liberalism, and Machen is in no way subtle when he declares liberalism to be by definition not Christian and in fact a completely separate faith system. Here is Machen at his un-nuanced best: But one thing is perfectly plain – whether or not liberals are Christians, it is at any rate perfectly clear that liberalism is not Christianity. And that being the case, it is highly undesirable that liberalism and Christianity should continue to be propagated within the bounds of the same organization. A separation between the two parties in the Church is the crying need of the hour. J. Gresham Machen (0100-12-31 17:00:00-07:00). Christianity & Liberalism (Kindle Locations 2201-2204) Or as I like to put it, progressives might be Christians but if so it is in spite of, not because of, their progressive notions. Machen hits on the main topics that have led to the downfall and slow death of "mainline" Protestantism, topics like the denial of what the Bible teaches on topics like the nature of Christ, the atonement and the church and of course the main problem, a gross misunderstanding of the nature of the Bible itself. What continually stood out for me was that the same problems he pointed to almost a century ago are still infecting groups today. Not content with destroying some of the denominations that were early adopters of a functional universalism, evolution and a gender-less church, the same destructive ideas are infecting groups like the Mennonite Church-USA and like other denominations the message is that the MC-USA must capitulate and adopt these errors or risk dying, even though the evidence suggests just the opposite. Christianity & Liberalism often sounds jarring to our tender ears, steeped in contemporary political correctness as they are. I would say that we need more talk like this, unashamed, unapologetically blunt and devoid of nuance. We as the church have been nuancing ourselves to death for a century and the result is a post-apocalyptic landscape of dying local congregations and toothless church leaders who are terrified of offending the people putting the money in the offering plate and terrified of being mocked by the haughty learned in religious circles for clinging to a primitive religious system.

The first time I read Machen's "Christianity and Liberalism" was a half century ago as an undergraduate at Wheaton College. It was assigned reading in one of my freshman classes. The second time was within the past year. After graduating from college I became a classic Christian liberal. Although I wanted to retain some of the language of Christianity I stripped it of its supernaturalism and reinterpreted it in a way that I thought was applicable to "modern" man. (By this point I had read Tillich, Bultmann, and many other liberal theologians extensively.) It was only when I came back to a biblical and Reformed Christianity grounded on the Word of God that I began to see the folly of attempting to pass off liberalism as Christianity. It is precisely this attempt to dress up liberalism as though it were Christian that Machen so devastatingly analyses in this book. Machen's overall message can be stated simply: Though liberalism may seek to retain the outward trappings of Christianity, it is not Christianity at all. Instead, it presents a worldview that is diametrically opposed to the historical and biblical faith. hether we're talking about the German higher critics of the nineteenth century, the subjectivism of Schleiermacher and his followers, the form critics of the early and mid-twentieth century, the liberation theologians and feminists of the second half of that century, or whatever the latest fad may be, the problem is the same. Any view not grounded on the revelation of the Word of God is not Christianity. Machen's message is timeless. And this is why his book is still relevant today, nearly a century after it was written.

Rarely do you find a book written almost a century ago that is still relevant for today. The things I have read by J. C. Ryle (1815 - 1900) certainly are. So is this defense of orthodox Christianity by the distinguished professor of New Testament J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937). Both World magazine and Christianity Today named it one of the top 100 books of the Twentieth Century. He helped found both Westminster Theological Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church as alternatives to liberalism. This book was written to contrast the teachings of Scripture versus the teachings of liberalism. Machen's premise is that true Christianity and Liberalism are two distinct religions (pg. 135). In other words, liberal Christianity is a misnomer. The tenants of liberal theology and Christian doctrine are opposed. He does a masterful job of proving his point. A reoccurring theme is that Christianity is a faith that is based upon fact. "But if Christian faith is based upon truth, then it is not the faith which saves the Christian, but the object of the faith" (pg. 120). "The narration of the facts is history; the narration of the facts with the meaning of the facts is doctrine" (pg. 25). This includes the miraculous. "Reject the miracles and you have in Jesus the fairest flower of humanity who made such an impression upon His followers that after His death they could not believe that He had perished but experienced hallucinations in which they thought they saw Him risen from the dean: accept the miracles, and you have a Saviour who came voluntarily into this world for our salvation, suffered for our sins upon the Cross, rose again from the dead by the power of God and ever lives to make intercession for us. The difference between those two views is the difference between two diverse religions" (pg. 93). As Carl Trueman wrote in the foreword to this second edition, "It is no wonder, then, that liberalism is totally different from Christianity, for the foundation is different. Christianity is founded upon the Bible. It bases upon the Bible both its thinking and its life. Liberalism on the other hand is founded upon the shifting emotions of sinful men."

