What's New at Log College Press? - June 14, 2023

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It has been a while since we have updated our readers on what’s happening at Log College Press, but there is in fact much to report. As you may know by now, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary announced in recent weeks that it has acquired Log College Press, a partnership which is a tremendous step forward in our ministry. It is a tremendous privilege to associate with the seminary in our mutual efforts to edify the church body, in our case, by bringing American Presbyterian works from the past into the present, which makes for an exciting future.

We are very pleased to report that Caleb Cangelosi, the founder of Log College Press, will continue to serve as General Editor of the publishing side of Log College Press. Some of the planned forthcoming titles to be published include:

- A Plain and Scriptural View of Baptism, by Daniel Baker

- The Utility and Importance of Creeds and Confessions, by Samuel Miller

- The Broken Home: Lessons in Sorrow, by Benjamin Morgan Palmer

- Suicide: Its Guilt, Folly, and Sources, by Samuel Miller

- The Memoirs of John Leighton Wilson, by Hampden Coit DuBose

Andrew Myers remains the Website Manager for Log College Press. At this point in time, we are approaching 20,000 titles available to read online on the website. Members of the Dead Presbyterian Society have special access to certain features on the site, which include the Early Access and Recent Additions page, as well as the DPS quote blog.

Some highlights at the Early Access page:

  • Mary McLeod Bethune, My Last Will and Testament (an article that she published shortly before her death in a 1955 issue of Ebony magazine);

  • Sidney Lanier, Tiger-Lilies (1867) - this is Lanier’s one and only novel;

  • A.A. Hodge, Progress in Theology (1883) - Hodge’s contribution to a symposium on the subject which appeared in The Catholic Presbyterian;

  • James Kennedy, Thoughts on Prayer (1898) - Kennedy’s final publication includes a memorial of his life; and

  • Geerhardus Vos, Dogmatiek, Vols. 1-5 (1896) - this is Vos’ Reformed Dogmatics, handwritten, in Dutch.

Some highlights at the Recent Addtiions page:

  • William Munford Baker, Church-Planting in Texas: A Pioneer Sketch (1879);

  • Thomas Bloomer Balch, Reminiscences of Presbyterian Ministers (1877-1878) - a series of personal recollections that appeared in The Central Presbyterian;

  • Louis FitzGerald Benson, The Hymnody of the Christian Church (1927);

  • George Washington Cable, Mark Twain and G.W. Cable: The Record of a Literary Relationship (1960);

  • John Gresham Machen, Captain With the Mighty Heart: The Story of J. Gresham Machen (1967-1971), and Personal Reminiscences of J. Gresham Machen (1985) - the first being a 19-part biographical sketch by Henry W. Coray from The Presbyterian Guardian, and the second being a series of recollections by people who knew Machen personally from The Presbyterian Journal;

  • Gilbert McMaster, The Upright Man in Life and at Death: a Discourse Delivered, Sabbath Evening, November 7, 1852, on the Occasion of the Decease of the Rev. Samuel Brown Wylie, D.D. (1852);

  • Richard Clark Reed, The Gospel as Taught By Calvin (1896, 1979);

  • John Rodgers, A Brief View of the State of Religious Liberty in the Colony of New York (1773, 1838);

  • Charles Adamson Salmond, Dr. Charles Hodge (1881)

  • Thomas Caldwell Stuart, “Father” Stuart and the Monroe Mission (1927); and

  • Geerhardus Vos, De verbondsleer in de Gereformeerde theologie - Dutch original of The Doctrine of the Covenant in Reformed Theology] (1891).

This is an exciting year for Log College Press for many reasons, and, in our fashion, we have, this year, already taken note of John Witherspoon’s 300th birthday, Thomas Murphy’s 200th birthday, and we are looking ahead to the 200th birthday of A.A. Hodge, and the 300th birthday of Samuel Davies. 2023 is a good time to study the writings of these giants of the American Presbyterian Church. There is no time like the present to study the past.

Meanwhile, please feel free to browse the many resources available to our readers in print and in digital format. We appreciate hearing from our readers if they find matters needing correction, or if they have questions about authors or works on the site, or if they have suggestions for additions to the site. Your feedback helps the experience of other readers as well. Thank you, as always, for your interest and support. Stay tuned for more good things to come.

The Day Old Princeton Died

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In evaluating the history of that great institution known as Princeton Theological Seminary, many would consider that “she” died in 1929 when the seminary was reorganized on modernist terms. But in a letter to his mother dated February 20, 1921, J.G. Machen wrote these sad words (quoted in Ned B. Stone, J. Gresham Machen: A Biographical Memoir (1954), p. 310):

Dr.Warfield's funeral took place yesterday afternoon at the First Church of Princeton . . . It seemed to me that the old Princeton — a great institution it was — died when Dr. Warfield was carried out.

B.B. Warfield, the great defender of historic Protestant orthodoxy, who carried that banner for Old Princeton, entered into glory on February 16, 1921.

Born near Lexington, Kentucky on November 5, 1851, Warfield completed his undergraduate studies at the College of New Jersey at Princeton, and then, after a tour of Europe, embarked on theological studies at the seminary in Princeton. He graduated from the seminary in 1876, and then, after a period of transition, he was ordained to the ministry in 1879, and in 1880, he was inaugurated as a professor at Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh). Eight years later, in 1888, he was inaugurated as Professor of Didactic and Polemic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, succeeding both Charles and A.A. Hodge, and he remained at Princeton for the next four decades of his life, contributing to the cause of Christ as an outstanding theologian, a remarkable teacher, and a prolific author.

