Christianity and Liberalism

Christianity and Liberalism is a 1923 book by J. Gresham Machen. It was written in response to Harry Emerson Fosdick's 1922 sermon "Shall the Fundamentalists Win?", thus triggering the fundamentalist–modernist controversy.^[1][2]

Christianity and Liberalism

Title page
Author	J. Gresham Machen
Genre	Christian Theology
Publisher	William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Publication date	1923

Machen argued that Liberal Christianity constitute a distinct religion, since it denied substitutionary atonement.^[3] However, its true nature was, according to Machen, "hidden by the duplicitous use of traditional terms and categories by liberal clergy."^[4] Machen wrote,^[5][6][7]

The liberal attempt at reconciling Christianity with modern science has really relinquished everything distinctive of Christianity, so that what remains is in essentials only that same indefinite type of religious aspiration which was in the world before Christianity came upon the scene.

Iain H. Murray calls Christianity and Liberalism "one of the most important books of all times".^[8][9] Vance Havner was deeply influenced by the book, which caused him to reject his earlier fascination with Fosdick's teaching.^[10]

References

1. Todd, Obbie Tyler (21 May 2022). "The Sermon That Divided America". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
2. Mangum, Todd (2011). "The Modernist-Fundamentalist Controversy, the Inerrancy of Scripture, and the Development of American Dispensationalism". Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Authority of Scripture: Historical, Biblical, and Theoretical Perspectives. Wipf and Stock. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-60899-347-5. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
3. Bigalke, Ron J. (2010). "John Gresham Machen". The Encyclopedia of Christian Literature, Volume 2. Scarecrow Press. p. 442. ISBN 978-0-8108-7283-7. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
4. Fraser, Liam Jerrold (2018). Atheism, Fundamentalism and the Protestant Reformation: Uncovering the Secret Sympathy. Cambridge University Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-108-64968-1. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
5. Machen, J. Gresham (1923). Christianity and Liberalism. p. 7. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
6. Keller, Tim (20 February 2023). "Tim Keller on the Decline and Renewal of the American Church". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
7. Ungureanu, James C. (2019). Science, Religion, and the Protestant Tradition: Retracing the Origins of Conflict. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 277. ISBN 978-0-8229-8711-6. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
8. Murray, Iain (16 July 2015). "How Scotland Lost Its Hold of the Bible". Banner of Truth. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
9. "Christianity and Liberalism". Christian Institute. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
10. "Vance Havner". Baptist Bible Tribune. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2024.

External links

• Christianity and Liberalism at Wikimedia Commons