John Gresham Machen 1881-1937) was a Presbyterian New Testament scholar who was Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary from 1906-1929, then led a conservative revolt against modernist theology at Princeton and formed Westminster Theological Seminary. He also led a group of conservatives out of the Northern Presbyterian Church to form the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He wrote other books such as

John Gresham Machen 1881-1937) was a Presbyterian New Testament scholar who was Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary from 1906-1929, then led a conservative revolt against modernist theology at Princeton and formed Westminster Theological Seminary. He also led a group of conservatives out of the Northern Presbyterian Church to form the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He wrote other books such as

John Gresham Machen 1881-1937) was a Presbyterian New Testament scholar who was Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary from 1906-1929, then led a conservative revolt against modernist theology at Princeton and formed Westminster Theological Seminary. He also led a group of conservatives out of the Northern Presbyterian Church to form the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He wrote other books such as

Christianity and liberalism is perhaps the best-known book length treatise against early 20th century theological liberalism in America. It was published as the famous "Fundamentalist-Modernist" controversy was heating up, and has since been one of the clearest contrasting descriptions of the heart of the difference between modernist liberal Christianity and historical Christian orthodoxy. The major thesis of the book is that Liberalism (modernist theology) and Christianity are diametrically opposed religions that unfortunately use the same language to describe their opposite views of things. He states, "the great redemptive religion which has always been known as Christianity is battling against a totally diverse type of religious belief, which is only more destructive of the Christian faith because it makes use of Christian terminology." Later he states in his thesis, "...we shall be interested in showing that despite the liberal use of traditional phraseology modern liberalism is not only a different religion from Christianity, but belongs to a totally different class of religions." Machen is interested not in necessarily proving that Liberalism is wrong as he is in explaining that it is not Christian. His burden is not to disprove the tenants of Liberalism (although he speaks some to that end), but to simply describe each clearly and make obvious the huge divergence of thinking in the two groups. Although Machen is perhaps "the" great Fundamentalists, on must keep in mind this was before Fundamentalist meant: narrow, reactionary, separatist, nationalistic, literalist, ignorant, and the like. Whether or not those descriptions have ever been fair of Fundamentalism, if one presently maintains those stereotypes the honest maintenance of them requires not reading this volume. In 1923 Fundamentalist simply meant one not willing to relinquish the fundamental tenants of Christianity. In fact Machen's overwhelming descriptive word of self identification is "evangelical"- another word quickly loosing its meaning. In terms of the place of this book now, I consider it utterly contemporary. The fact that it is more than 80 years old and still so incisive simply reveals the depth of understanding Machen had. I would then wholeheartedly recommend the book for three reasons: 1. It is an important document in understanding the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy of American Christianity which is still being fought everywhere. 2. It is among the best and most direct contrast of two very different views of what the Christian faith is. 3. It is a scholarly and thoughtful work written in the proper spirit of Christian disagreement. I was moved by Machen's clear desire to stand directly and forcefully against what he saw to be the greatest danger to the church he loved so much and yet to do so with a great deal of humble restraint. This book should be read as an example of Machen's vision of what the doctrinal "fights" over liberalism should have looked like. His excellence in merging orthodoxy with erudition with crystal clear argumentation creates an example of Christian polemical writing that is not often surpassed. Finally, due to the permutations in liberalism and its incorporation of postmodern language and categories I think this book is all the more critical for contemporary Christians. It's hard to properly enter a conversation, or fight, that is a century old without knowing something about how it got going.

There are a great many books one can read explaining traditional Christian theology, but if you are looking for a book that explains why traditional doctrine matters, then there is no better place to start than this gem by J. Gresham Machen, published in 1923. Machen, then professor at Princeton Seminary, was writing at a time when liberalism was making headway into traditional Protestant churches. This liberalism denied the historical accuracy of the Scriptures and the Divinity of Christ, among other things. Of course, it did that while at the same time saying that it "really" believed these things, but just expressed in a different way. Machen exposes the agenda of liberalism quite brilliantly. What is funny is that this liberalism isn't much different than that advocated today. For example, Machen said that it tended toward pantheism. "In modern liberalism, on the other hand, this sharp distinction between God and the world is broken down, and the name `God' is applied to the mighty world process itself. . . . It is strange how such a representation can be regarded as anything new, for as a matter of fact, pantheism is a very ancient phenomenon." [p. 63.] This was years before "process theology" became the vogue. A particularly interesting part of this work are Machen's political insights. He saw clearly the dangers of democratic conformism and brilliantly applied it to contemporary trends to exalt public education. "The truth is that the materialistic paternalism . . . if allowed to go unchecked, will rapidly make of America one huge `Main Street,' where spiritual adventure will be discouraged and democracy will be regarded as consisting in the reduction of all mankind to the proportions of the narrowest and least gifted of the citizens." [pp. 14-15.]

