Christianity And Liberalism
Chapter 1: Introduction
Summary of Machen and Opposing Views:
In chapter 1, Machen opens his books by detailing exactly where he is in his stand against liberalism. He explains how the liberalism of his day differs from the liberalism of today and gives examples to show how this progressive mentality destroys personal responsibility, freedom and personality. The typical liberal, because the essential doctrines of the Christian faith have been rejected in search of “peace,” will find that materialistic and secular powers are not interested in peace, but rather in total domination. Secularism, and even liberalism, is not content with peace or half measures. In the progressive and liberal spirit, the lack of education enslaves, so it would be natural for the main attack to focus on the control of public schools.
Reflection, Response, Analysis, etc:
The part that I first resonated with was this quote: “In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight. ” Unfortunately, the reality of living in a fallen world is that we are all wrong on some points, each in different areas. When we make a decision on certain beliefs and debate them, be it in direct fights or respectful discussions, we must realize that these are perhaps the most important elements that need to be discussed.
Reading a book of this kind serves, in part, to filter out problems that have only been relevant, to a large extent, in a specific historical context from those that remain today. At one point, Machen has a lot to say about education and how some states prohibit any education other than a public school. Today, of course, any state allows public education or Christian, private or homeschool education. Although this situation may be repeated in the future, at the moment it is not an imminent concern. The relevance of this book for us today, however, is immediately evident. We live in an era of liberalism and in an era in which Christians continue to struggle with the relationship between faith and science. The problems and concerns of the early twentieth century remain the same, which means that the biblical responses of the twentieth century will be equally relevant to the twenty-first century.
Chapter 2: Doctrine
Summary of Machen and Opposing Views:
In chapter 2, Machen asserts that Christianity is based on a set of propositions that are true. Modern liberalism denies the fundamental principles of Christianity and negotiates them into a personal and subjective truth. Christianity focuses on a person, and even more important is that people believe in this person, Jesus Christ. Christianity asserts that there are beliefs about Christ that are not negotiable and that for Christianity to be true, these doctrines must also be true. Liberalism has chosen to capitulate with surrounding cultures and, in order to form agreements or create peace, the fundamental doctrines that distinguish Christianity from all other religions are lost.
Machen first addresses the differences between liberalism and Christianity in the matter of doctrine. Liberals are reluctant to stick to a particular doctrine; Instead, they prefer to speak in general terms that allow individual expression and discovery. He emphasizes a favorite liberal aphorism, “Christianity is a life, not a doctrine. ” However, the gospel is “good news”: news about historical events, namely the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Any interpretation of these events is a doctrine, according to Machen. Machen indicates that many liberals have faith in Christ as a person without believing in his message or purpose. He also explains that the return to the newborn faith of the disciples before the death of Christ would mean wiping out the wisdom and faith of nineteen centuries of Christian brothers and sisters, including the New Testament writings. Christianity is a religion based on the testimonies of those who have gone before. To withdraw from the witness of other believers means to withdraw from Christianity.
Reflection, Response, Analysis, etc:
In this chapter, there are some overused tropes about Christianity that have lasted much longer than we thought: Christianity is more life than teaching or doctrine, and experience is more important than beliefs. And remember, read what Machen says about the liberalism of his time. It could be said with the same ease that many now hold for Christianity. Regardless of whether it were an assault that was not coordinated against the Bible, yet just against the extraordinary authentic records of Bible instructing, it would in any case be deplorable. On the off chance that the Church did away with every one of the results of Christian idea of the nineteenth century and began without any preparation, the misfortune, regardless of whether the Bible were safeguarded, would be colossal. When various actualities structure the base of the Christian religion, the endeavors of past ages to group certainties ought to be treated with deference. There is no genuine advancement in any part of science if every age begins without any preparation, without being subject to what past ages have accomplished. In philosophy, in any case, it appears to be fundamental for progress to defame the past. Machen contends urgently against the bogus impression that liberalism upholds, a sort of dead universality, a confidence based upon precepts that truly has no bearing on actual existence. Sound Christian living must be based upon a firm establishment of sound teaching. By and large, I found this particular section to be very dense and taxing to understand. That may have more to do with exhaustion than the book itself. Notwithstanding, there were a few segments that gave astute observations into the Christian scene as it existed at that point and as it exists today.
Chapter 3: God and Man
Summary of Machen and Opposing Views:
In chapter 3, Machen distinguishes the liberal concept of God from the biblical and orthodox conception of God. The first God in liberal theologies becomes a practical concept. Liberals use “Father” to refer to God not because they think the title makes sense, but because it is useful. The paternity of God extends to the whole world, while in the Bible, the paternity of God only concerns those who love him and who have been called to his family. God is not transcendent but part of the world process itself. The liberal conception of man is also distorted by what the Bible teaches. In the liberal conception, the most important thing in Man is his natural inclination to good; The reality of sin is denied. Machen states that these dominant liberal attitudes ignore the fact that God has given general and special revelations to reveal his divine character and attributes. Even liberal preaching lacks understanding God and understanding man. Machen states that liberal preaching begins with optimism for the state of man, which is fundamentally good, while true Christianity begins with man's original sin and moves toward God's free grace in Christ Jesus.
Reflection, Response, Analysis, etc:
I thought this section to be considerably simpler to peruse and process. If we are to comprehend anything of the gospel–the genuine gospel–we should initially think about God and man and the incredible social connection between them. The issue is that liberalism has a bogus idea or definition of God. A few liberalists insist that God must be known through Jesus. Machen rapidly puts forth evidence to show that Christ Jesus identified with God as an individual and that he saw the hand of God in nature, in the hearts of men and in the Scriptures. Jesus had confidence in the genuine presence of an individual personal God. Machen proceeds to talk about the origination of God as Father, demonstrating how some have abused this word to cause it to address some sort of widespread parenthood where God is similarly the Father of all peoples and all beliefs. This rings frightfully rampant today; individuals still demand this equal love from a sweet, pushover grandfather/father figure.
