Introduction
As the market share of Clown World Inc. continues to grow & the carnival expands its operations as to be able to caravan through this sweet land of liberty…Land where my father’s died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountain side…most of us are just trying to catch our bearings &make sense of things. All too often, we have this unsettling feeling in stomachs like, maybe the Panda Buffet wasn’t such a good idea.
But as we try & make sense of things by traversing the inter-scape, & scouring podcasts & blogs & vlogs and what not & what have you…sometimes it’s hard to find sensible voices in an unsensible time…stable voices in an unstable time. Though there are some great ones out there today that I have profited much from & am very thankful for…I usually find voices from the past to be the most encouraging…
As the Preacher says, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us.” Ecclesiastes 1:9-10
That great theologian, Bob Dylan said the times they are a changin’ and we fell every bit of that, but the times have always been a changin’…we live in a time of novelty whores, but we have always lived in a time of novelty whores…And a novelty whore always thinks his brand of novelty is the best. C.S. Lewis described it this way in Surprised By Joy:
“Chronological snobbery [is] the uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate common to our own age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that account discredited. You must find why it went out of date. Was it ever refuted and if so by whom, where, and how conclusively) or did it merely die away as fashions do? If the latter, this tells us nothing about its truth or falsehood. From seeing this, one passes to the realization that our own age is also ‘a period,’ and certainly has, like all periods, its own characteristic illusions. They are likeliest to lurk in those widespread assumptions which are so ingrained in the age that no one dares to attack or feels it necessary to defend them.”
What widespread assumptions are ingrained in our age? Were these assumptions ever refuted and if so by whom, where and how conclusively? With all these questions in mind, I would recommend that you put J. Gresham Machen’s, Christianity and Liberalism at the top of your 2023 reading list. I first read this book over 15 years ago. At that time, Postmodernity had become a popular buzz word & its illegitimate bastard child, the emergent church had become all the rage.
It was at this time, that the Good Lord put, this little book in lap, that was published 100 years ago now. In Christianity and Liberalism, Machen addresses what was known as modernity, or protestant liberalism. As I read, I was amazed at how clearly and succinctly, Machen exposed the errors of liberalism, but was also able to draw a clear line of demarcation in the sand between liberalism & authentic Christianity. Thus, showing that what we have isn’t a difference of opinion, but two distinct religions that are on a head-on collision. Here we see a perfect illustration of what Apostle Paul describes one of the tasks of an elder to be,
“He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” Titus 1:9
However, the one thing that really stood out to me wasn’t how clearly & succinctly he dismantled the liberalism of his day, but how clearly & succinctly he dismantled the liberalism of our day. Even though modernity & post-modernity appeared to be opposed to each other on paper…unbelief is unbelief and truth has a way of destroying all comers to the arena…Though written 100 years ago, it could have been written yesterday & I strongly recommend it to anyone in the church.
As such, we are going to spend a few episodes briefly working through the contents of this bookand apply them today…May it be a blessing to you & cause much godly trouble in your sphere of influence.
Introduction…Of Christianity & Liberalism
Machen begins, Christianity and Liberalism with the following words,
“The purpose of this book is not to decide the religious issue of the present day, but merely to present the issue as sharply and clearly as possible, in order that the reader may be aided in deciding it for himself. Presenting an issue sharply is indeed by no means a popular business at the present time…”
Clear-cut definitions & bold facing of the logical implications of said terms is just as unpopular in the 2020’s as it was in the 1920’s. The reason for this, is that the Lord of all the earth cuts straight. His word is clear & authoritative…it cut’s all the way down & way through – soul &spirit, joint & marrow. The devil is a dealer in ambiguities…He is a liar & has been lying since the beginning…it is his very nature to do so. Misnaming things is what he does, and it’s to create confusion & moral & political & ecclesiastical disorder.
So what Machen sets out to do, is to shine a light on the liberalism of his day & clearly define what it is & compare that to historical, orthodox Christianity…Are we dealing, with brothers in Christ, who hold to the historical Christian faith, but have diverging views on doctrine, such as Arminianism & Calvinism or Credos & Paedos or Premills & Postmills…or are we dealing with another religion entirely that is simply dressed up in Christian terms which is unwittingly received by an ignorant church through the use of misnaming things & ambiguity & nuance?
“In setting forth the current liberalism, now almost dominant in the Church, over against Christianity, we are animated, therefore, by no merely negative or polemic purpose; on the contrary, by showing what Christianity is not we hope to be able to show what Christianity is, in order that men may be led to turn from the weak and beggarly elements and have recourse again to the grace of God.” Machen
The protestant liberalism of Machen’s day was just as soft & just as squishy as the progressive Christianity is in our day…It’s a body without a spine, a house without a foundation…Simply sprinkling a little bit of Jesus pixy dust over paganism doesn’t make it Christian…and when the torrents of life come crashing down upon it you can see that clearly…Machen writes,
“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.”
and Amen. We saw this clearly regarding all of the panic porn regarding covid & everything surrounding that…namely, the statism & scientism that was on full display. Instead of the church confidently resting in the sphere of authority given to it by Christ and seeking the authority of the Scriptures to give a defense for the hope that is within us…far too many buckled under the shocks of life & deferred every aspect of church life to the state, & then charged their brothers with sinning against God for being divisive – because unity obviously means doing everything that the state tells you to do…& obviously this isn’t something worth fighting over.