Today, when most Americans consider the word "liberalism", we think of a political philosophy or party. In the late 19th and into the early 20th century, however, there was a movement within the Protestant church known as Liberalism. While this religious movement does have some commonalities with political liberalism (a basic belief in man's goodness and a strong humanitarian ethic, for instance), in their particulars they are really two very different things. It is religious Liberalism which Machen addresses in this book, which was written in 1923. The main thrust of the Protestant Liberalism movement was a supposed focus on the work and teaching of Jesus, without holding to any dogmatic theological distinctions. In other words, liberals believed that Jesus was the highest moral example for men to follow, and that we should do what he did: Care for the poor, promote peace, and preach a message of love. Doing these things, says the liberal, promotes the betterment of society, but does not require any belief in the supernatural. The Bible is treated as a moral guidebook, but is not the inerrant Word of God. The Biblical claims of Jesus' virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, and bodily resurrection from the dead are regarded with skepticism, but are ultimately seen as unimportant relative to the practical application of Jesus' teachings. Machen's main premise is that Liberalism is completely antithetical to Christianity. He then proceeds to lay out an incredible defense of orthodox Protestantism, comparing it at each point with the Liberalism that had gained so much popularity in the churches of that time. He begins the discussion with an overview of why doctrine is so important, and why inerrancy is non-negotiable to anyone who claims to be a Christian. After all, if the Bible is not true, we have no basis for believing anything about Jesus. If it is true, then we must believe everything it says about Him. Furthermore, the liberal's claim to hold only to Jesus' words and deeds is inconsistent with their denial of the supernatural, because Jesus made several indisputable claims to deity (as well as to the authority of Scripture). Essentially, Machen is making C.S. Lewis' trilemma argument ("Liar, Lunatic, or Lord") twenty years before the publication of Mere Christianity. Machen then contrasts Christianity and Liberalism in the areas of several doctrines critical to Christian belief: * Our understanding of who God is * Man's relationship with God and standing before Him * The person and work of Christ * What salvation is and the means by which man may attain it * The role of the Church Because the liberal teaching in these areas is mutually exclusive with the traditional, orthodox positions held by the Church for nearly 2,000 years (and, more importantly, given to us in God's Word), Machen proposes that, for the sake of intellectual honesty, liberals ought to stop referring to themselves as "Christians", and instead join or create a different religious sect that more closely aligns with their beliefs. The Christian Church was founded on certain principles, and it is dishonest to represent the Church when one does not hold to those principles. The reasons liberals are unwilling to make such a break from the Christian Church are many, but one of the primary motivations is a desire to gain control of the considerable resources of evangelical churches and use them for the advancement of liberal aims. Machen issues a call for conservative Christians to uphold the Truth of the real Gospel and to stand up against the advancement of Liberalism in the Church. This is done in four ways: (1) Encouraging those evangelists and apologists who are engaged in the intellectual and spiritual struggle; (2) set a higher standard of qualifications of candidates for ministry; (3) preach the Cross of Christ at all times, to all people, in all situations; and (4) bring about a renewal of Christian education, beginning in the home. This book is possibly even more relevant now than it was in 1923. If it weren't for the language used, one wouldn't know this wasn't written last week. Liberalism is alive and well in the Church today, though it goes by many other names now. Modernism has given way to postmodernism, but the struggle is still the same. Satan has no need to introduce new lies when the old ones are working better than ever. Read it. You won't regret it.

There are certain men that the Lord Jesus Christ has raised-up for teaching beyond their generation. Knowingly or not, they saw well beyond their years and circumstances. They understood the Bible and the world well enough to see clearly beyond the horizon of their own time in history. One such man is J. Gresham Machen. His book Christianity and Liberalism is a book that is as poignant and relevant today as when it was first published. Written to expose how the battle of Modernism vs. Fundamentalism in the early 1900's was not merely an intramural struggle between Christians of different doctrinal persuasions. Rather, the struggle was between two separate and antithetical religions (Biblical Christianity vs. Liberalism) that while sharing a religious language and forms have absolutely nothing in common. Machen writes concerning Christianity and Liberalism these words, "In my little book, Christianity and Liberalism, I tried to show that the issue in the Church of the present day is not between two varieties of the same religion, but, at bottom, between two essentially different types of thought and life. There is much interlocking of the branches, but the two tendencies, Modernism and supernaturalism, or (otherwise designated) non-doctrinal religion and historic Christianity, spring from different roots. In particular, I tried to show that Christianity is not a "life," as distinguished from a doctrine, and not a life that has doctrine as its changing symbolic expression, but that-exactly the other way around-it is a life founded on a doctrine." For Machen, under the moniker "the church" there were two completely different religions. In the same denomination, even in the same congregation there were worshippers of two entirely separate but not equal religions. Though they both spoke of God, Christ, salvation, church, heaven, and hell, what they meant by these things were irreconcilably different. One spoke of a man-centered religion that calls man to be as moral and he can, while the other is a Christ-centered religion that saves man from God's wrath because he cannot be as moral as he should. What makes this book so significant is that it sounds hauntingly familar to today's Christian church. Is today's Evangelical church the step-daughter of early 20th century liberalism? Read and decided for yourself as Machen defines how the Christ denying liberals of his day defined Christ, sin, salvation, Bible and a host of other doctrines. It will sound amazingly simular. Though an easy book to read and understand, it is not for the faint of heart. If I could get today's pastors and lay church goers to read only one book this year - this would be it. Enjoy!

This was written 100 years ago by a preacher who was fired by Princeton for being too conservative. True Christians need to separate from liberals in their churches and schools who do not believe Jesus saved but think being a good neighbor is all that you need

