Selected Shorter Writings: J. Gresham Machen (Hardcover)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 590 pages
• Publisher: P & R Publishing (February 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875525709
• ISBN-13: 978-0875525709
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #208,511 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction to the Works of Machen, January 24, 2009

By	Dennis M. Swanson "Narnia3.com" (Santa Clarita, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although most seminary students may only remember J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937) as the author of the annoying Greek Grammar that was the bane of their studies; he is perhaps best remembered in the wider world as the instigator, and ultimately, one of the founders of Westminster Theological Seminary.

Following Archibald Alexander, Charles and A. A. Hodge and Benjamin B. Warfield, Machen is generally regarded as the last in the line of the "Old Princeton" tradition and theology. He was at the center, and, in many respects the flashpoint, of the modernist/liberal ascendancy that began in earnest with the death of Warfield in 1921 culminating in the reorganization of Princeton Theological Seminary in 1929. The reorganization led to Machen, Cornelius Van Til, Oswald Allis, Robert Dick Wilson and others to resign from Princeton and form Westminster. Near the end of his life Machen was also defrocked by the now liberal-dominated PCUSA and he helped found what is now the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC).

Machen was the author of three seminal works, Christianity and Liberalism, What is Christianity and The Virgin Birth. Additionally he authored scores of shorter essays and reviews, some of which this volume compiles together. Originally, this essays in this book were included in a larger three volume set that included: J Gresham Machen: A Biographical Memoir, God Transcendent a collection of sermons, and the collection of shorter essays, entitled What is Christianity, written and compiled by Ned Stonehouse. While the biography and sermons have remained in print the collection of essays dropped away, and this volume, as the editor states, "is an effort to make up for this curiosity in publishing history" (p. 2).

The editor, who has written extensively on Machen's life and work, provides an introductory chapter, "The Forgotten Machen?" (1-22) which alone would be worth the price of this entire book. It is an excellent and penetrating examination of Machen, particularly in relation to the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy of his day and the theological decline of his own denomination.

The essays in this collection are divided into ten different categories. A good many of the articles have to do with the controversies raging in the PCUSA during Machen's last days at Princeton. Those articles are enlightening about the issues that led to the formation of Westminster Seminary and finally the OPC. Some of the articles are classics, such as the section "The Task of Christian Scholarship" and there are others that, while a little odd sounding, are enlightening to the history of a previous era, such as the essay on the 18th Amendment and the laws enacting Prohibition. His essay on "The Christian and Human Relations" (421-28) is very instructive to this age, particularly as it relates to unsaved friends. He emphasizes that strong friendships with unbelievers are essential in personal evangelism. "Without such friendship, any persuasion that we attempt will usually be mere empty words" (p. 427). Machen was particularly concerned with the interaction between Christianity and culture as several other essays demonstrate. His essays on the Virgin Birth (57-74) and the Resurrection of Christ (75-87) are both classic statements on the subject.

This work contains two lengthy bibliographies for additional reading (16-20 and 571-75). While he points to the complete bibliography of Machen's works in another (now out of print work), it seems that this volume would have been an appropriate location for that bibliography as well. It also contains a useful, albeit brief, subject and name index.

The reissuing of this collection of Machen's writings, combined with the additional materials supplied by the editor is a welcome addition to evangelical literature. While Machen's main works have remained in print since their original publication over 70 years ago, Machen himself is perhaps not as well remembered as his stature warrants. This book will open a door into the life, times and thinking of one of the most fascinating and original Christian thinkers of his day.

4.0 out of 5 stars Selected Shorter Writings: J. Gresham Machen, August 31, 2009

By	Gordon G. Wilsonchurch Christ (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although a lot of the material in this book is re-printed from earlier publications, it is still valuable to those interested in the Fundamentalist--Modernist controversy. And, of course, Machen himself remains a very controversial figure. I'd like to see something that more fully explains his break with Allis and others who helped him founding Westminster Seminary. But I suppose that is fairly well covered in the standard biography.