Enemy at the Gates

"Admitting that scientific objections may arise against the particularities of the Christian religion-- against the Christian doctrines of the person of Christ, and of redemption through His death and resurrection--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."

It may well be questioned, however, whether this method of defense will really prove to be efficacious; for after the apologist has abandoned his outer defenses to the enemy and withdrawn into some inner citadel, he will probably discover that the enemy pursues him even there."

J. Gresham Machen from the introduction to'Christianity and Liberalism'

Inpertinent Intruder?

Psalm 119:105 (English Standard Version)

Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.


"Light may seem at times to be an impertinent intruder, but it is always beneficial in the end. The type of religion which rejoices in the pious sound of traditional phrases, regardless of their meanings, or shrinks from "controversial" matters, will never stand amid the shocks of life. 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."

J. Gresham Machen, From the introduction to 'Christianity and Liberalism.'

Come Read With Me

First published in 1923, Christianity and Liberalism was one of the first -- and, to many, still the best -- critique of liberal Christianity from an orthodox Christian perspective. Written at the height of the battle for control over the Presbyterian Church USA, Christianity and Liberalism brilliantly defines -- and definitively refutes -- the theological liberalism that manifests itself chiefly in the rejection of Scripture as infallibly inspired, the denial of the doctrines of the Fall and of Hell, and the mistaken belief in man's "evolutionary" self-perfection. Machen contrasts these errors with the basic foundational truths of Biblical Christianity on God, man, the Bible, Christ, Salvation, and the Church.

Come read 'Christianity and Liberalism,' arguably Machen's greatest work, with me.