Here is the place where we have to see the chasm between man and God. The extraordinary mistake of liberalism, in regard to God and man, is making the two indistinguishable from one another, in making us too much like God and making God too much like us. In all honesty, it is stunning to me how pertinent this book is to today. When one reads a book about happiness or a book about executing sin, one anticipates that it should stay pertinent from age to age, but in reading this book, one can be wonderfully astonished to find that this book, one written to fight philosophical mistake in a specific setting, is just as applicable today.
Chapter 4: The Bible
Summary of Machen and Opposing Views:
In chapter 4, the shortest chapter of the book, Machen describes the differences between the liberal and orthodox doctrines of the Scriptures. The Christian view of the Scriptures is that God revealed himself in the words of the Holy Bible. The Spirit of God acted in such a way that the written words of the Bible convey a faithful and accurate history. According to liberal opinion, the Bible does not have the characteristic of being inspired by the divine, and the liberal does not experience his convictions because he believes in an event, but because the “Christian experience” replaces the Bible as supreme authority There is no need for Scripture. Rather, an individual needs to “experience” Jesus in his heart. The problem is that without the Bible, you cannot know who this Jesus is.
Machen writes that the liberal movement has recognized the historicity of the Bible. He makes note of a question that many liberal preachers will ask: “Can we not find, instead, a salvation that is independent of history, a salvation that depends only on what is with us here and now?” (70). Vehemently disagreeing, Machen insists that the content of the Gospel is the narration of an event; If this event has not occurred, then there is no Gospel. Liberalism also denies the inspiration of the Scriptures, claiming that the authority of Christ instead of the authority of the Bible reigns in their lives. Machen argues that this perspective gives the individual an inappropriate power to dictate what is true for himself when deciding what the historical Christ has really said.
Reflection, Response, Analysis, etc:
Machen makes it very clear in this chapter that liberalism isn’t just something which influences others; it lies hazardously near to the door of Evangelicalism. This is on the grounds that, as Machen demonstrates, liberalism isn't so basic or direct a belief as to be reducible to a solitary blunder which can be avoided. To address it in plain terms, maintaining a strategic distance from liberalism isn't just an issue of accepting the Bible to be the Word of God. Rather, liberalism exemplifies an entire scope of frames of mind on divine things which can sit cheerfully, spouting intelligent-sounding words about scriptural power. It is in these different zones, for example, our perspectives about the significance of doctrine, the nature of God, the earnestness of transgression, etc that we should be careful.
Chapter 5: Christ
Summary of Machen and Opposing Views:
In chapter 5, Machen examines the doctrine of Christ. Not surprisingly, the doctrine of Christ is also different in liberal theology. The person at the heart of the message of Christianity is distorted. In the liberal conception of Christ, he is not God in the sense that any Christian would affirm it. Since “God”, in liberal opinion, is the vital force that permeates all creation, when they say “Jesus is God,” they mean that the force is particularly clear in the person of Christ, but that the same life is available to all. Christ becomes different in degree, not in kind, and becomes a moral guide that shows people what true faith is like.
Machen distinguishes the Christian belief that Christ is the object of faith from the liberal conviction that Christ is an example of faith. In Christian orthodoxy, Christ is a supernatural person, who is not the “first Christian”, but the object of the Christian faith. If Christ is just an example, he is a poor man to follow because he claimed to be much more. Liberalism sees Christ as the best product of humanity, while Christians believe that Christ was God.
Reflection, Response, Analysis, etc:
By this point, Machen has noted three points of contrast between liberalism and Christianity: their message, their perspective on God and man, and their comprehension of the Bible. With contrasts of this extent, it isn’t at all astonishing that they vary radically in the message they impart. In any case, before he can think about the message, Machen needs to consider the Person upon whom the message is based. That leads us to this chapter, simply entitled “Christ. ”
Machen starts with Paul, demonstrating the manner in which Paul respected Jesus. Jesus was not only an incredible guide to be pursued. The plain truth is that near-impersonation of Jesus, significant though it was for Paul, was completely overshadowed by something undeniably, increasingly significant still. The redeeming work of Jesus was the primary thing for Paul rather than the example of Jesus. Was this sort of confidence in Jesus supported by what Jesus himself preached? Most definitely; Machen has just clarified that Jesus introduced himself as Savior. Machen additionally makes the intriguing point that Jesus didn’t welcome certainty by limiting his work. It was an apparently unassuming Jesus who discussed the awfulness of external darkness and everlasting fire. What Jesus preached about God can understandably carry us to fear as opposed to trust. Trust and expectation come only when following God’s path for salvation through Jesus.
Machen inquires as to whether we are capable or whether we should, as Christians, enter in each regard into the experience of Jesus and make Him in each regard our model. Troubles emerge in responding to this inquiry and Machen focuses to two or three of them. The Messianic Consciousness of Jesus: How might we emulate Jesus in being the perfect Son of Man who was to be the last Judge of all the earth. The Frame of Mind of Jesus Toward Sin: Jesus had a total lack of a feeling of sin. In the end, all things considered, Jesus is, to be sure, a guide to us, the best model. In any case, this must be the Jesus of the New Testament, not the Jesus of liberalism. The case of Jesus is an ideal model, only if it is possible that He was justified in what He offered to men. In addition, He offered not fundamental direction, but rather salvation; He introduced Himself as the object of men’s faith. That offer is dismissed by present day liberalism, however it is acknowledged by Christian men.
