Critical Assignment – Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism

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Dec 6, 2023

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1 Critical Assignment – Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism CST630 CE Church History October, 27 th , 2022

2 John Gresham Machen is an important figure regarding Christian orthodoxy in the 20th century. He was born in 1881 and lived until 1937, and died at age 56. Machen was raised in Baltimore in an affluent family. Both of his parents were educated and involved in a high-status community. John Machen studied at Johns Hopkins University, he graduated in 1902 with a bachelor of arts in classics. He also earned a bachelor of divinity from Princeton Seminary and a master of arts in philosophy from Princeton University. His time at Princeton led him to a career in teaching. Machen became a professor at Princeton for twenty-three years. While he was teaching, he wrote some popular theological books, including The Origin of Paul's Religion (1921), The Virgin Birth of Christ (1930), a Greek grammar textbook (1922), and C hristianity and Liberalism (1923). These books got him recognized in the community of biblical scholars in the 1900's. His book titled C hristianity and Liberalism presents his ideas and defense of his Christian faith, which opposed popular liberalism ideas at the time. This work introduced him as the face of Protestant fundamentalism. Machen wrote this book to address topics of religion to modernists who believed in science rather than The Bible. Liberalism's motto is "deeds, not creeds," it leaves out the redemption and forgiveness that Christians have because of Jesus's death and resurrection. In Christianity and Liberalism , Machen presents evidence to prove to readers that Protestant liberal Christianity, which was widely popular with his audience at the time, is completely removed from biblical Christianity; and is a completely different religion. Machen addresses six different biblical topics in his book, and he explains biblical Christianity and liberal Christianity views on these topics. He discusses doctrine, God and Man, the Bible, Christ, salvation, and the church.

3 The second chapter of Christianity and Liberalism discusses each religious doctrine, explaining their differences and similarities. In the beginning, Machen clearly states that these two religions are mutually exclusive concepts. On page 16, he says: "such for example are the liberal doctrines of the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. These doctrines are, as we shall see, contrary to the doctrines of the Christian" (Machen 16). Then he explains that both the doctrine of Liberalism and Christianity discuss the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, all doctrines can discuss the same topics, but it is their "intellectual defense" (Machen 16) that reveals if a theology is sound or not. Then Machen introduces the question of "is [Christianity] not a doctrine but a life?" (Machen 17). Which further defines it from Liberalism. He discusses this with the example of Paul's three steps to justification. Biblical Christianity teaches that one first accepts Jesus Christ as Lord, then is justified by Him, and last is told to keep God's laws. Liberalism teaches that one first believes in God, then is instructed to keep God's laws, and based on actions, they are justified (Machen 20-21). This example of the steps to justification is an example of Liberalism's motto, "deeds, not creeds," and shows one difference between Liberalism and Christianity. Chapter three of Christianity and Liberalism is titled" God and Man," it discusses what is known about man and God, and the relationship that Christians have because God saved us. In contrast, Liberalism teaches that "we should not seek to know God, but should merely feel His presence" (Machen 47). Machen explains that Liberalists seek to know God from a feeling, not based on knowledge of his character from reliable sources like the Bible. Because Christians know that Jesus is both man and God; where does he fit into this relationship dynamic in Christianity and Liberalism? Liberal preachers would say that Jesus came to Earth to confirm God's authority, he has no place being the foundation of our relationship with God. However,

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4 Christians believe that Jesus is an extension of God in heaven, and that Jesus' character (seen in the Bible) teaches us about God's character. The Bible teaches much about the Lord's omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. These three concepts explain to Christians that God's power transcends that of this universe. God has power over this universe and what goes on inside of it. On the other hand, Liberalism explains that "God" is the name for the "mighty world process itself" (Machen 54). In other words, the universe governs itself, and there is no need for a personal relationship with him through Jesus Christ. Machen's fourth chapter discusses the Bible. Because Christians and Liberalists view God so differently, they also have very different views on the Bible. Christians say the Bible is an accurate collection of books that reveal a "revelation from God to man," (Machen 59). This is revealed to humans through Jesus, and his sacrifice, explained in these books, brings us salvation. The liberals object to this concept. They question if salvation is brought to us by just a random old book. They do not understand the pureness and sanctity of the text. Liberals again refer to the idea of "deeds, not creeds" in this aspect of religion, asking whether salvation depends on what happened back then. Or how we are currently living our lives?'. Machen rebuttals this idea by explaining that the whole point of the gospel record is that Christ died and resurrected so that we might have life again and gain salvation. The fifth chapter of Christianity and Liberalism discusses Christ. Machen uses the example of Paul's commitment to following Jesus to compare what the Christian faith should be like following Christ. He explains that everything we know about Jesus's character is from the New Testament. Christians see their ultimate example for life in the Bible, but he is also an object of faith and is someone that deserves our worship. Because Jesus is fully man and fully God, he can be both our lifestyle example and an object of our faith. However, Liberalism views