The message of this famous classic of the Christian faith is more desperately needed in the 21st century than it was in the early 20th century. Since Machen wrote, the philosophical and theological trends that generated the issues he was addressing have become more firmly entrenched in the consciousness not only of the culture at large, but of evangelical Christianity in particular. The major thesis of this books is not that theological liberalism is bad, although Machen leaves little doubt of his opinion of it. Rather, the major thesis is that theologically liberal Christianity is not Christianity at all, and that toward every one of the most fundamental teachings of historic Christianity, theological liberalism takes an antithetical stance. These fundamental teachings are expounded in seven brief chapters, covering an introduction, doctrine in general, God & man, the Bible, the person of Jesus Christ, salvation, and the church. The position of the liberal church toward doctrine is that Christianity should be an undogmatic religion, unconcerned with theological subtleties. Christianity should be a life, not a system of doctrine. Certainly at this point, liberalism could not possibly be more firmly allied with contemporary mainstream evangelicalism. Anti-doctrinalism goes hand in hand with the two most pervasive philosophical currents of our age, postmodernism with its radical relativism, and existentialism, with its radical subjectivism and distrust of objective systems in general. Machen shows that the religion of both the apostle Paul and Jesus Christ himself was as dogmatic as possible. For example, even in the Sermon on the Mount, a favorite passage among theological liberals, "Jesus represents Himself as seated on the judgment seat of all the earth . . . Could anything be further removed than such a Jesus from the humble teacher of righteousness appealed to by modern liberalism?" Concerning God and Man, Machen emphasizes the liberal tendency to break down the separateness between God and Man and to take an optimistic view of human goodness. One of the most penetrating insights in the book is that "modern liberalism, even when it is not consistently pantheistic, is at any rate pantheizing." This is in opposition to the orthodox teaching of the absoluteness of the Creator-creature distinction, and also of the absolute moral gulf between God and Man as a result of sin, hopelessly unbridgeable apart from the work of Jesus Christ. Related to the aversion of liberalism to doctrine, or an objective summary of truth, is a corresponding mistrust of the Bible, and the rejection of the Bible's authority as God's Word. Liberalism claims to replace the authority of the Bible with the authority of Jesus Himself, but having rejected the teachings of Jesus in the Bible and through the apostles, this authority amounts to nothing more than the authority of personally selected isolated instances of Jesus' words, interpreted to conform to the liberal religion. In the person of Jesus Christ, liberalism sees an example for faith, but not an object of faith. This is because the driving principle of liberalism, anti-supernaturalism, cannot admit the historical teaching of who Jesus Christ really was. For liberalism "Jesus differs from the rest of men only in degree, and not in kind: He can be divine only if all men are divine." Concerning salvation, liberalism sees the source of salvation in man; Christianity sees it in God. Machen also shows that what distinguished early Christianity from the pagan religions of the time was specifically its exclusiveness. Paganism, like modern liberalism, had no problem with many roads to God and many gods, but it has a very deep problem with the exclusivity of Christianity. Finally, the very concept of salvation in Christianity is concerned with heaven, or the future world and life, while modern liberalism is concerned only with this world. This is in my estimation the area in which the majority of Reformed Christians have in fact followed liberalism, specifically with the contemporary preoccupation with cultural transformation as the means to institute God's kingdom on this earth. This is precisely the idea that unambiguously characterizes unbelieving thought, from the rebellious nation of Israel, through the Pharisees, and into the Enlightenment and modern liberalism. Until the European Enlightenment, the true church had consistently affirmed that the world is not our home. The final chapter on the church is where we have the best glimpse of Machen himself. What Machen could not understand was that if liberalism was so clearly another religion, why it insisted on calling itself Christianity. As far as he was concerned, this was just plain dishonesty. It is in this chapter that he says that he has no problem with liberalism establishing itself as a separate religion competing with Christianity. But calling itself Christianity when it was clearly not, spreading its non-Christian teachings to Christians, and with liberal ministers taking ordination vows to historic confessions of faith which could not possibly be sincere, this was the liberalism against which Machen fought for his whole life, a battle which in the mainline Presbyterian church he ultimately lost. This book clearly and powerfully sets forth what was at stake in the battle, which was and remains nothing other than Christianity itself. The book is well worth reading for all Christians who are committed to their faith. It is not a difficult book to read, and the fundamental issues have changed very little in one hundred years.

This is an outstanding book. Machen was a staunch defender of Christian orthodoxy. He was alarmed at the departure from essential tenets of the faith by liberal theologians. His insights were prescient in that he predicted the dire consequences that would result from attempts to reinvent Christianity. Machen did a great job of identifying the fault lines that would widen the gulf between the conservative and liberal wings of Christian denominations. His focus was on the developments in theological academia during the Progressive Era of American history. Several universities and seminaries allowed heretical teachings to flourish in their midst during the period. This is a must-read book for people interested in the reasons why the modern ecclesiastical community is plagued by division and internecine warfare to the present day.

