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Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America
A study of Machen’s thought and career that says much about the issues that unsettled mainstream Protestantism’s hold on American intellectual and cultural life.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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About the author
D.G. Hart
36Ìýbooks29ÌýfollowersDarryl G. Hart (Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University) directs the honors programs and faculty development at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and serves Westminster Seminary California as adjunct professor of church history. He has written or edited more than fifteen books, including Defending the Faith, a biography of J. Gresham Machen. He is coeditor of the American Reformed Biographies series.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 14, 2020
J. Gresham Machen is widely regarded as the greatest conservative American theologian of the first half of the twentieth century. His 1923 book 'Christianity and Liberalism' was a forceful rebuke of modernist Protestantism, answering Harry Emerson Fosdick's provocative sermon 'Shall the Fundamentalists Win?' But Machen himself cannot strictly be counted among the fundamentalists and D.G. Hart's critical yet sympathetic biography of the Princeton professor astutely shows why.
Machen came from a well-heeled family and despite some initial doubts as to vocation, he eventually studied theology at Princeton Seminary and in Germany. He excelled at Greek and one of his most resilient publications was a New Testament Greek textbook that continued to be used for decades after his death. He later joined the faculty of Princeton where he was a popular instructor, very enthusiastic about college sports. Despite being unapologetically conservative, Machen's scholarship was read with admiration by more progressive colleagues.
But Machen's firmly confessional, orthodox convictions set him sharply against the theological Modernism that was becoming influential at Princeton and in American Christianity more broadly; where denominational liberals and affable evangelical moderates urged doctrinal tolerance that would keep the Presbyterian Church in the United States intact, Machen saw a dangerous threat to biblical fidelity - how could Machen shrug at colleagues who denied the Virgin birth or who wanted to rejig the Westminster Standards? Machen faced opposition in his institution and denomination from fellow Princeton professor Charles Erdman and eventually broke ranks to found Westminster Theological Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (it's for this episode that he is mostly known but Hart's biography follows the trajectory of Machen's life and sets this schism in its proper context). He would largely be responsible for the financial viability of the new seminary in its early years.
Machen's views on the church's relationship to culture and politics are fascinating and offer considerations for Christians today. His political views could best be described as libertarian; while Christians (both liberal and conservative), inspired by the social gospel, fought for prohibition and evangelicals applauded prayer in public schools, Machen thought moderate drinking was perfectly permissible and he worried that policies like prayer in public schools gave the veneer of Christianity to culture without any deep conviction; better a thick Christianity practiced within the bounds of the church than a thin and tepid Christendom over culture. He also refused to join anti-evolution fundamentalists like William Jennings Bryan in denouncing the teaching of evolution. He was concerned with a distant bureaucracy that sought to centralize and make "efficient" everything it touched while ignoring the local customs that these policies would ultimately trample upon. Even in regard to ecumenism, Machen's staunch Presbyterianism put him at odds with conservative evangelicals who papered over doctrinal differences in the name of unity (Fosdick, after all, preached at a Presbyterian church despite being Baptist); as Hart explains, Machen had more affinities for strict, largely ethnic, confessional churches like the Missouri-Lutheran Synod rather than the various Protestant denominations that populated the American religious landscape. Machen's departure from Princeton and the PCUSA to set up resolutely orthodox alternatives (Westminster and the OPC) showcases Machen as a "Christ against culture" figure (or as a progenitor of the "Benedict Option") who is still a formidable icon among modern conservative (largely Calvinist) Christians.
Machen came from a well-heeled family and despite some initial doubts as to vocation, he eventually studied theology at Princeton Seminary and in Germany. He excelled at Greek and one of his most resilient publications was a New Testament Greek textbook that continued to be used for decades after his death. He later joined the faculty of Princeton where he was a popular instructor, very enthusiastic about college sports. Despite being unapologetically conservative, Machen's scholarship was read with admiration by more progressive colleagues.
