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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Informative Look at Crucial 20th Century Figure, January 5, 2004
This review is from: Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America (Paperback)
This is a very good book by Hart. Both admirers and detractors of J. Gresham Machen will likely have their views of him challenged by this biography in healthy ways. Hart's most provocative premise in this book is his argument that Machen actually had quite a bit in common with skeptics like H.L. Mencken at least so far as their mutual criticisms of modernist theology and the mainline churches that became infected with it. Machen was the famous 'fundamentalist' who did battle against the encroachment of modernistic philosophy and theology in the mainline Presbyterian denomination, as well as at Princeton Seminary - battles that Machen ultimately lost. But Hart goes to great lengths to demonstrate that Machen was no typical fundamentalist, but was in fact one of the few evangelicals who commanded a high degree of respect within secular academic circles for his astute and intellectually rigorous critiques of liberal theology as well as his strong defenses of orthodox Christianity. Hart further highlights Machen's clear differences with the fundamentalists of his time on a number of issues. These differences were defined mainly by Machen's loyalty to presbyterianism and the Westminster Confession, both of which were not endorsed within fundamentalist circles of the time. Hart's examination of Machen's social conscience as well as his attitudes toward matters of the state are very illuminating and are likely to cause many readers who thought they knew Machen well to do some double-takes. Machen strongly resisted both fundamentalist and liberal tendencies to inject the church into politics and matters of state policy, though the fundamentalists and liberals clearly disagree (and continue to disagree even now) about the role of church in political and social activism. Machen rejected both. Hart draws from many personal correspondences that Machen wrote to his mother and others to paint a picture of a very complex man who held views that were very distinctive. I was very surprised and impressed that Hart, a teacher at the seminary Machen founded, and an elder in the denomination that Machen started, gives us a very balanced and sober look at Machen. This is not a book that fawns over Machen as might be expected by an author of Hart's theological and ecclesiastical pedigree. Instead we have here a thoughtful examination of a critical Protestant figure of the 20th century that puts forth an extensively documented look at Machen and the times in which he lived. A very good book.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptional, June 1, 2005
This review is from: Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America (Paperback)
D.G. Hart has proven himself to be one of the finest contemporary historians who focuses on American evangelicalism. For fans of Machen or contemporary North American Presbyterians - this book is absolutely a must read.
What distinguishes this work from other biographies of Machen is Hart's tremendous ability to bring out the historical situation and cultural currents that swirled around the pivotal events in Machen's life. Hart provides us with a richly textured vision of the tensions within North American protestantism during the first half of the twentieth century.
The book is ably written in clear prose. Even though the issues and arguments surrounding Machen's work are often quite complicated, this book is as much of a "page turner" as any work of such meticulous scholarship can be.
Hart's theological astuteness is also indirectly evident throughout the book. This allows him to portray individuals on all sides of the various issues as full and interesting individuals rather than as cardboard characters. We can easily understand why many would find Machen's opponents to be attractive figures, even though one suspects that Hart would often have sided with Machen.
Highly recommended.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Time Was When Religion Was Serious And Intellectual, February 27, 2005
This review is from: Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America (Paperback)
J. Gresham Machen is one of the most maligned men in Christian history. Most accounts I know present him as a bad-attitude, polemical and intolerant religious bigot. Here, D.G. Hart presents the man in a very sober and objective manner - correctly placing him within the socio-political-religious background of his day. Thus, we come to a much better appreciation of the man and his views. Additional insights into his family life and one-time-possible-romance adds colour to the typically sombre portrayal of the man. In fact, sombre isn't the word that I would ever use to describe Machen after reading this book. Machen was known chiefly among his students as one of warmest and most humourous lecturers at Princeton while at the same time truly uncompromising in his belief that the Christian faith owes its origin to God Almighty in Christ Jesus. Finally, I think the greatest contribution of the book is that Hart here presents a Machen who was as much opposed to "brain-dead" Fundamentalist who preached "easy-believism" as he was the Modernists/Liberals. With this book, we finally get a Machen who was a Churchman, Scholar and "Mr-Valiant-For-Truth". Oh, for more like him in our decadent times.
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