Machen shows us…the really important things are the things about which men will fight. Ideas have consequences…consequences that run all the way down & all the way through…for example: just in regards the last few years, if the state can tell you where you can worship, when you can worship, and how you can worship…they don’t much need to tell you what to worship because that’s already been determined by your actions. You are no threat to them at all because they see your name on the membership roster.
Machen writes, “…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”…Winston Churchill described an appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile – hoping it will eat him last.” Putting a leash on a crocodile doesn’t tame the beast, it guarantees it’s lunch. When one makes a habit of apologizing to the enemy, in order to win the enemy, pretty soon they find themselves apologizing for the gospel in order to win them…just, f.y.i. waving the white the flag has never been a universal sign of victory…
Instead the Christian is one who waves the black flag, proudly declaring that no quarter will be given. What is at stake is not a mere differing of opinions but a matter of differing religions.
“In the intellectual battle of the present day there can be no ‘peace without victory’; one side or the other must win.” – Machen. And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 1 Kings 18:21
Modernism or protestant liberalism was a non-redemptive religion. The postmodernism, liberalism, wokism, or progressivism that has made its way into the church is a non-redemptive religion…it is not Christian.
Machen writes,
“As a matter of fact, however, it may appear that the figure which has just been used is altogether misleading; it may appear that what the liberal theologian has retained after abandoning to the enemy one Christian doctrine after another is not Christianity at all, but a religion which is so entirely different from Christianity as to belong in a distinct category. It may appear further that the fears of the modern man as to Christianity were entirely ungrounded, and that in abandoning the embattled walls of the city of God he has fled in needless panic into the open plains of a vague natural religion only to fall an easy victim to the enemy who ever lies in ambush there.”
The problem is much deeper than a culture war…culture is always downstream and is reflective of, and develops from, what we worship. What we find ourselves in is a worldview war…there is a different center, a different foundation and a different standard from which we base our lives because we serve different Masters…
The liberals, progressives, and wokies in the church may have a view of Scripture but it’s not authoritative. They may have a view of God & man but it’s not Creator & creation. They may have a view of Jesus but He’s not the Son of God, the Savior of all men, and the Lord over all creation. They may have a view of the gospel but it’s devoid of the cross.
They may have a view of justice but its devoid of God’s law. They may have a view of salvation but it’s not through Christ alone. They may have an eschatology, but it’s an eschaton that will be ushered in by the state and not the return of Jesus. They may have a view of the “spiritual” but it’s absent of the Holy Spirit. They may have a view of civil government, but it certainly doesn’t involve sphere sovereignty. They may have a view of Christian living but it’s devoid of holiness.
No matter how many different ways you look at it, that dog don’t hunt. You can put lipstick on a pig all you want, but in the morning when you sober up, I promise you you’re waking up with a pig and you’re going be none too happy…but if the pig self-identifies and a beautiful maiden who am I to judge.
Machen was writing after WWI and prior to WW2…socialism and communion are on the rise, naturalistic philosophies are on the rise, scientism is on the rise…modern inventions and industrialism had built a new world in many respects…making transportation and communication easier than ever before leaving many to believe that there were no limits to what could be achieved through future progress (sounds familiar)…This led many to conclude that Christianity really had no place in this new, technologically advanced, scientific age…However, all of this, so-called, advancement has come at a great cost. Namely, a lamentable decline in the things that really matter. The physical conditions of life may have improved but at what cost to the spiritual realm and to the family?
Nowhere is this more felt than in the realm of education, particularly public education. And yes, there were godly men soundly this alarm a long time ago. Had we heeded this alarm when it was sounded we might have prevented ourselves from feeding on the noxious fruit that’s been placed before us today…
“When one considers what the public schools of America in many places already are – their materialism, their discouragement of any sustained intellectual effort, their encouragement of the dangerous pseudo-scientific fads of experimental psychology – one can only be appalled by the thought of a commonwealth in which there is no escape from such a soul-killing system.”
Machen continues,
“A public-school system, if it means the providing of free education for those who desire it, is a noteworthy and beneficent achievement of modern times; but when once it becomes monopolistic it is the most perfect instrument of tyranny which has yet been devised.”
To which we would add, amen and amen.
Conclusion
What we need today is not novelty, but well-worn ways, old ways and proven paths that have stood the test of time and have conquered all comers. What we need is the historic orthodox Christian faith rooted in the literal physical resurrection of Jesus Christ in a particular place at a particular time before a particular people. The only remedy for a dead and dying culture and a church that thinks it’s winsome to die with it, is a God who raises the dead.
“We all want progress, but if you’re on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.” C.S. Lewis
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