But Machen's firmly confessional, orthodox convictions set him sharply against the theological Modernism that was becoming influential at Princeton and in American Christianity more broadly; where denominational liberals and affable evangelical moderates urged doctrinal tolerance that would keep the Presbyterian Church in the United States intact, Machen saw a dangerous threat to biblical fidelity - how could Machen shrug at colleagues who denied the Virgin birth or who wanted to rejig the Westminster Standards? Machen faced opposition in his institution and denomination from fellow Princeton professor Charles Erdman and eventually broke ranks to found Westminster Theological Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (it's for this episode that he is mostly known but Hart's biography follows the trajectory of Machen's life and sets this schism in its proper context). He would largely be responsible for the financial viability of the new seminary in its early years.
Machen's views on the church's relationship to culture and politics are fascinating and offer considerations for Christians today. His political views could best be described as libertarian; while Christians (both liberal and conservative), inspired by the social gospel, fought for prohibition and evangelicals applauded prayer in public schools, Machen thought moderate drinking was perfectly permissible and he worried that policies like prayer in public schools gave the veneer of Christianity to culture without any deep conviction; better a thick Christianity practiced within the bounds of the church than a thin and tepid Christendom over culture. He also refused to join anti-evolution fundamentalists like William Jennings Bryan in denouncing the teaching of evolution. He was concerned with a distant bureaucracy that sought to centralize and make "efficient" everything it touched while ignoring the local customs that these policies would ultimately trample upon. Even in regard to ecumenism, Machen's staunch Presbyterianism put him at odds with conservative evangelicals who papered over doctrinal differences in the name of unity (Fosdick, after all, preached at a Presbyterian church despite being Baptist); as Hart explains, Machen had more affinities for strict, largely ethnic, confessional churches like the Missouri-Lutheran Synod rather than the various Protestant denominations that populated the American religious landscape. Machen's departure from Princeton and the PCUSA to set up resolutely orthodox alternatives (Westminster and the OPC) showcases Machen as a "Christ against culture" figure (or as a progenitor of the "Benedict Option") who is still a formidable icon among modern conservative (largely Calvinist) Christians.
November 3, 2016
This is an excellent biography of an important figure. D.G. Hart deftly contextualizes J. Gresham Machen in the intellectual currents and cultural controversies of the early 20th century. Machen emerges as a refreshing foil to the standard political and religious tropes of the late 20th century culture wars: a brilliant fundamentalist with independent political views and intellectual integrity. While one could argue that Hart perhaps reads too much of his own contrarian perspective back into Machen, I can forgive him because part of the point, I think, is to undermine the tendency of other scholars lazily to insert culture wars dynamics into the modernist/fundamentalist controversies of the 1920s. Machen confounds their cherished, whiggish, self-congratulatory binaries. In the process, Hart demonstrates rather convincingly that the people and politics of the past are more complicated and contradictory than we give them credit for, rarely supporting our own categories as much as we like to pretend.
February 13, 2014
This is the biography of a very important man, who very few people know of today. Machen was born into a privileged life, and established himself comfortably at Princeton, where he enjoyed living among the intelligentsia, teaching and training the country's best. This suited him well, and it was a life he loved and would not have left behind lightly. But for some people, study goes beyond the mind and settles in the heart... and this was true of Machen. This is a story of one man's growth from head knowledge to heart conviction... and where it took him, and how his seemingly "pointless," increasingly isolated position broke his body even as it took hold in the hearts of others, breathing new life into an "old" religion.
