Brighter days

by chuckofish

Well, news flash, the sun actually came out yesterday afternoon for a few hours. This was greatly appreciated. I ran a few errands. Meanwhile, my Amaryllis continues to grow…

I sent the next issue of the Kirkwood Historical Review off to the printer–always a big weight off my shoulders. And I received in the mail my copy of Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937) which was published last year on its 100th anniversary. As Kevin DeYoung writes in the Foreword:

The bulk of Machen’s book is taken up with the exploration of five essential doctrines of the faith: the doctrine of man, the doctrine of Scripture, the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of salvation, and the doctrine of the church. In each category, Machen demonstrates that the liberal conception of the faith is fundamentally out of step with historic, biblical Christianity: Where liberalism teaches the goodness of man and the universal fatherhood of God, Christianity insists that Jesus did not come into the world to call the righteous to be better citizens but to save sinners and bring them into the family of God. Where liberalism teaches that true faith is founded on spiritual experience, Christianity insists that true religious experience depends upon the veracity of the historical events in the Bible. Where liberalism lauds Christ as a great teacher and our moral exemplar, Christianity insists that faith in Christ does not make sense apart from a supernatural, sinless, and divine Christ. Where liberalism finds salvation in man’s upward journey to spiritual betterment based on the noble self-sacrifice of Jesus, Christianity proclaims good news based on the propitiatory work of Christ to redeem sinners and save all those who put their faith in him. Where liberalism conceives of the church as a gathering of generally spiritual persons coming together to effect social transformation, Christianity holds forth the church as a group of redeemed men and women (and, for Machen, their children) gathering together to humbly give thanks to Christ for his grace and to find unity in the truth as they worship Christ and him crucified.

My mother grew up in a denomination (American Baptist) which very much embraced the liberal view of Christianity. I think she had her doubts though. I was also brought up in that liberal camp (Episcopal) and it wasn’t until years later that the truth began to dawn. I am looking forward to reading this book.

And this is very interesting. Good news and bad news in Canada.