Gresham Machen of Princeton Seminary

I.J. Gresham Machen of Princeton Seminary had published “Christianity and Liberalism” a.perhaps the best critique of old- line liberalism ever written. b.Its thesis is that, though liberals and moderates may plead for tolerance, there is no room in a Christian denomination for liberalism. i.In the sphere of religion. . . the present time is a time of conflict; the great redemptive religion which has always been known as Christianity is battling against a totally diverse type of religious belief, which is only the more destructive because it makes use of traditional Christian terminology. This modern non-redemptive religion is called “modernism” or “liberalism.”. . . Admitting that scientific objections may arise against the particularities of the Christian religion . ii.the liberal theologian seeks 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.”. . . As a matter of fact. . . what the liberal theologian has retained after abandoning to the enemy one Christian doctrine after another is not Christianity at all, but a religion so entirely different as to belong in a distinct category. c.Take note liberalism’s depreciation of doctrine and the historical facts that are the foundation of Christianity. d.In light of the later development of the doctrine of separation, it is interesting to note one of Machen’s concluding statements: i.“It may be that the present evangelical churches will face the facts, and regain their integrity while yet there is time. If that solution is to be adopted there is no time to lose, since the forces opposed to the gospel are now almost in control. It is possible that the existing churches may be given over altogether to naturalism, that men may then see that the fundamental needs of the soul are to be satisfied not inside but outside of the existing churches, and that thus new Christian groups may be formed. “ ii.Interestingly, the more radical modernistic factions in America tended to agree with Machen’s assessment of liberalism.

1.    Walter Lippmann, a secular social critic, called Machen’s work “an admirable book”

2.the liberal Christian Century magazine carried a candid admission that Fundamentalism and modernism were two distinct religions: a.“Two worlds have crashed.. . . There is a clash here as profound and as grim as that between Christianity and Confucianism. . . . b.The God of the fundamentalist is one God; the God of the modernist is another. . . . c.The inherent incompatibility of the two worlds has passed the stage of mutual tolerance.”