In clinging to orthodox Christianity (vs the new "liberal" theologies infiltrating his beloved Princeton, that he would not even deign to call "Christianity" at all)he lost much of what he loved, even in the end losing his own health... but he left a legacy that continues to this day. He left Princeton to found Westminster Seminary, preserving an opportunity to instruct others to carry on the doctrines that he valued so dearly. He spent much of his own inheritance, gave up his comfortable lifestyle and his reputation, traveled constantly to ask for gifts to sustain his new seminary, endured criticism from both the liberal and the conservative factions who both wanted to use him to achieve their own (often political) ends. He stood firm, though, refusing to be distracted from what he discerned to be THE most important issue of his day: preserving the purity of the Gospel for the Church. Evolution, prayers in schools, social gospel and semantics were all brushed aside as he strained to press upon faithful believers the truths of the Reformation (that are actually truths from the Bible): Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, through Christ alone. He believed that this was the only hope for a shrinking Church, and he refused to compromise or be distracted. His graciousness in conflict, his determination to keep his eyes fixed on the Cross of Christ, his humility, and his willingness to be creative in living out his faith, as well as his lasting legacy for us today who call ourselves Christian, are all reasons to read this book. He was an incredibly intelligent man, well fit for his calling, who knew how to logically and smoothly deliver his reasons and methods in a hostile environment without fear, without loss of dignity, without anger, with hope intact. He was well loved by a faithful few, and his short life reminds us that even the seemingly insignificant life can have far-flung ripple effects, if we are faithful to our convictions. And no matter what, even if that life remains small and unnoticed, a humble life based upon studied contemplation and acceptance of the truth is a well-lived life, in the end.
An interesting thing to do, if you are interested in this book (or this era of Church history) would be to read this along with the biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer... they never met, but their stories relate to one another in interesting ways, despite the ocean between. I was left wishing they HAD met, when Bonhoeffer visited America briefly. I think they could have encouraged each other so much, these two men who felt increasingly isolated in their convictions. But God willed it so, and it is good to know that there is a Heaven where they both reside, now. What good dinner conversation must be going on, there! :)
In clinging to orthodox Christianity (vs the new "liberal" theologies infiltrating his beloved Princeton, that he would not even deign to call "Christianity" at all)he lost much of what he loved, even in the end losing his own health... but he left a legacy that continues to this day. He left Princeton to found Westminster Seminary, preserving an opportunity to instruct others to carry on the doctrines that he valued so dearly. He spent much of his own inheritance, gave up his comfortable lifestyle and his reputation, traveled constantly to ask for gifts to sustain his new seminary, endured criticism from both the liberal and the conservative factions who both wanted to use him to achieve their own (often political) ends. He stood firm, though, refusing to be distracted from what he discerned to be THE most important issue of his day: preserving the purity of the Gospel for the Church. Evolution, prayers in schools, social gospel and semantics were all brushed aside as he strained to press upon faithful believers the truths of the Reformation (that are actually truths from the Bible): Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, through Christ alone. He believed that this was the only hope for a shrinking Church, and he refused to compromise or be distracted. His graciousness in conflict, his determination to keep his eyes fixed on the Cross of Christ, his humility, and his willingness to be creative in living out his faith, as well as his lasting legacy for us today who call ourselves Christian, are all reasons to read this book. He was an incredibly intelligent man, well fit for his calling, who knew how to logically and smoothly deliver his reasons and methods in a hostile environment without fear, without loss of dignity, without anger, with hope intact. He was well loved by a faithful few, and his short life reminds us that even the seemingly insignificant life can have far-flung ripple effects, if we are faithful to our convictions. And no matter what, even if that life remains small and unnoticed, a humble life based upon studied contemplation and acceptance of the truth is a well-lived life, in the end.
An interesting thing to do, if you are interested in this book (or this era of Church history) would be to read this along with the biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer... they never met, but their stories relate to one another in interesting ways, despite the ocean between. I was left wishing they HAD met, when Bonhoeffer visited America briefly. I think they could have encouraged each other so much, these two men who felt increasingly isolated in their convictions. But God willed it so, and it is good to know that there is a Heaven where they both reside, now. What good dinner conversation must be going on, there! :)
June 2, 2012
A decent biography, and my differences with Hart aside, probably one of the more readable ones. I think Hart overreads his own "spirituality of the church" into Machen. Yes, Machen probably wouldn't attend Falwell rallies, but Machen did press his faith on the floor of the United States Senate. The Two Kingdom guys have never really gotten around that.
October 8, 2014
An intellectual biography of one of the greatest Christian thinkers of the 20th century. Worth reading.
