Christianity and Liberalism

book by Machen

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July 16, 2026

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Christianity and Liberalism (1923) by John Gresham Machen is a critique of theological liberalism, which Machen viewed as unbiblical and unhistorical. Machen, a prominent fundamentalist leader, argued that liberal Protestantism deviated from core Christian tenets.12

Theological liberalism, which gained prominence from the 17th century through the 1920s, emphasizes inner motivation and liberation from external controls, often relying on human reason and individual experience. Machen's work champions conservative Christianity and contrasts it with what he perceived as the dilution of faith in liberal theology. He believed that core Christian doctrines, such as those in the Westminster Confession, were essential and should be preserved.213

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John Gresham Machen
…unbiblical and unhistorical in his Christianity and Liberalism (1923) and struggled to preserve the conservative character of the Princeton Theological Seminary. He left Princeton in 1929, after the school was reorganized and adopted a more accepting attitude toward liberal Protestantism, and he helped found Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Ordained…
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…unbiblical and unhistorical in his Christianity and Liberalism (1923) and struggled to preserve the conservative character of the Princeton Theological Seminary. He left Princeton in 1929, after the school was reorganized and adopted a more accepting attitude toward liberal Protestantism, and he helped found Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Ordained…
Read More