This book, while certainly brilliant, is one that I wish had never needed to be written. Further, it is a book that I wish would not need to be read today. Why? Because both the initial writing of the book as well as its sustained relevance represents an atrocious and constant backsliding on the part of many within the so-called body of Christ towards a religion that is indeed different than the historic Christian faith. Machen echoes what should be common knowledge among believers today, which is that many theological liberals have successfully coopted many buzzwords within Christianese, redefined them to suit their theological leanings, and made them their own to such a degree that it is quite amazing that many who sound quite Christian in their terminology are advocating such decidedly unChristian philosophies. Contemporary defenders of the Christian faith, if they could take just one thing away from this book, should carefully note the extensive detail Machen gives to emphasizing the need for clear definitions of terms so that everyone knows what meanings and concepts everyone else is applying to certain critical words. Often, the sharp theological and philosophical differences that many try to downplay become very stark and very clear quite early on once people are respectfully asked to explain what definitions and ideas they ascribe to certain terms. This approach is of critical need in our apologetic and defense today. Machen does a brilliant job of showing that theological liberalism, no matter how Christian it sounds, denies the essence of the Christian faith by denying the infallibility of the Bible, the deity of Christ, the sovereignty of God, the process of salvation, and the proper role of the Church. Such backslidden conditions are officially commonplace, unfortunately, in many of the mainline denominations. But such backslidden views are also becoming commonplace, albeit unofficially, among many Roman Catholics and evangelicals as well. I am convinced that these results are due in sufficient measure to the sometimes deliberate deemphasizing of theological fundamentals in many contemporary church pulpits today in an effort to present a more accessible faith to unbelievers. And while I don't have a problem with the latter by itself, I believe when this goal is supposedly achieved by backburnering the basic doctrines upon which the historic Christian faith stands or falls, we should not be surprised when we see otherwise faithful believers embracing concepts that the Bible clearly and repeatedly runs in opposition to. In summary, given the continued official theological drift of many of the mainline denominations, coupled with an alarming unofficial drift among many supposed theological conservatives, I believe that Machen's work, unfortunately, should be required reading for pastors, staffmembers, and adult education students in every church in America that wants to stay true to the historic faith and says it is committed to doing so. This book, in a concise way, clearly shines a light on the lines of demarkation between theological liberalism and conservatism. And in the process, successfully refutes the bankruptcy of the former and affirming the integrity of the latter. I wish the Church was in better shape and being more faithful to the God we claim to worship. But until that happens, I think Machen's work will continue to be relevant and sorely needed as a devastating rebuke of humanism dressed in Christian linguistics.

Few books have had as pivotal a role in the battle of ideas as J. Gresham Machen's Christianity and Liberalism. Machen's classic was written in the height of the battle for control over the Presbyterian Church USA (the most prominent of the "mainline denominations"), and defines with brilliance the battle lines between liberal (so-called) Christianity and the orthodox faith. Moreover, it points out exactly what is at stake: the true faith, as opposed to a perverse shadow of that faith, a shadow based on subjectivism which elevates man's sovereignty over God's and ends in believing nothing at all. It is important to understand that the liberalism Machen castigates is not political but theological (although many if not most of the liberals of the latter camp fell also in the former, numerous prominent political liberals -- such as three-time Democrat Presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan -- fought alongside Machen). This theological liberalism manifests itself in many ways, but is chiefly characterized by a rejection of Scripture as infallibly inspired, a denial of the doctrines of the Fall and of Hell, and a belief in man's evolutionary self-perfection (process theology, with progress guided by an "enlightened" elite). Machen correctly asserts that this is not merely a different approach to the Gospel, but is in fact a different gospel: an exchange of God's sovereignty for man's, God's law-word for man's, God's eternal, unchanging standards for man's evolving, situation ethics. For this reason, Machen contends that liberalism and Christianity are separate things: rival religions, permanently at war. The one problem with this book (a fault which made good rhetorical sense at the time, but which is somewhat misleading concerning the true nature of the struggle) is Machen's choice of categories. Machen deals with theological conservatives and liberals (legitimate in terms of the Bible's own dichotomy between saved and lost), but misses the inescapable fact that there was a third faction at work in the church (a fact which eventually resulted in his defrocking). That third faction was the great mushy evanjellyfish middle, a pietistic/mystical majority which was neither willing to accept the liberal position nor fight for the conservative cause. As Machen had rightly pointed out two years earlier in his address to incoming students at Princeton (and again, much later, in the last two years of the struggle), these were the Christians who said "'Peace, peace', when there was no peace", and elevated that "peace" over truth. As in all other endeavors, "peace at any price" resulted in defeat, and in the end, it was that great mushy middle which delivered the PCUSA to the left (and over the cliff). Even so, it is important to note when examining this struggle that the conservatives largely threw the game away. I strongly recommend North's Crossed Fingers, the only definitive history of this fight and a masterful analysis of the tactics and mistakes of both sides. Yet at the end of the day, you must read Machen. This book is vital for Christians defending their churches and denominations against increasing liberal encroachment, and indeed more so by the day. It is as groundbreaking as it is timeless.

