I have been reading the book by J. Machen Gresham named Christianity and Liberalism in the last few days.
It is a reread for me with the intention of taking in the content of the material at a slower pace than when I first read it.
I was much surprised the first time I read it as it seemed the content was written in that year I read it. I marked it up a bit because of a lot of the marked-up statements resonated with me.
One of his opening comments is “In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the fundamental things are the things about which men will fight.”
This comment sets the stage for what is to come. His main argument in the book is that the claims for liberalism as a form or improvement on historical Christianity is wrong as it does not improve but rather is a different religion.
I have just resumed rereading it in the light of the news around the world as well as in the view of the apparent redirection of the culture obtainable around me as it affects the liberalism that is so pervasive and more than ever, Gresham sounds like a prophet.
He sounds like prophet because the issues discussed as evidence of historical Christianity versus Liberalism of the current age is so spot on for something written in 1922. He writes like someone observing the news reports and commenting on it except for the small issue that he is not.
What I find very interesting is how he understood the weighty matters of the claims of liberalism and contrasted them with the truth of Christianity.
He split his discourse into sections which are Doctrine, God and Man, The Bible, Christ, Salvation, and The Church.
In each section, he explains the misconceptions of liberalism as it affects that section then describes the Christian understanding of the issues discussed.
This is far from a review but a short reminder of the way God speaks to us through his word and ordinary means and people like J. Machen Gresham.
Gresham and Today
September 30, 2018 by Jide Ajayi • Uncategorized • Tags: Christianity, J. Machen Gresham, Liberalism, life •
I have been reading the book by J. Machen Gresham named Christianity and Liberalism in the last few days.
It is a reread for me with the intention of taking in the content of the material at a slower pace than when I first read it.
I was much surprised the first time I read it as it seemed the content was written in that year I read it. I marked it up a bit because of a lot of the marked-up statements resonated with me.
One of his opening comments is “In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the fundamental things are the things about which men will fight.”
This comment sets the stage for what is to come. His main argument in the book is that the claims for liberalism as a form or improvement on historical Christianity is wrong as it does not improve but rather is a different religion.
I have just resumed rereading it in the light of the news around the world as well as in the view of the apparent redirection of the culture obtainable around me as it affects the liberalism that is so pervasive and more than ever, Gresham sounds like a prophet.
He sounds like prophet because the issues discussed as evidence of historical Christianity versus Liberalism of the current age is so spot on for something written in 1922. He writes like someone observing the news reports and commenting on it except for the small issue that he is not.
What I find very interesting is how he understood the weighty matters of the claims of liberalism and contrasted them with the truth of Christianity.
He split his discourse into sections which are Doctrine, God and Man, The Bible, Christ, Salvation, and The Church.
In each section, he explains the misconceptions of liberalism as it affects that section then describes the Christian understanding of the issues discussed.
This is far from a review but a short reminder of the way God speaks to us through his word and ordinary means and people like J. Machen Gresham.