May 21, 2019
D. G. Hart (b. 1956), formerly head librarian at Westminster Seminary, where most of the Machen papers are archived, has here written a careful intellectual biography of perhaps the most gifted conservative American theologian of the early twentieth century. As Hart well demonstrates, Machen’s religious, political, and social views were hardly typical of contemporary fundamentalism. While this fact diminishes the ability of Machen to serve as a representative of any religious position, it also demonstrates that early twentieth-century religious conservatives ought not to be treated as cardboard caricatures—even when they are being compared with Machen.
October 23, 2023
The other biography written on Machen surpasses this in every way. I feel like this didn't really give a good insight into who Machen was as a person, what was important to him, or how he changed throughout his life. This felt much cooler towards Machen, and I feel like it represented him as far more liberal than the other biography. Bummer :(
May 25, 2021
I am grateful to D.G. Hart for this insightful history of the life of Machen. Each chapter brought me to a greater understanding of the man, and thus a greater admiration for Machen. I'm sure I will return to this book for another read in the near future.
August 11, 2023
If you want an exhaustive biography of Machen…read Stonehouse’s.
If you want a book that focuses specifically on Machen’s relationship to modern America and the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy…read Hart’s.
Both books are great.
If you want a book that focuses specifically on Machen’s relationship to modern America and the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy…read Hart’s.
Both books are great.
August 9, 2020
Very helpful introduction to a defender of orthodox Protestantism in America.
September 1, 2023
Hart portrayed Machen with enough objectivity and context that you can understand what made him the prime conservative theologian of the Presbyterian church. Excellent read!
December 10, 2023
The author does an excellent job writing the story of Machen's life and the controversy he was embroiled in. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject.
April 7, 2012
Defending the Faith is a fascinating portrayal of one of the most important figures in American Christianity during the last century--J. Gresham Machen. Machen was perhaps the last of the great confessional Presbyterian scholars at Princeton Seminary and was perhaps the central figure in the fundamentalist controversy in the early 20th century. He was a man of immense learning and intellect, whose work was greatly respected by conservatives, liberals, and secularists alike.
Machen was the most formidable opponent of liberalism in the church, contending that Christianity and (Christian) liberalism were, in fact, two entirely different religions who could not coexist united in any fashion but are of nature opposed to each other. Interestingly enough, however, he did not fit neatly into the mold of fundamentalism either. His arguments against liberalism were borrowed by secular humanists as much as they were by fundamentalists and, in some respects, had more affinities with the former than the latter. He won praise from men like H.L Mencken and Walter Lippmann. To quote Yale literary critic Harold Bloom, upon reading Machen's tome Christianity and Liberalism,
"I have just read my way through this, with distaste and discomfort but with reluctant and growing admiration for Machen's mind. I have never seen a stronger case made for the argument that institutional Christianity must regard cultural liberalism an enemy of faith. ... [If] Machen, a scholar and an intellect, is rightly called a Fundamentalist, then I must insist that Wally Amos Criswell and his swarm be called something else, and Know-Nothings will do very nicely."
Machen was an orthodox Christian, but he had little affinity for the revivalist heritage of fundamentalism. He was a libertarian Democrat (Democrats were more likely to be small-government federalists in Machen's day than today) who opposed prohibition, he believed in the separation of church and state and the spirituality of the church. He was non-committal on evolution, opposed dispensationalism, and strongly critical of ecumenical para-church organizations. All of these positions separated him from his fundamentalist "allies". Nevertheless, in many ways Machen stands as the father of evangelical academia. As conservative Christianity tried to develop a scholarly side after World War 2, they found themselves highly indebted to the work of Machen. In the end, his work culminated with a conservative exodus from the Northern Presbyterian Church to form the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the founding of Westminster Seminary to continue the legacy of Princeton once it had been lost to the liberals and moderate evangelicals. Hart contends that without the efforts of Machen, confessional Presbyterian in America may have been lost forever to the liberals and moderate evangelicals.
As for the book itself, it is engrossing and very well written, filled with fascinating detail about Machen's life and context. The parallels between our own time and Machen's are striking, as liberalism and moderate, anti-doctrinal and anti-creedal evangelicalism threatens the church again and the some of very issues that Machen debated vigorously have arisen once again within the conservative wings of the church.