Today, when most Americans consider the word "liberalism", we think of a political philosophy or party. In the late 19th and into the early 20th century, however, there was a movement within the Protestant church known as Liberalism. While this religious movement does have some commonalities with political liberalism (a basic belief in man's goodness and a strong humanitarian ethic, for instance), in their particulars they are really two very different things. It is religious Liberalism which Machen addresses in this book, which was written in 1923. The main thrust of the Protestant Liberalism movement was a supposed focus on the work and teaching of Jesus, without holding to any dogmatic theological distinctions. In other words, liberals believed that Jesus was the highest moral example for men to follow, and that we should do what he did: Care for the poor, promote peace, and preach a message of love. Doing these things, says the liberal, promotes the betterment of society, but does not require any belief in the supernatural. The Bible is treated as a moral guidebook, but is not the inerrant Word of God. The Biblical claims of Jesus' virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, and bodily resurrection from the dead are regarded with skepticism, but are ultimately seen as unimportant relative to the practical application of Jesus' teachings. Machen's main premise is that Liberalism is completely antithetical to Christianity. He then proceeds to lay out an incredible defense of orthodox Protestantism, comparing it at each point with the Liberalism that had gained so much popularity in the churches of that time. He begins the discussion with an overview of why doctrine is so important, and why inerrancy is non-negotiable to anyone who claims to be a Christian. After all, if the Bible is not true, we have no basis for believing anything about Jesus. If it is true, then we must believe everything it says about Him. Furthermore, the liberal's claim to hold only to Jesus' words and deeds is inconsistent with their denial of the supernatural, because Jesus made several indisputable claims to deity (as well as to the authority of Scripture). Essentially, Machen is making C.S. Lewis' trilemma argument ("Liar, Lunatic, or Lord") twenty years before the publication of Mere Christianity. Machen then contrasts Christianity and Liberalism in the areas of several doctrines critical to Christian belief: * Our understanding of who God is * Man's relationship with God and standing before Him * The person and work of Christ * What salvation is and the means by which man may attain it * The role of the Church Because the liberal teaching in these areas is mutually exclusive with the traditional, orthodox positions held by the Church for nearly 2,000 years (and, more importantly, given to us in God's Word), Machen proposes that, for the sake of intellectual honesty, liberals ought to stop referring to themselves as "Christians", and instead join or create a different religious sect that more closely aligns with their beliefs. The Christian Church was founded on certain principles, and it is dishonest to represent the Church when one does not hold to those principles. The reasons liberals are unwilling to make such a break from the Christian Church are many, but one of the primary motivations is a desire to gain control of the considerable resources of evangelical churches and use them for the advancement of liberal aims. Machen issues a call for conservative Christians to uphold the Truth of the real Gospel and to stand up against the advancement of Liberalism in the Church. This is done in four ways: (1) Encouraging those evangelists and apologists who are engaged in the intellectual and spiritual struggle; (2) set a higher standard of qualifications of candidates for ministry; (3) preach the Cross of Christ at all times, to all people, in all situations; and (4) bring about a renewal of Christian education, beginning in the home. This book is possibly even more relevant now than it was in 1923. If it weren't for the language used, one wouldn't know this wasn't written last week. Liberalism is alive and well in the Church today, though it goes by many other names now. Modernism has given way to postmodernism, but the struggle is still the same. Satan has no need to introduce new lies when the old ones are working better than ever. Read it. You won't regret it.

After reading this book I did not know whether to write a review or critique Mr. John M K's review of the book-both were equally interesting. Machen's basic thesis, as others have pointed out, is that Liberalism is not another form of Christianity, but a religion separate and distinct from Christianity. Liberals claim that Jesus is the essence of Christianity; Machens then asks them to qualify that statement, which turns out that there Jesus is about as historical, and inspiring, as Tolkien's Gandalf. Now don't get me wrong, I loved LOTR, but if the Christ of faith is divorced from the Christ of Histor, then, pray tell, what is the difference between Gandalf and Jesus? The only answer for Christianity is that there is a transcendent God who has revealed himself historically in His Son Jesus. Machen further delineates this by mandating the Cross and Resurrection as an Historical event. Mr MK claims that the PCUSA is right and the conservatives are wrong. Well, that is an interesting statement, and I grant him his right to it, but why didn't he prove it? He let me down. He challenged historic Christianity, but did not back up his challenge. He then proceeds to talk about Communism for three lines or more with no particular reason for doing so. In all honesty, I searched his review long and hard for a sentence or even a clause relating to the book at hand; alas, I could find it not. This book is the line drawn in the sand for Christians. "Separation is the crying need of the hour. The things about which men disagree, those are the ones about which men ought to fight."

This book is a terrific defense of Christian orthodoxy. It is amazing to see what Machen wrote 80 years ago is still true today. He calls liberalism another religion (which it is). What is interesting to note is that the Word-of-Faith movement is a lot like the liberal movement of the early 20th century. They do not think theology matters, and they are very relative in their understanding of truth. This is the same way that the liberal movement is today, also. They are 'pratically' oriented, and not oriented by the Word of God! The ideals of the Protestant Reformers have been thrown at the window, because 'they are too 16th century.' Machen does a great job critiquing Liberalism from six different facets: Doctrine, God and Man, The Bible, Christ, Salvation, and The Church. I have already gone into his critique of the liberal movement on doctrine, namely that they do not see it's importance. They have a demoted view of God (as does the Word-of-faith). They stress the immanence of God (as does pantheism or panentheism), and do not see the transcendence of God in the same light. Then, they see the universality of the brotherhood of man. As far as the Bible is concerned they reject the authority and inerrancy of the Bible, and they remove the foundaton of the Christian faith! They see Christ as just a normal man. That He isn't actually God, but that He was a very moral man. And lastly, their view of the Church is not what it should be. They deflate the Church to become a social entity, rather than a place to worship the Holy God! Machen does a terrific job to critique this abberation. A modern day wake-up call.

