A classic - one of my new favourite books of all time. Definitely a must-read for anyone remotely interested in the supremacy of the gospel and combating accommodation and/or liberalism in Christ's church. Machen is a brilliant writer and arguer, yet superbly readable. This work is a modern classic that should be read - and reread - regularly. ( )

A "must read" book for all. The book clearly illustrates how evil forces infiltrate the church. ( )

The purpose of the book is given in its opening line: to distinguish real Christianity (C. S. Lewis would say "mere Christianity") from liberalism (aka modernism and naturalism). Christian (beautiful) civilization will be lost (or regained if already lost) depending on which religion (Christianity or liberalism) the culture chooses. Christianity is founded upon doctrine ("facts with meaning") which doctrine (message) is given to Christians to believe, establish/clarify, witness, and defend; doctrine is the sine qua non of Christianity (chap 2). The rest of the book is given to explicating that doctrine.

Chapter 3 ("God and Man") explicates that "God is holy, and I am not." There is a great gulf between God and man (62), and man is under the just condemnation of God (64). Man needs to be redeemed by the facts of the gospel to be reconciled with (restored to communion with) God (62, 65, 70).

Machen, J. Gresham, Christianity and Liberalism (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co). 90209
"Machen's classic was written in the height of the battle for control over the Presbyterian Church USA (the most prominent of the "mainline denominations), and defines with brilliance the battle lines between liberal (so-called) Christianity and the orthodox faith. Moreover, it points out exactly what is at stake: the true faith, or a perverse shadow of that faith, a shadow based on subjectivism which elevates man's sovereignty over God's and ends in believing nothing at all.
"The one problem with this book (and it made good rhetorical sense at the time, but is somewhat misleading concerning the true nature of the struggle) is Machen's categories. Machen deals with theological conservatives and liberals (legitimate in terms of the Bible's own theological dichotomy between saved and lost), but misses the inescapable fact that there was a third faction at work (a fact which eventually resulted in his defrocking). That third faction was a great mushy evanjellyfish middle, a pietistic/mystical majority which was neither willing to accept the liberal position nor fight for the conservative one. As Machen rightly pointed out two years earlier in his address to incoming students at Princeton (and again, much later, in the last two years of the struggle), these were the Christians who said `"Peace, peace",' when there was no peace,' and elevated that `peace' over truth. As in all other endeavors, `peace at any price' resulted in defeat, and in the end, it was that great mushy middle which delivered the PCUSA to the left and off the cliff.
"But it wasn't them alone. To see the mistakes of the conservative side, I strongly recommend North's CROSSED FINGERS, the only definitive history of this fight.
"Yet at the end of the day, you must read Machen. This book is vital for Christians defending their churches and denominations against increasing liberal encroachment, and indeed more so by the day. A great read." -- Reader's Comment
"Still stands, after many years, as one of the strongest books ever written against liberalism. A complete and thorough critique." -- GCB ( )