An Important Anniversary!
January 24, 2023
Dear CPC Family,
This year marks the 100th anniversary of a key moment in the history of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
In February 1923, J. Gresham Machen, Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, published a book called Christianity and Liberalism.
This book brought laser-like focus to the issues that divided the Presbyterian church in Machen’s day. The same issues led Machen, with many pastors and churches, to separate from the mainline denomination in 1936 and form what soon became the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, our denomination.
Though a century has passed since Christianity and Liberalism’s publication, its message remains relevant. Christianity Today put Christianity and Liberalism on its list of the top 100 books of the twentieth century. Not to be outdone, Worldmagazine named it one of the top 100 books of the millennium.
What is Liberalism?
When we hear liberal, we can load that term with a lot of baggage (perhaps from cable news or talk radio). Machen, instead, uses “liberal” to describe a theological tradition that was rooted in Germany but increasingly influential in the American church. Theological liberalism sought “liberation” from the creeds and confessions of the Christian church.
They were after what they believed to be the “kernel” of truth that was hidden in the “husk” of doctrine. The “husk” that could be discarded included most of the supernatural content of the faith like the virgin birth, the resurrection, and the inspiration of the Bible that modern people can, supposedly, no longer believe. If you’ve ever heard slogans like “doctrine divides” or “deeds not creeds” or someone who describes themselves as “spiritual but not religious,” those slogans reflect the spirit of theological liberalism.
Machen’s Main Point
Machen was troubled to see pastors, theologians, and missionaries redefining Christian terms for unorthodox ends. Christianity and Liberalism shows how—on key topics like the Bible, salvation, Christ, and the Church—theological liberals keep the language but redefined the meaning. Here’s how a theologian named H. Richard Niebuhr summed up the theological liberal view: “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a Kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross.” Machen, fairly and persuasively, proved that Christianity and Liberalism are, in effect, two different religions.
Biblical Christianity offers the true gospel—the good news of Jesus Christ—that, alone, saves sinners. Theological liberalism, in spite of any well-meaning intent, offers no hope for peace with God.
Why You Should Read Christianity and Liberalism
Christianity and Liberalism’s continued relevance is proven over and over again. In the past 5 years, a handful of well-known Christian musicians, writers, or other celebrities, have very publicly “deconstructed” their former Christian beliefs. If you read Machen’s book, you will see that the pattern he identified keeps repeating in these stories.
More importantly, Machen and Christianity and Liberalism will help you to cling to the gospel as your only hope. It is fitting that, just before his death in 1937, he sent a telegram to his friend, John Murray. Here’s what the telegram said: “I am so thankful for the active obedience of Christ. No hope without it.”
So, in this 100th anniversary year, let’s pick up and read a book that continues to shape our church with the prayer that the truth Machen defended will be as dear to us as it was to him—“I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
In the Father’s Love,
Pastor Andrew
Recommended Resources
Pick up a copy of Christianity and Liberalism.
Reformed Forum recently interviewed Danny Olinger, the OPC’s General Secretary for Christian Education (who will be with us at CPC on February 19th!), to kick off a series of podcasts that will work through Christianity and Liberalism this year.
Valiant for Truth by Ned Stonehouse is a riveting biography of Machen.