The message of this famous classic of the Christian faith is more desperately needed in the 21st century than it was in the early 20th century. Since Machen wrote, the philosophical and theological trends that generated the issues he was addressing have become more firmly entrenched in the consciousness not only of the culture at large, but of evangelical Christianity in particular. The major thesis of this books is not that theological liberalism is bad, although Machen leaves little doubt of his opinion of it. Rather, the major thesis is that theologically liberal Christianity is not Christianity at all, and that toward every one of the most fundamental teachings of historic Christianity, theological liberalism takes an antithetical stance. These fundamental teachings are expounded in seven brief chapters, covering an introduction, doctrine in general, God & man, the Bible, the person of Jesus Christ, salvation, and the church. The position of the liberal church toward doctrine is that Christianity should be an undogmatic religion, unconcerned with theological subtleties. Christianity should be a life, not a system of doctrine. Certainly at this point, liberalism could not possibly be more firmly allied with contemporary mainstream evangelicalism. Anti-doctrinalism goes hand in hand with the two most pervasive philosophical currents of our age, postmodernism with its radical relativism, and existentialism, with its radical subjectivism and distrust of objective systems in general. Machen shows that the religion of both the apostle Paul and Jesus Christ himself was as dogmatic as possible. For example, even in the Sermon on the Mount, a favorite passage among theological liberals, "Jesus represents Himself as seated on the judgment seat of all the earth . . . Could anything be further removed than such a Jesus from the humble teacher of righteousness appealed to by modern liberalism?" Concerning God and Man, Machen emphasizes the liberal tendency to break down the separateness between God and Man and to take an optimistic view of human goodness. One of the most penetrating insights in the book is that "modern liberalism, even when it is not consistently pantheistic, is at any rate pantheizing." This is in opposition to the orthodox teaching of the absoluteness of the Creator-creature distinction, and also of the absolute moral gulf between God and Man as a result of sin, hopelessly unbridgeable apart from the work of Jesus Christ. Related to the aversion of liberalism to doctrine, or an objective summary of truth, is a corresponding mistrust of the Bible, and the rejection of the Bible's authority as God's Word. Liberalism claims to replace the authority of the Bible with the authority of Jesus Himself, but having rejected the teachings of Jesus in the Bible and through the apostles, this authority amounts to nothing more than the authority of personally selected isolated instances of Jesus' words, interpreted to conform to the liberal religion. In the person of Jesus Christ, liberalism sees an example for faith, but not an object of faith. This is because the driving principle of liberalism, anti-supernaturalism, cannot admit the historical teaching of who Jesus Christ really was. For liberalism "Jesus differs from the rest of men only in degree, and not in kind: He can be divine only if all men are divine." Concerning salvation, liberalism sees the source of salvation in man; Christianity sees it in God. Machen also shows that what distinguished early Christianity from the pagan religions of the time was specifically its exclusiveness. Paganism, like modern liberalism, had no problem with many roads to God and many gods, but it has a very deep problem with the exclusivity of Christianity. Finally, the very concept of salvation in Christianity is concerned with heaven, or the future world and life, while modern liberalism is concerned only with this world. This is in my estimation the area in which the majority of Reformed Christians have in fact followed liberalism, specifically with the contemporary preoccupation with cultural transformation as the means to institute God's kingdom on this earth. This is precisely the idea that unambiguously characterizes unbelieving thought, from the rebellious nation of Israel, through the Pharisees, and into the Enlightenment and modern liberalism. Until the European Enlightenment, the true church had consistently affirmed that the world is not our home. The final chapter on the church is where we have the best glimpse of Machen himself. What Machen could not understand was that if liberalism was so clearly another religion, why it insisted on calling itself Christianity. As far as he was concerned, this was just plain dishonesty. It is in this chapter that he says that he has no problem with liberalism establishing itself as a separate religion competing with Christianity. But calling itself Christianity when it was clearly not, spreading its non-Christian teachings to Christians, and with liberal ministers taking ordination vows to historic confessions of faith which could not possibly be sincere, this was the liberalism against which Machen fought for his whole life, a battle which in the mainline Presbyterian church he ultimately lost. This book clearly and powerfully sets forth what was at stake in the battle, which was and remains nothing other than Christianity itself. The book is well worth reading for all Christians who are committed to their faith. It is not a difficult book to read, and the fundamental issues have changed very little in one hundred years.

J. Gresham Machen clearly did not believe that theology must be changed or altered because of changes in society and/or scientific advancement. Other theologians believed that believed theology ought to change because of changes man perceives the world around him and discoveries about the past in how the bible came into being. These scholars proudly called themselves liberal. The author of this book presents arguments why orthodox believing theologians ought not view the liberal theologian as Christian but more like someone who belongs to another religious sect. He argues the Liberal Theologian does not believe in the depravity of man, man's need for salvation, and to be reconciled to his creator. The Liberal theologian uses scholarship to disprove and dismiss the bible as true. Through logic and philosophy, he dismisses the concept of an all powerful and all knowing Creator. Liberal theologians deny the supernatural therefore the concept of man who does miracles while he walks on this earth must be discredited. So these theologians deny the Jesus as described in the bible. Instead they try to piece together another kind of Jesus who is not God and cannot do miracles. These philosophers present Jesus as example of what a Christian should be. "Concealment and Pallistation" Terms used by Dr. Machen to describe the presentation of their theology to their parishioners. Do these liberal theologians openly present their ideas and concepts to members of the church they are trying to be hired. When he he is hired he says he consents to the creeds and doctrines of the church, but in fact he does not. Once hired he teaches another Gospel. He uses the same terms and/or phrases but he changes their meanings to fit his theology. The author discusses what it means to be a pluralistic tolerant society. Individuals have the right to believe or reject ideas of his choosing. He has the right to form associations based on his beliefs and ideas. These associations have a right to exclude those who do not agree with their ideas or purpose. A person has has an obligation to be forthright whether he agrees or disagrees with the ideas of the group or association. An organisation has the right to cast out members who through deception join said group. Thesis of this book argues that that Christianity and Liberalism are different and distinct religions. Those who proudly state they are liberal theologians have different idea of what God the Father and who Jesus is. The Father is carefree, He loves his whole creation, and is highly tolerant of diverse behavior. Jesus is God or at least has God in Him. He is the ultimate example of manhood and is a great philosopher. He died on the cross as an extreme example. Christianity therefore is completely altered into different thought pattern. The facts in history are completely changed. The supernatural acts of Jesus are denied. Man is no longer doomed for hell. There is no need for atonement. Man does not need to repent. There is no need to teach the Gospel. The author of book found this theology intolerable and it followers would be doomed.