5 Jesus completely differently. Liberal preachers believe that there is no "religious relation to Jesus," (Machen 73). He is an example of a great Christian man, but humans do not have faith in Jesus. According to Liberalism teachings, we have faith in God and worship him. In chapter six of Christianity and Liberalism , Machen discusses salvation. He says that Christians believe that salvation comes from the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Salvation is the forgiveness of sins through Jesus's death on the cross, when he took place for all the sins of humanity. One of the most significant differences regarding salvation between the two religions is the symbolism of the cross. Because Christians believe that Christ's death freed humans, the cross has become a symbol of this freedom. Liberalists believe that actions free humans from sin and do not attach the same meaning to the symbol of the cross. The last chapter in Machen's Christianity and Liberalism is about the church. It states that Christians believe what connects them to other Christians is the 'brotherhood of the Christian church.' This could be going to a church in town with other believers, or the concept of all Christians. This emphasizes the importance of getting involved in a local church in the Christian community. Liberalism does not have this same emphasis on local churches. The Liberalist religion believes that all people, "no matter what their race or creed" (Machen 133), are connected by some overarching 'humanity brotherhood.' This means that they do not have the same connection to the local church that Christians do. Another thing I will take away from this critical assignment is inspiration from Machen's attitude of confidence in the Lord. He saw that false information being spread by the Liberalism movement in the 1900's. However, he did not shy away from doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. It is inspiring that Machen wrote this book to spread the truth about biblical

6 Christianity. It is amazing that the concepts in this book are still relevant today and are still seen in the church now. I really admire Machen's ability to voice his concern about problematic tendencies he saw in his church. I want to take this attitude into my own life and learn from Machen's confidence in the voice that the Lord gave him. This book and this critical assignment really opened my eyes to Liberalist tendencies that are so popular now in modern Christianity. Liberalism is becoming so popular in modern Christianity. This week while writing this paper, I have been reflecting and noticing these tendencies in past church sermons I have been to. Points from the section 'The Bible" really stood out to me about this. This chapter reminded me always to compare what I hear from others against what the Bible says. I thought about how popular the term 'prosperity gospel' is, how harmful the concept is to biblical Christianity, and how similar it is to how Liberalism is described. Machen's ideas about how biblical Christians honor the sanctity of the books in the Bible encouraged me this week and again reminded me to think about where my information comes from and compare what I hear against what the Bible says. With this new religion of Liberalism still being so popular, it is creeping into our churches now. As discussed in the previous paragraph, the concepts of Liberalism are still being seen in our church services today. Last year I was church shopping around Riverside and attended a church for a few months. At the time, I couldn't figure out what it was, but something about the messages I heard didn't feel like they were interpreting the Bible like I thought the passages were supposed to be read. They took verses out of context and didn't explain the cultural context, emphasized the idea of the 'humanity brotherhood,' or preached about good deeds more than our salvation. I didn't realize it at the time, but these are all important factors in Liberalism. Now that I am more knowledgeable on the defining points of Liberalism, I can point

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7 them out in services where I see them. It is important to be able to tell these things now because Liberalism is still so popular, and its ideas are seen in churches today.

8 Citations Bonnington, Stuart M. “Christianity and Liberalism: Legacy Edition.” The Reformed Theological Review, vol. 79, no. 3, Dec. 2020, pp. 243–44. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLAn4880015&site=eds-live&scope=site. Hart, D. G. “When Is a Fundamentalist a Modernist? J. Gresham Machen, Cultural Modernism, and Conservative Protestantism.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion , vol. 65, no. 3, Oct. 1997, pp. 605–33. EBSCOhost , https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.1465654&site=eds-live&scope=site. J. Gresham Machen, Christianity & Liberalism, (Grand Rapids Mi: Eerdmans; 1923. New Edition with foreword by Carl R. Trueman 2009) Noll, M. A. (2012). TTurning Point: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity (Vol. 3). Baker Academic. Strange, Alan D. “An Introduction to J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism.” Mid- America Journal of Theology, vol. 24, 2013, pp. 217–25. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLA0001973244&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Critical Assignment – Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism

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