Machen, “Christianity and Liberalism”
As a former Roman Catholic who have turned to Protestantism, I got “Christianity and Liberalism” out of interest in the OPC denomination, which Machen helped to found. I hoped better to understand how the Orthodox Presbyterian Church manages to steer such a steady course through the turbulence of today’s conflicting ideologies. I was not disappointed. In brisk, dialectical prose reminiscent of C.S.Lewis, Machen disputes against a modern version of so-called Christianity that he views as antithetical to real Christian faith, and in the process he unfolds a Breviloquium of reformed theology, which often appears as a mean between extremes. Some of the objects of his critique (such as socialism) have morphed into other forms (such as media-driven consumerism), while others are startlingly similar to today’s boogeymen, such as false contrasts between the Christologies of Mark and John, or the tendency to reduce Jesus merely to an ethical example, or the temptation on the other hand to ignore the importance of imitating Christ in our lives. Machen’s style blends scholastic clarity with oratorical beauty, making the book a pleasure to read. “Christianity and Liberalism” has helped me to understand the approach and positions of Reformed theology, and to appreciate even more the clear thinking, profound knowledge of Scripture, and robust connection with the Church’s 2,000-year theological tradition that characterize the OPC.