J. Gresham Machen's magnum opus, Christianity & Liberalism, is a book that everyone concerned about the demise of American Christianity should read. At first one might not find the title of his book all that striking, but in its day (1923), it had a little more punch. Machen was trying to show that Christianity and liberalism were two separate plans of salvation, two separate faiths--in short, two entirely different religious systems. In his day, it was thought that liberalism was a fresh new approach to Christianity, a way of practicing the faith in the modern context. But in Machen's thinking, however, liberalism had "relinquished everything distinctive of Christianity, so that what remains is in essentials only that same indefinite type of religious aspiration which was in the world before Christianity came upon the scene." Machen set out therefore to bring all the issues out into the open and make clear-cut distinctions between the two faiths: "What that message is can be made clear, as is the case with all definition, only by way of exclusion, by way of contrast." But this approach wasn't always well received: "Presenting an issue sharply is indeed by no means a popular business at the present time....Clear-cut definition of terms in religious matters, bold facing of the logical implications of religious views, is by many persons regarded as an impious proceeding...But with such persons we cannot possibly bring ourselves to agree. Light may seem at times to be an impertinent intruder, but it is always beneficial in the end. The type of religion which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases, regardless of their meanings, or shrinks from "controversial" matters, will never stand amid the shocks of life. In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight." Machen was an extremely clear writer! and thinker. His insight with regard to the battle of orthodox Christianity in the liberal context of the 20's is of tremendous relevance for modern Christians of all stripes concerned about the loss of substance, meaning, theology, etc, in the contemporary church. After reading Christianity & Liberalism, you'll definately want to order his other classic, What Is Faith (1925).

I can see why Protestants would rate this 5 stars. This book is basically repeating Martin Luther's positions which had been largely watered down over time. But if you aren't a Protestant, this book will just irritate you. I am not Christian myself but I admire traditional Christianity as represented by Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Those branches of Christianity which emphasized works have contributed a lot to the world. Within Protestantism, it was John Calvin who added works back, which Luther had removed. Calvin insisted on works as a sign of faith. This worked fine until the enlightenment undermined faith. The result is that virtually all of Protestantism is now the most liberal religion in the world. It is the extreme dependency on faith which make Protestantism unable to stand up to Liberalism. Orthodox Judaism and Islam, which aren't so dependent on faith, do not suffer from this problem. I only read the beginning of the book and then stopped because I couldn't tolerate the misinformation. The old Jerusalem Church most certainly did not share Paul's views. Paul was basically a renegade heretic of the Jerusalem Church, but he deserves credit anyway for his success in spreading Christianity. The New Testament contains both sides of the faith versus works issue with James and Jesus clearly being on the opposite side of Paul. Paul won but reasonable forms of Christianity recognize the importance of both works and faith and embrace all views expressed in the New Testament. For a very good overview of Christianity, including what went wrong with modern Protestantism, I recommend

This work is fine example of the dichotomy that is Liberalism and Christianity. He boldly stands for truth and exposes "Liberal Christianity" for what it really is, a different religion. Machen exposes the divide as seen in six specific facets of faith: Doctrine, God and Man, The Bible, Christ, Salvation, and the Church. He keeps his word in writing "as sharply and clearly as possible" through every chapter, leaving the reader informed and able to differentiate between Orthodox Christianity and Liberalism. Machen's work should be read by anyone who considers themselves within the fold of God, especially those within the American Church. His words were relevant in his time, and they still ring true today. The Church is under attack, and the body must open its eyes and realize that the enemy is within.

Machen looks at 6 key biblical doctrines and shows how liberalism differs from biblical Christianity at each point. Reading what liberals were saying in 1923 about the deity of Christ and the atonement of Christ is frighteningly similar to some of the theology that is coming out of mainline Protestantism today. And Machen does a stellar job at debunking the myth that Christ died for us as a moral example rather than as the substitutionary lamb of God for our sins.

“Christianity and Liberalism” is well written and compellingly argued! J. Gresham Machen truly was a theological titan of the 20th century.

I thought this was a masterful book, which remains thoroughly relevant for today. It's quite striking to see parallels between our culture and Machen's. This is another slam dunk reason for studying church history.

If you are looking for a book to recommend for someone searching to make sense out of the malaise of the modern (or, post-modern) church, Machen's book is an excellent choice. As was pointed out in other reviews, Christian liberalism is not Christian at all, but is rather a non-Christian religion with Christian tags. Specifically, he highlights liberal beliefs regarding the major doctrines related to God, man, Christ, salvation, and the church. He then refutes these by demonstrating the orthodox Biblical view on each. For those confused on the nature of faith and salvation, Machen, in chapter VI, makes one of the clearest presentations I have read anywhere. That alone is worth the purchase. This book is very readable and a 20th century classic on the orthodox Protestant faith. Any basic library should stock it.