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Rating: 
Summary: Hart Writes an Insightful Look at Machen and His Time
Review: D.G. Hart's book "Defending the Faith" is an extraordinary biogarphy. He uses Machen as a backdrop to tell of the encroachment of Christian and secular liberalism in the firsat hald of the 19th Century.Unlike most biogarphies, that are often dry and standard on how they present the information, Hart is keen enough to mix Machen's life, letters, thoughts, and the controversies of the day together - and does this without loosing the reader. Machen is seen as a human being with strong suits and faults. We discover also that some secualr liberals join Machen in his attack on Christian liberals. Machen was a prolific schoalar (though I do not agree with many of his views) and one feels they are watching the battle live as he fights against a liberal Protestant Christianity, especially in the Presbyterian Church.
Rating:
Summary: Hart Writes an Insightful Look at Machen and His Time
Review: D.G. Hart's book "Defending the Faith" is an extraordinary biogarphy. He uses Machen as a backdrop to tell of the encroachment of Christian and secular liberalism in the firsat hald of the 19th Century. Unlike most biogarphies, that are often dry and standard on how they present the information, Hart is keen enough to mix Machen's life, letters, thoughts, and the controversies of the day together - and does this without loosing the reader. Machen is seen as a human being with strong suits and faults. We discover also that some secualr liberals join Machen in his attack on Christian liberals. Machen was a prolific schoalar (though I do not agree with many of his views) and one feels they are watching the battle live as he fights against a liberal Protestant Christianity, especially in the Presbyterian Church.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: This is a terrific summation of Machen's life and thought. It also nicely positions Machen within his cultural and historical moment. Hart writes well, too. I highly recommend this book to others. But also be sure to read Machen himself. His book Christianity and Liberalism is excellent for general readers; The Origin of Paul's Religion is excellent for scholars and Christian history buffs.
Rating:
Summary: Very Informative Look at Crucial 20th Century Figure
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Very Informative Look at Crucial 20th Century Figure
Review: 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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