Christianity & Liberalism: 100th Anniversary Edition

“Liberalism promised to save Christianity from the so-called corruption of Greek thought, which she said was evident in a Nicene trinity and a Chalcedonian Christ. But J. Gresham Machen had the courage to stand up and say that the liberal project will leave the church bankrupt. Christianity and Liberalism must be resurrected today so that the next generation moves beyond the wasteland of the liberal project to the lush garden of classical Christianity.”

“Machen’s classic, Christianity & Liberalism, is in many ways needed more now than when it was penned a century ago. In this long-treasured and much-needed work, he applied the keen edge of the truth to theological liberalism to clarify that it is not a more open-minded expression of Christianity but a different religion altogether. Therefore, the battle against liberalism is not really a fight for ‘conservativism,’ but for Christianity itself. If you’ve never read this book, get it and read it now; if you have read it, read it again!”

“In a day when the lines have become blurred regarding what constitutes orthodox Christianity, Christianity & Liberalism serves the church as a roadmap crying, ‘This is the way, walk here.’ With the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel, J. Gresham Machen strikes blow after blow against the premise of liberal theology and warns of its dangers if tolerated. Though written in 1923, Christianity & Liberalism remains relevant today as Machen, though long gone, continues to sift the wheat from the tares in this classic defense of orthodox Christianity.”

“Unbeknownst to Western Christianity at the time, in 1923 Machen prophetically predicted the deterioration of the Protestant Mainline project and, by extension, the deleterious impacts of such on the whole of society. Machen draws out the logical conclusions and practical consequences of a Christian faith that sacrifices supernaturalism on the altar of naturalism. With surgical precision, everything Machen predicted 100 years ago is now a reality.”

“No book is more prescient for our anti-Christian age than Machen’s Christianity & Liberalism, a book that extols the Gospel’s distinctive power. In this powerful book, Machen boldly took on the heretics of his day, leaving for us a model of Christian courage.”

“Machen’s Christianity & Liberalism is a classic that was prescient in its time, and is even more relevant in ours. As he warned, but not without hope, Christianity is fighting “a great battle” against liberalism over the nature and meaning of humanity, authority, sin and redemption — over the very essence and meaning of the Gospel. Most alarmingly these lines of conflict are drawn within the church and across Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox communions.”

“100 years ago, this book first appeared. In it, the New Testament professor and Presbyterian minister J. Gresham Machen argued that the ‘liberal Christianity’ of his day was, in fact, not a kind of Christianity, but an entirely different religion. That’s the first two chapters. In the remainder of the book, he traces out the differences between these two competing religions, including their differing views of the Bible, Jesus Christ, Salvation, and the Church. Read it, and Machen might convince you of the important differences that are still confusing many today.”

“I first read Machen’s Christianity & Liberalism in my early 20s, about 40 years ago. It crystallized convictions that had been forming in me in my university years in the midst of the theological tumult of those days (the late 1970s and early 1980s were a time in which the doctrine of Scripture was a focal point of debate in historic Protestant colleges, universities, seminaries, and graduate schools, as well as denominations). Re-reading it closely this year, for the first time in four decades, I am struck by its continued importance. It is truly seminal. For instance, I think that I find in a few pages of Machen’s Introduction the core idea of David Wells’ whole No Place for Truth project stated in a few sentences, but 70 years in advance. It is my hope that this new edition will encourage the younger generation of confessional Reformed Protestants to hold fast to historic, Bible-believing, theologically orthodox Christianity, and to recognize and resist the appropriation of theological liberalism in evangelical circles.”

“The clarity of spiritual sight and theological thought in these pages has nourished generations of faithful gospel ministers. May it continue to do so for generations to come.”

“The events of the last 100 years have proved Machen’s claim that orthodox and liberal Christians were adherents of two different religions. This book describes the differences between orthodoxy and its alternative—and helps us understand the differences that are now dividing evangelicals.”

“Christianity and Liberalism could have been written last Thursday. Many of Machen’s descriptions of mainline Protestantism are surprisingly close to trends in evangelicalism today. Even many non-Christian reviewers concluded Machen demonstrated that theological liberalism represents a different religion from Christianity. This is a classic and should be read by anyone who wants to understand the great Protestant apostasy.”

