One of my favorite books is Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen. This is one of the twentieth-century’s great theological classics. It’s brief, to the point, and really packs a powerful punch. For books its size, it definitely punches way above its weight-class. I suspect that many other Christians have a similar estimation of Machen’s pint-sized but nonetheless potent contemporary classic. I wonder, however, how many people read this book and immediately transpose the book into the present. On the one hand, I think this is a perfectly natural occurrence. When people read, they are looking for the fresh breeze of times gone by to blow through their minds and equip them with forgotten truths so they can engage the challenges of the present. On the other hand, I wonder how often we lose the original context and thus part of the book’s potency fades into the background. I remember several years ago a Reformed theologian appeared on a popular political commentary show and made reference to Machen’s book. Sales of Machen’s book naturally spiked on Amazon within hours. I think, however, that many were disappointed with the book because Machen had theological rather than political liberalism in the cross hairs. This is an example of seeking immediate application of a book apart from understanding the book in its original context.
So what about Machen’s original context? While there are some books that you can consult, I think one of the best reading partners for Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism is Richard M. Gamble’s The War for Righteousness: Progressive Christianity, the Great War, and the Rise of the Messianic Nation. I think it is difficult for use to comprehend just how confused the gospel and politics became at the turn of the twentieth-century. Progressive clergy set aside the pure gold of the gospel and mixed it with the fool’s gold of political policies and the social gospel. Many ministers and theologians not only believed that the church’s role was to fix the many social ailments and even used the gospel to baptize and legitimize the US entry into World War I. They argued that the war and the cause of Christ were one in the same. If you want to know how much Machen was swimming against the cultural tide, then first read Gamble’s excellent study and then pick up Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism. Not only will you have a greater appreciation for Machen’s heroic defense of orthodoxy and the gospel, but you’ll also see how important it is to maintain the church’s unique Christ-given mission of heralding the gospel through the means of grace—word, sacrament, and prayer. You’ll see how easy it is to confuse the man-made political aims of this world with the heaven-sent gospel of Christ. So pick up Gamble and Machen and enjoy the illumination from these two excellent reading partners!