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Reading Classics Together - Time to Begin!
- 05/12/11
- 36
We put it to the vote and though the results were very, very close, Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism took hop honors and will be the next classic we read together. I suppose we’ll have to do Knowing God the next time around.
Here is what Machen said about his book.
In my little book, Christianity and Liberalism, 1923, 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.
This book has long been a classic defense of orthodox Christian faith against Liberalism. Published in 1923 at the height of the Liberal onslaught against orthodox faith, Machen establishes the traditional teaching of the church on Scripture, God, humanity, salvation, and ecclesiology, are not only defensible but preferable to those propounded by Liberals. It is important to keep in mind the Machen is not talking about modern political liberalism, but the religious liberalism many denominations and seminaries were accepting in the early 1900’s. Named one of the top 100 books of the 20th century by Christianity Today and WORLD, this work remains timely, relevant, and important.
It may be particularly relevant today as we see a resurgence of just the kind of denials that Machen battled in his day.
When?
So here’s what I propose. Let’s begin reading the book together on June 2. That will allow 3 weeks for you to track down a copy of the book and to read the Introduction. Then you’ll just need to return here on June 2 and we can share some thoughts and reflections on that Introduction. We’ll then read one chapter per week for the next 6 weeks. And then we will be done, just like that.
Where?
The book is widely available, though I’d expect that it will go quickly at some of the e-commerce stores, so you may not want to dawdle. You can find it at:
Amazon (print) | Amazon (Kindle) | Westminster Books | CBD Reformed
If you’d prefer to save a few dollars and read it online, you can find it for free at Reformed.org, CCEL, and elsewhere. You can even get the audio book for free.
So get a book, get reading, and check back on June 2.
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
Releasing on April 1, The Next
Published in 2008, this book
This is a guide that calls men,
This review of the bestselling
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Comments (36)
There’s a 99 cent Kindle version, too. http://www.amazon.com/Christianity-and-Liberalism-ebook/dp/B003E35ZV4/re…
If you prefer to read it in Portuguese, it is available for free in the Publisher website here.
http://ospuritanos.blogspot.com/p/livros.html
Thanks, Tim — my wife and I are looking forward to it! If you’re going to read it online, may I suggest Readability: https://www.readability.com/addons
And a well-formatted copy of the pdf can be found here: http://reformedaudio.org/audio/machen/Machen%20-%20Christianity%20&%20Li…
I’m excited to read this book (even though I voted for Packer!)
Oh snap. I just finished Piper’s “Contending For Our All” and was introduced to Machen. Can’t wait to read this with you guys!
I created a word document from the online version of Christianity and Liberalism that you can download and email to your kindle to read for free.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2797102/ChristianityandLiberalism-J.GreshamMache…
Congratulations Mr. Challies. you have single-handedly emptied the shelves of Amazon. within the hour of your announcement there are only 7 copies left…. I don’t suspect the will last =-). Do you feel powerful?
If you want to add the schedule into iCal, or another program that supports .ICS files, visit
webcal://www.me.com/ca/sharesubscribe/1.38248379/47EAE9F7-9C5E-4EE9-BF7B-B0057FA81129.ics
”..it is a life founded on a doctrine.”
Amen. Look forward to reading this book. Thanks for the encouragement to read.That line made me think of one of my favorite songs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVTop7pzqcM&feature=player_embedded
Maybe my favorite artist as well. Can’t wait to see him again.
The Kindle version was not much cheaper than the print version, so opted for the pint version, being the reading dinosaur that I am. I’ve never participated in one of these before, and I’m looking forward to the discipline of reading with a group.
Just finished this for my church history class. Good read.
Ha! It was a close vote indeed! In fact, I just checked and Knowing God actually has more votes right now. I guess it’s all a matter of timing, eh? :)
I think I’d really enjoy this one. I read Chesterton’s Othodoxy and really got a lot out of it. This book sounds somewhat similar. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve been reading the .99 Kindle version from Amazon. It’s certainly passable for reading the book, but don’t expect any frills—it doesn’t even have a hyper-linked table of contents.
Outstanding selection. Can’t wait to read it. Again :)
Great choice. This will be my first time going through a book in a group like this so I am really looking forward to it.
Thanks Ben! I just loaded the PDF on my Kindle.
The is a .99 cent version for the nook as well .
