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 than 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.
In the last few pages of the book, Machen offers four suggestions to Christian men in general and Christian officers of the Church in particular as to their duty in such a time. They must: 1) approach this situation proactively and encourage other Christians to do the same; they should never approach such a situation with intellectual indifference, but powerfully, accurately and truthfully, with faithfulness to Christ and His Word; 2) establish and clearly delineate the qualifications for teachers within the church so that Christians will not be harmed by liberal preaching which utilizes traditional language yet betrays the traditional meaning of that language; 3) display their loyalty to the Church in the capacity of an individual member by showing the utmost concern with who is installed as pastor over the congregation; and 4) give primary place to the renewal of Christian education within the Church (173-176).
Next: Strengths and Weaknesses