The only criticism I may have to offer is that I wish Hart had included more material about Machen's founding of Westminster Seminary and it's early years. Hart also accentuates Machen's standing alone between the forces of liberalism and fundamentalism, which may be true in many respects, but he was not without allies and influence as his founding of Westminster shows. Highly influential scholars that Machen brought from Princeton to Westminster like Geerhardus Vos, Cornelius Van Til, and John Murray were barely even mentioned in the book and I wish there was more about his relationships with them in the book. It probably isn't fair to criticize a historian for what he didn't choose to write about, however, and what Hart did write about he did artfully and carefully. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested about the development of American Christianity.
Machen was the most formidable opponent of liberalism in the church, contending that Christianity and (Christian) liberalism were, in fact, two entirely different religions who could not coexist united in any fashion but are of nature opposed to each other. Interestingly enough, however, he did not fit neatly into the mold of fundamentalism either. His arguments against liberalism were borrowed by secular humanists as much as they were by fundamentalists and, in some respects, had more affinities with the former than the latter. He won praise from men like H.L Mencken and Walter Lippmann. To quote Yale literary critic Harold Bloom, upon reading Machen's tome Christianity and Liberalism,
"I have just read my way through this, with distaste and discomfort but with reluctant and growing admiration for Machen's mind. I have never seen a stronger case made for the argument that institutional Christianity must regard cultural liberalism an enemy of faith. ... [If] Machen, a scholar and an intellect, is rightly called a Fundamentalist, then I must insist that Wally Amos Criswell and his swarm be called something else, and Know-Nothings will do very nicely."
Machen was an orthodox Christian, but he had little affinity for the revivalist heritage of fundamentalism. He was a libertarian Democrat (Democrats were more likely to be small-government federalists in Machen's day than today) who opposed prohibition, he believed in the separation of church and state and the spirituality of the church. He was non-committal on evolution, opposed dispensationalism, and strongly critical of ecumenical para-church organizations. All of these positions separated him from his fundamentalist "allies". Nevertheless, in many ways Machen stands as the father of evangelical academia. As conservative Christianity tried to develop a scholarly side after World War 2, they found themselves highly indebted to the work of Machen. In the end, his work culminated with a conservative exodus from the Northern Presbyterian Church to form the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the founding of Westminster Seminary to continue the legacy of Princeton once it had been lost to the liberals and moderate evangelicals. Hart contends that without the efforts of Machen, confessional Presbyterian in America may have been lost forever to the liberals and moderate evangelicals.
As for the book itself, it is engrossing and very well written, filled with fascinating detail about Machen's life and context. The parallels between our own time and Machen's are striking, as liberalism and moderate, anti-doctrinal and anti-creedal evangelicalism threatens the church again and the some of very issues that Machen debated vigorously have arisen once again within the conservative wings of the church.
The only criticism I may have to offer is that I wish Hart had included more material about Machen's founding of Westminster Seminary and it's early years. Hart also accentuates Machen's standing alone between the forces of liberalism and fundamentalism, which may be true in many respects, but he was not without allies and influence as his founding of Westminster shows. Highly influential scholars that Machen brought from Princeton to Westminster like Geerhardus Vos, Cornelius Van Til, and John Murray were barely even mentioned in the book and I wish there was more about his relationships with them in the book. It probably isn't fair to criticize a historian for what he didn't choose to write about, however, and what Hart did write about he did artfully and carefully. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested about the development of American Christianity.
February 17, 2008
Fascinating biography of J. Gresham Machen by D.G. Hart. Hart's understanding of Machen and the surrounding religious, political, denominational, and cultural landscape is a pleasure to read.
Machen is a very complicated figure, and one of great conviction. He is a single man, a momma's boy, a brilliant scholar, a theological conservative, a political libertarian, a wealthy man, a controversial man, a conservative man, a very clear and pointed man who did not put up with "slippery" language, a well-known man, a man who saw the horrors of war in country and in church, a well-liked cordial teacher and a disliked blunt opponent, a Calvinist, an enjoy-er of culture, a man who once was interested in Unitarian woman, a hiker, a sports fan, I could go on and on.