Very much looking forward to reading this book. In the meantime, I wondered what your thoughts are regarding one of the last paragraphs in the first review on Amazon. The review was very positive, but it brought up a question.
From the review:”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.”
Not sure what to make of that statement, or if it’s even true. I’m engaged vocationally in cultural renewal through my job at Liberty Institute in Texas, where we are trying to restore the culture. http://www.LibertyInstitute.org How do we work to restore culture in the context of recognizing that this world is not our home?
yesss! i purchased this one almost a year ago thinking i’d need it for one of my classes … but then i didn’t (at least this past year). so i’m super-excited about this, cuz it just looked way too intimidating for me to pick up on my own initiative. thanks for running this, Tim!
sweet. i’m really looking forward to this!
Thanks for all the resources on where to find the book. Count me in!
This will be my first time participating in a “Reading Classics Together” shindig. Pretty excited!
So thankful for the link to reformedaudio.org! Just downloaded the pdf (and eventually the audio) and look forward to joining you on June 2.
Okay. I’m going to try the .99 version. Looking forward to this.
Is it readable? Many of the “cheaper” Kindle books are not always well put together?
Hi from Sarasota, FL…I just got the book for my Kindle (Table of Cont navigable).I am looking forward to reading and discussing this with you (all). Tim, I saw you at the March Ligonier conference.
Jeff, your question brought to mind a title just released by Crossway… it’s called, “Living in God’s Two Kingdoms” by David VanDrunen. I have it to review from Crossway (just haven’t gotten to it yet) but in reading much of the introduction and first chapter, VanDrunen seems to head down the path to at least begin to answer the questions you’re asking. Much of it has to do with how the consummation of the kingdom will come about, i.e. what exactly are the new heavens and new earth… “New” or “Completed”… Seems like it would be a compelling read for you (also not terribly long [205 pgs.], but have heard he could have made his point in fewer words), especially if you’re grappling with these questions. Hope the suggestion helps!!!
For those who wish to read an excellent, well-formatted copy on either Kindle or Nook, Monergism Books just released their own digital copy of “Christianity and Liberalism” by Machen for $2.99.
http://www.monergismbooks.com/Christianity-and-Liberalism-eBook-p-20001….
I have purchase a number of e-books from Monergism. I have been VERY pleased with ALL of them! The Table of Contents is hyper-texted so you can move easily throughout the entire book.
You’ve stumbled upon one of the issues that reverberates in circles of folks who tend to appreciate Machen. There is no easy answer to your question, but if you want to investigate that further, you’d need to engage with the ideas known variously as “two kingdom” theology, or “the spirituality of the Church.” A good place to start (perhaps after you’re done reading C&L, is Augustine’s ‘City of God,’ and then perhaps D.G. Hart’s “A Secular Faith,” or Jason Stellman’s, “Dual Citizens,” or more recently, “Living in God’s Two Kingdoms,” by David Van Drunen.
No need to get much further into the subject here; it could hijack the comment thread. But to sum up, you _can_ make something of that reviewer’s point. It could even be something transformative for you.
Over at Monergism Books they’ve got the eBook version (kindle or epub) for free with a minimum $3 purchase.
http://www.monergismbooks.com/Christianity-and-Liberalism-eBook-p-20001….
I believe Monergism is offering the e-book for FREE with a minimal purchase.
Monergism is giving away free ebook copies of Christianity & Liberalism if you make a purchase over $3
just in case many are not aware of this event today (5/19): .. a live Q & A webcast with the teaching fellows of Ligonier Ministries. We can submit questions to the fellows for a possible response this afternoon at 2:30. Here’s the site:http://www.ligonier.org/events/live/?utm_campaign=eblast&utm_medium=emai…
not sure if the link will work here, in case it doesn’t I’m sure you can figure out how to get there; I’ve already posed a question and hoping to get a response. Maybe I will post another one on liberalism in the church today~ciao~
When we start discussion on this book, will we start with Carl Trueman’s Foreward or the introduction?
Nice article Tim! I just noted you led over 800 people to our site on May 12th, 2011 alone to download the free audio version we have of Machen’s C&L. Evidently you have quite the blog following.
This evening I have begun Ames, “The Marrow of Theology”. Perhaps you can blog about it a month or so to get the word out?? :p
blessings,Ryan