Why you should become a Bible-believing anarchist
who also believes the universe was created around 4004 B.C.
J. Gresham Machen wrote a book entitled, Christianity and Liberalism. By "liberalism" is meant denominations like the United Methodists, Episcopalians, and the Presbyterian church which de-frocked Machen.
Machen's thesis was that Liberalism is not just a different form of Christianity, but is an entirely different religion than Christianity.
Machen's book focused on 6 issues:
Chapter 2: Doctrine
Chapter 3: "God & Man"
Chapter 4: "The Bible"
Chapter 5: "Christ"
Chapter 6: "Salvation"
Chapter 7: "The Church"
Machen said liberals disagreed with the Bible on these issues because liberals were committed to putting human reason ahead of God's revelation. As Machen's colleague Cornelius Van Til put it, "There is no alternative but that of theonomy vs. autonomy."
Machen could have greatly lengthened his book by going though the Westminster Confession and showing how liberalism contradicted every chapter:
Chapter 1 — Of the Holy Scripture
Chapter 2 — Of God, and of the Holy Trinity
Chapter 3 — Of God’s Eternal Decree
Chapter 4 — Of Creation
Chapter 5 — Of Providence
Chapter 6 — Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof
Chapter 7 — Of God’s Covenant with Man
Chapter 8 — Of Christ the Mediator
Chapter 9 — Of Free Will
Chapter 10 — Of Effectual Calling
Chapter 11 — Of Justification
Chapter 12 — Of Adoption
Chapter 13 — Of Sanctification
Chapter 14 — Of Saving Faith
Chapter 15 — Of Repentance unto Life
Chapter 16 — Of Good Works
Chapter 17 — Of the Perseverance of the Saints
Chapter 18 — Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation
Chapter 19 — Of the Law of God
Chapter 20 — Of Christian Liberty, and Liberty of Conscience
Chapter 21 — Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day
Chapter 22 — Of Lawful Oaths and Vows
Chapter 23 — Of the Civil Magistrate
Chapter 24 — Of Marriage and Divorce
Chapter 25 — Of the Church
Chapter 26 — Of the Communion of Saints
Chapter 27 — Of the Sacraments
Chapter 28 — Of Baptism
Chapter 29 — Of the Lord’s Supper
Chapter 30 — Of Church Censures
Chapter 31 — Of Synods and Councils
Chapter 32 — Of the State of Men after Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead
Chapter 33 — Of the Last Judgment
At nearly every point, liberals disagree with the Confession.
Some Christian groups, such as Anabaptists, might disagree with the Westminster Confession on some points, but that does not make these groups "liberal." They disagree with the Confession for not being Biblical enough, whereas liberals disagree with the Confession because they see it as too tied to revelation rather than reason. The disagreements of liberals with the Confession are not based on the Bible, or an attempt to be *more* Biblical, but are based on human reason/autonomy, and the desire to be *less* Biblical/theonomic, not more.
Machen himself was a "liberal" on the doctrine of Creation, insofar as he believed the earth was millions or billions of years old. Calvin and the Westminster divines were six-day "young earth" creationists.
Machen was more "anabaptist" on the doctrine of the Civil Magistrate, insofar as he believed the Bible frowned on a powerful central government. Politically, Machen was a "libertarian," but not a "liberal." (Machen did not live long enough to see the "New Deal" transform the political term "liberal" from "libertarian/free market" to a "mixed economy" centrally directed by Hillary Clinton.)
J. Gresham Machen wrote Christianity and Liberalism in 1923 to argue that theological liberalism—dominant in mainline denominations like the Episcopal Church and the (northern) Presbyterian Church—is not merely a variation of Christianity, but an entirely different religion. Though ordained in the Presbyterian Church in the USA (PCUSA), Machen was ultimately suspended from ministry in 1936 for resisting liberalism’s influence and helped found the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. His book critiques liberalism across six key theological areas: Doctrine, God and Man, the Bible, Christ, Salvation, and the Church. In every case, Machen shows how liberalism departs from historic Christian orthodoxy by elevating human reason over divine revelation.
I asked Google's AI what J. Gresham Machen meant by "Liberalism."
- Naturalism over Supernaturalism: Rejects God's direct intervention (miracles, incarnation, resurrection) in favor of natural processes, as argued in The Kuyperian Commentary, The Gospel Coalition.
- Jesus as a Moral Teacher: Views Jesus as a great example to follow, not the divine Son of God who accomplished atonement for sin, according to The Kuyperian Commentary and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
- Doctrine as Symbolic: Considers core Christian doctrines (like atonement) as outdated husks or mere symbols for deeper, abiding truths, while Machen insisted doctrine is the gospel, as described in The Gospel Coalition.
