Next week several hundred of us will begin reading a classic Christian book together–Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism. Consider this your one-week reminder. And if you haven’t yet heard about Reading Classics Together, here’s your chance to join in with us.
Here is what Machen said about the 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?
We will begin reading together next Thursday (June 2). Before then please track down a copy of the book and read the Introduction. Then return here on June 2 and we can share some thoughts and reflections on that Introduction. We’ll 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. 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.