Best word in the book "lubricity", that is, lubricity of language. Machen hated the lubrication of language in the church when it came to theology and views of Scripture. He desired the clear proclamation of the Gospel and all that it contained rather then the flaccid social gospel of liberalism.
Machen is a very complicated figure, and one of great conviction. He is a single man, a momma's boy, a brilliant scholar, a theological conservative, a political libertarian, a wealthy man, a controversial man, a conservative man, a very clear and pointed man who did not put up with "slippery" language, a well-known man, a man who saw the horrors of war in country and in church, a well-liked cordial teacher and a disliked blunt opponent, a Calvinist, an enjoy-er of culture, a man who once was interested in Unitarian woman, a hiker, a sports fan, I could go on and on.
Best word in the book "lubricity", that is, lubricity of language. Machen hated the lubrication of language in the church when it came to theology and views of Scripture. He desired the clear proclamation of the Gospel and all that it contained rather then the flaccid social gospel of liberalism.
October 24, 2007
Hart writes from a position of sympathy with Machen (he attended Westminster Seminary) but his affection for many of Machen's position does not cloud his judgment or ability to present Machen as he was - warts and all.
I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting when I began reading this book but I soon realized that this was not it. That is not a bad thing. I tremondously enjoyed Hart's academic style and colorful presentation of what most people would find incredibly boring information. Oftentimes there was excessive technical jargon, but for most people interested in this subject and Hart's work this will not be a problem.
If you have read and enjoyed Longfield's _The Presbyterian Controversy_, then you will also enjoy this book which provides more detail and depth about one of the major conservative players in the fundamentalist/modernist controversy in the old Northern Presbyterian Church.
I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting when I began reading this book but I soon realized that this was not it. That is not a bad thing. I tremondously enjoyed Hart's academic style and colorful presentation of what most people would find incredibly boring information. Oftentimes there was excessive technical jargon, but for most people interested in this subject and Hart's work this will not be a problem.
If you have read and enjoyed Longfield's _The Presbyterian Controversy_, then you will also enjoy this book which provides more detail and depth about one of the major conservative players in the fundamentalist/modernist controversy in the old Northern Presbyterian Church.
September 14, 2013
An extremely readable, careful and balanced consideration of a fascinating man who played a vital role in the modernist vs. fundamentalist debates of the 1920's and 30'. Valuable not just for what it has to say about those times, but for its cautionary note regarding the impact on conservative Protestantism when it ignores Machen's warnings about the dangers inherent in conflating the Gospel of Christ with programs for social reform.
January 17, 2014
An excellent book of information, if not as well written as one would have hoped. The introduction to Machen's life as well as the feeling of the modernist controversy of the 20s is excellent, and Hart's astute observations on Machen's odd role as enemy and friend of both moderns and fundamentalists are brilliant. However, the book is weighed down by Hart's dense writing style and poor organization at points. Still, a very worthwhile read.
April 7, 2014
A good biographical sketch of a man whose later life was almost tragic: He seemed to have suffered a lot of defeats in his professional work, though he managed to rack up a lot of accomplishments throughout his life. Some of the material presented here is more scintillating than others. The chapters on science and Machen's scholarly methodology were very good; the chapter on Presbyterian missions less so.
December 16, 2013
If you're looking for a good overview of J. Gresham Machen's life, this is not the book for you; but if you want to get into the head of Machen and understand what drove his thinking to separate from his denomination, found a separate missions agency and seminary, and start a new denomination, then this book will satisfy that desire.
January 14, 2014
A pretty interesting read of a fascinating figure (more so than I initially thought). Hart goes into a lot of the contexts and complexities of Machen and his situations.
Read
July 15, 2019This address by D. G. Hart was very helpful to me in bringing full circle some observations concerning the OPC I've engaged with in the past. I'd recommend it to anyone in the OPC.
July 18, 2009
Intriguing exposition of the life of Machen
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