- Subjective Experience over Objective Fact: Bases faith on inner feelings and experiences rather than the historical, factual events of Christ's life, death, and resurrection, notes The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
- A Different Religion: Believes liberalism, despite using Christian terminology, is a fundamentally different religion from biblical Christianity, a central theme of his famous book Christianity & Liberalism, according to The Helwys Society Forum and LigonDuncan.com.
In essence, Machen contended that liberal theology stripped Christianity of its supernatural claims, historical facts, and doctrinal core, leaving behind a humanistic philosophy that was incompatible with genuine Christian faith, as detailed in The Kuyperian Commentary and LigonDuncan.com.
Putting a similar question to ChatGPT:
The term liberal Christianity (in Machen’s sense) really only applies from the 1700's onward, when theologians began consciously subordinating Scripture to autonomous human reason, science, and historical criticism. Below is a breakdown of those on your list who either
(1) identified as Christian but adopted a rationalistic or non-orthodox theology,
(2) embraced a “two-sphere” epistemology (religion for morals, science for facts), or
(3) redefined Christianity in Enlightenment or Romantic terms — what Machen would call “not Christianity at all.”
⚙️ Early Precursors of “Liberal Christianity”
(before the term existed but already eroding Scriptural authority)
Name Era “Liberal” Element John Locke (1632–1704) 17th c. Advocated reasonable Christianity; miracles accepted, but revelation judged by reason; helped found the deist/empiricist mindset. Isaac Newton (1643–1727) 17th c. Anti-Trinitarian Arian; treated Scripture reverently but rejected orthodox Christology. John Toland (not on your list, 1670–1722) 17th c. Coined “Christianity not mysterious” — direct bridge from orthodoxy to deism. Jean-André Deluc (1727–1817) 18th c. Pious theist trying to reconcile geology with Genesis by re-interpreting Scripture — transitional “concordist” spirit. William Paley (1743–1805) 18th c. Orthodox Anglican externally, but reduced theology to natural theology — God proved by mechanical design rather than revelation.
ߌ?️ Canonical “Liberal Christians” in the Modern Sense
Name Era Character of “Liberal Christianity” Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781) 18th c. “Ugly ditch” between historical facts and eternal truths; Scripture as moral myth. Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803) 18th c. Romantic humanist; treated revelation as cultural poetry; rejected orthodox doctrines. Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) 18th c. Retained Christian ethics but denied cognitive revelation; religion = morality. Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814) 18th–19th c. Idealist theology without personal God; “the moral order is God.” Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834) 19th c. Father of liberal theology; Christianity redefined as “feeling of absolute dependence.” Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) 19th c. Theological pantheist; Trinity reinterpreted as dialectical process within history. David Friedrich Strauss (not on your list, 1808–1874) 19th c. Demythologized the Gospels; direct descendant of Schleiermacher. Albrecht Ritschl (not on your list, 1822–1889) 19th c. Ethical kingdom theology; denied miracles and substitutionary atonement.
ߒ? “Borderline” or Transitional Figures
(Nominally orthodox but opened epistemological doors to liberalism)
Name Era Tendency Francis Bacon (1561–1626) 17th c. Theistic empiricist; subordinated theology to “useful” knowledge; set pattern for bifurcation. René Descartes (1596–1650) 17th c. Maintained belief in God but made reason the ultimate arbiter. Joseph Butler (1692–1752) 18th c. Orthodox bishop, yet argued that natural theology suffices to prove Christianity — helped secularize apologetics. William Buckland (1784–1856) 19th c. “Gap-theory” geology to harmonize Bible and long ages; part of Victorian theistic evolution trend. Charles Kingsley (not on your list, 1819–1875) 19th c. Anglican evolutionist; explicitly called Darwin’s work “a noble conception of God.”
❌ Figures Machen Would Not Have Called “Christian” At All
(Deists, pantheists, or atheists often mislabeled as “Christian humanists”)
Spinoza (1632–1677) – pantheist; God = Nature.
Voltaire (1694–1778, not on your list) – deist satirist.
Hume (1711–1776) – skeptic.
Kant’s successors (Fichte, Hegel) – immanentized Spirit, not personal God.
Feuerbach (1804–1872) – “theology is anthropology.”
Marx, Engels, Nietzsche – overtly anti-Christian.
✅ Summary
“Liberal Christians,” in Machen’s sense, begin with Lessing (1729–1781) and reach full flower in Schleiermacher (1768–1834) and Hegel (1770–1831) — thinkers who reinterpreted Christianity as a moral or cultural symbol while denying its supernatural truth.