Rating: 
Summary: Terrific Book!
Review: This book is a terrific defense of Christian orthodoxy. It is amazing to see what Machen wrote 80 years ago is still true today. He calls liberalism another religion (which it is). What is interesting to note is that the Word-of-Faith movement is a lot like the liberal movement of the early 20th century. They do not think theology matters, and they are very relative in their understanding of truth. This is the same way that the liberal movement is today, also. They are 'pratically' oriented, and not oriented by the Word of God! The ideals of the Protestant Reformers have been thrown at the window, because 'they are too 16th century.' Machen does a great job critiquing Liberalism from six different facets: Doctrine, God and Man, The Bible, Christ, Salvation, and The Church. I have already gone into his critique of the liberal movement on doctrine, namely that they do not see it's importance. They have a demoted view of God (as does the Word-of-faith). They stress the immanence of God (as does pantheism or panentheism), and do not see the transcendence of God in the same light. Then, they see the universality of the brotherhood of man. As far as the Bible is concerned they reject the authority and inerrancy of the Bible, and they remove the foundaton of the Christian faith! They see Christ as just a normal man. That He isn't actually God, but that He was a very moral man. And lastly, their view of the Church is not what it should be. They deflate the Church to become a social entity, rather than a place to worship the Holy God! Machen does a terrific job to critique this abberation. A modern day wake-up call.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent defense of the orthodox Chistian faith
Review: This book was excellent. I am continually amazed at how history repeats itself - particularly in the Christian realm. It seems as though the same issues in Church history keep coming up and this book illustrates the same phenomena.Machen's "Christianity and Liberalism" is as valid today as it was when it was written in the early twenties. Machen addresses the creeping in of liberalism into the Church and how on the surface, the differences don't seem so striking, but underneath liberalism makes itself out to be a completely different religion. Machen stresses the importance of doctrine for preserving the orthodox Christian faith while urging for unity without compromising the fundamentals. I highly recommend this book to anyone for the means of promoting awareness and discernment in these "liberal" times.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic that has unfortunately stood the test of time
Review: This book, while certainly brilliant, is one that I wish had never needed to be written. Further, it is a book that I wish would not need to be read today. Why? Because both the initial writing of the book as well as its sustained relevance represents an atrocious and constant backsliding on the part of many within the so-called body of Christ towards a religion that is indeed different than the historic Christian faith. Machen echoes what should be common knowledge among believers today, which is that many theological liberals have successfully coopted many buzzwords within Christianese, redefined them to suit their theological leanings, and made them their own to such a degree that it is quite amazing that many who sound quite Christian in their terminology are advocating such decidedly unChristian philosophies. Contemporary defenders of the Christian faith, if they could take just one thing away from this book, should carefully note the extensive detail Machen gives to emphasizing the need for clear definitions of terms so that everyone knows what meanings and concepts everyone else is applying to certain critical words. Often, the sharp theological and philosophical differences that many try to downplay become very stark and very clear quite early on once people are respectfully asked to explain what definitions and ideas they ascribe to certain terms. This approach is of critical need in our apologetic and defense today. Machen does a brilliant job of showing that theological liberalism, no matter how Christian it sounds, denies the essence of the Christian faith by denying the infallibility of the Bible, the deity of Christ, the sovereignty of God, the process of salvation, and the proper role of the Church. Such backslidden conditions are officially commonplace, unfortunately, in many of the mainline denominations. But such backslidden views are also becoming commonplace, albeit unofficially, among many Roman Catholics and evangelicals as well. I am convinced that these results are due in sufficient measure to the sometimes deliberate deemphasizing of theological fundamentals in many contemporary church pulpits today in an effort to present a more accessible faith to unbelievers. And while I don't have a problem with the latter by itself, I believe when this goal is supposedly achieved by backburnering the basic doctrines upon which the historic Christian faith stands or falls, we should not be surprised when we see otherwise faithful believers embracing concepts that the Bible clearly and repeatedly runs in opposition to. In summary, given the continued official theological drift of many of the mainline denominations, coupled with an alarming unofficial drift among many supposed theological conservatives, I believe that Machen's work, unfortunately, should be required reading for pastors, staffmembers, and adult education students in every church in America that wants to stay true to the historic faith and says it is committed to doing so. This book, in a concise way, clearly shines a light on the lines of demarkation between theological liberalism and conservatism. And in the process, successfully refutes the bankruptcy of the former and affirming the integrity of the latter. I wish the Church was in better shape and being more faithful to the God we claim to worship. But until that happens, I think Machen's work will continue to be relevant and sorely needed as a devastating rebuke of humanism dressed in Christian linguistics.
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