“A century ago, J. Gresham Machen declared that Christianity is not whatever we decide it is. It is an objective thing: defined but not diluted, passed down but not made up. In the words of the great Rich Mullins, ‘I did not make it, it is making me.’ Christianity & Liberalism is a model polemic, as careful as it is thorough. Most of all, though, it is a classic work of Christian theology that reminds us with each passing year that the biblical gospel is beautiful, supernatural, contra-modern, and still the power of God to save any who will believe. I’m very grateful to see new publishing life breathed into this invaluable book.”

“J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity & Liberalism is one of the most important Christian works of the twentieth century. It remains as pertinent today as it was a century ago. I commend Westminster Seminary Press and Kevin DeYoung for preparing a new edition of Christianity & Liberalism for a new generation.”

“Few books are read a century after they were written and even fewer of those are as relevant in the present as when they were first published; J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity & Liberalism is just such a book. Machen’s classic supersedes all others in prophetically describing the contours of and differences between Christianity and its counterfeit, liberal Christianity. Christianity & Liberalism is one of the most important religious works of the twentieth century. Many twenty-first century readers will want to engage its lucid arguments.”

“J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism is one of the most perceptive and instructive Christian books of the twentieth century. But it is far more than just a historical artifact. Machen diagnoses errors that are still with us today; in so doing, he presents a crystal clear witness to the truth and beauty of historic Christian teaching.”

“J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity & Liberalism is a watershed text of church history, eloquently defining where Christianity departs from the reigning tenets of modernity. It can still serve as a guiding light to Christians in a later phase of modernity— readers will be surprised how relevant the battles of the 20th century are to those of the 21st! I happily welcome this new edition!”

“Is our Christianity today the Christianity of the New Testament? Let’s not assume that it is. Let’s examine whether it is. J. Gresham Machen’s profound classic, Christianity & Liberalism, can help us face this urgent question with courage and clarity. And may God grant us wonderful rediscoveries of his grace in Christ, ushering in a new era of reformation and revival.”

“J. Gresham Machen’s writing models what we should all hope to achieve: learned, clear, and reliable communication. Showing what makes Christianity, well, Christianity, this book implements all three as a tour de force of why we must be committed to Scripture’s supernatural religion of salvation rather than caving to the world’s domesticated reinventions of God, Christ, and the gospel.”

“Christianity & Liberalism is a timeless classic that reads like today’s newspaper. Machen writes with near-perfect prescience as he tackles head-on the insidious nature of theological liberalism. What makes his critique so poignant is not just his comprehension of the error in his own day, but also his diagnosis of how to war against it even today. There is nothing else quite like this book.”

“I have read Christianity & Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen multiple times for multiple reasons. Each time has been a blessing for my life and ministry. I am astonished at how relevant it is for the challenges facing the evangelical and reformed church today.”

“Machen’s Christianity & Liberalism is a potent reminder that every generation must struggle to retain and defend the great truths of the gospel. May we follow his example of urgently contending for the joyful message of sin, redemption, and restoration.”

“I read this book for the first time 23 years ago as a senior in college when I was a four-year-old Christian. Machen’s words in his book impacted me in more ways than I could express then as a new believer, and they continue to impact me now as a New Testament scholar of 15 years in my 26th year of following Christ. As others have pointed out, Machen’s point in the book is clear: Biblical orthodoxy is Christianity, not Protestant liberalism! The latter, says Machen, is a ‘modern non-redemptive religion.’ Machen grounded his argument for Orthodox Christianity in scripture (God’s inspired, inerrant, infallible, and authoritative word). . . Machen’s work is more important and even more relevant today than it was 100 years ago as one denomination after another continues to move further and further away from what Machen describes as historic, Orthodox, and biblical Christiantiy. With this anniversary edition of this classic book, Machen’s labor will continue to produce gospel fruit for many more years to come until Jesus returns, [helping] the next generation of Christians read, teach, and apply afresh his case for historic, Orthodox, and biblical Christianity.”