He was stricken by a first heart attack on December 24, 1920 while walking in front of the home of Geerhardus Vos, which was witnessed by his son, J.G. Vos (this account came from J.G. Vos to R.C. Sproul and was repeated in the April 2005 issue of Tabletalk Magazine, although the account repeated there makes it seem as if the event was the fatal heart attack, which did not happen until February 16, 1921).

William Childs Robinson was a student in Warfield’s class on that day in February (his recollection too fudged a detail but it is worth repeating here [see his 1974 review of Warfield’s The Lord of Glory titled Warfield’s Witness to Christ]):

I was in the class he taught on Feb. 17, 1921, the day of his death. In an exposition of I John 3:16, he pointed out that for Christ to lay down His life was great, but the stupendous thing was that He — being all that He was and is, the Lord of glory — laid down His life for us, mere creatures of His hand, guilty rebels against our gracious Maker.

Up until his final hours, B.B. Warfield testified of Christ our Lord, and that, we may rightly conclude, was the true banner and testimony of Old Princeton. Warfield’s personal witness to Christ was so powerful and outstanding, and the dramatic spiritual downfall of the institution that he loved which followed soon after was so much the opposite of Warfield’s own testimony, that it seems Machen was right — when Warfield died and was laid to rest in the Princeton Cemetery, Old Princeton itself indeed died that day.

Introducing the Century Club at Log College Press

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Among the nearly 2,000 authors found at Log College Press there are at least three centenarians (Arthur Judson Brown [1856-1963, 106]; William Rankin III [1810-1912, 102]; and George Summey [1853-1954, 101]), as well as at least three authors who were 99 years old when they entered into their eternal rest (Littleton Purnell Bowen, David Caldwell, and Maria Fearing). But the Log College Press Century Club which we are introducing today has to do with something a little different.

To be a member of this club, there must be at least 100 works by (and sometimes about) the author on their particular pages. At this point in time, there are 27 such individuals in the LCP Century Club, as follows:

There are some other prolific writers who we anticipate may join this club at some point in the future, such as Isabella Macdonald Alden, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Finley Milligan Foster, Robert Jefferson Breckinridge and Cleland Boyd McAfee, to name a few. As the Lord gives us strength and ability, we continue to add works by these and many other writers. We still have our work cut out for us, especially, for example, with respect to T.L. Cuyler, who penned over 4,000 separate published articles. Meanwhile, if viewed as a snapshot of our most prolific authors, the LCP Century Club invites readers to explore a representative cross-section of early American Presbyterianism. We hope you will take this opportunity to see what’s available among these prolific writers’ pages (as well as those not-so-prolific), and to enjoy a visit to the past, which we trust will be a blessing to you in the present.

Machen on the Faith Intended For the Whole World

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For we are not trying to spread over the world any particular view of Christian truth or any particular form of Christian organisation. I belong to the Presbyterian Church, but I have not the slightest zeal in seeking to have the Presbyterian Church extended over the non-Christian world. — Robert E. Speer, Christianity and the Nations (1910), pp. 331-332

In a striking example of two radically opposite approaches to the missionary vision, Robert E. Speer, the ecumenical layman-theologian, above, spoke of his desire for cooperation between denominations without giving weight to the distinctive beliefs of the Presbyterian church. But some years later, J.G. Machen responded clearly and forcefully to Speer’s statement with his own conviction that those distinctive beliefs represent a full-orbed gospel message as opposed to a watered-down gospel (The Attack Upon Princeton Seminary: A Plea For Fair Play [1927], pp. 8-9).

As over against such a reduced Christianity, we at Princeton stand for the full, glorious gospel of divine grace that God has given us in His Word and that is summarized in the Confession of Faith of our Church. We cannot agree with those who say that although they are members of the Presbyterian Church, they “have not the slightest zeal to have the Presbyterian Church extended through the length and breadth of the world.” As for us, we hold the faith of the Presbyterian Church, the great Reformed Faith that is set forth in the Westminster Confession, to be true; and holding it to be true we hold that it is intended for the whole world.

We may agree very much with Samuel Davies, who once wrote: “I care but little whether men go to Heaven from the Church of England or Presbyterian, if they do but go there; but Oh! Multitudes of both denominations must experience a great change before they obtain it” (August 13, 1751 Letter to brother-in-law John Holt). But there is an important difference between acknowledgment that Christianity is not at all confined to one denomination, which is most certainly the case, as confessed in the Presbyterian creed — “The visible church, which is also catholic or universal under the gospel (not confined to one nation, as before under the law), consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion…This catholic church hath been sometimes more, sometimes less, visible. And particular churches, which are members thereof, are more or less pure, according as the doctrine of the gospel is taught and embraced, ordinances administered, and public worship performed more or less purely in them” (Westminster Confession of Faith 25.2, 4) — and a desire, such as that which Machen expressed, that the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) be preached to the nations rather than a watered-down, non-offensive message be delivered to the world that eviscerates the truth of the gospel.

Introducing a Five-Part Series on J. Gresham Machen

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Editorial note: Our guest writer today is Rich Brown, a pastor in the Blue Ridge Presbytery (PCA) in Lynchburg, VA and doctoral student at Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia).

 

            As we approach the 100th anniversary of the classic work, Christianity and Liberalism (1923), I am honored to partner with Log College Press in publishing a five-part series on the life and ministry of J. Gresham Machen (1881–1937). Each month, subscribers to the Dead Presbyterians Society will receive access to a new chapter on Machen, covering all sorts of nuances, ranging from his apologetic method and evangelistic zeal to his preaching ministry and humble personality.

            In large part, these chapters are written in commemoration of the monumental work, Christianity and Liberalism, which yet still testifies to the truth of Scripture, unchangeable. Furthermore, the research with which you are invited to engage is expressly committed to the preservation of interest in Machen’s unilateral defense of the historic Christian faith—with the hope of instilling a renewed and vigorous reliance upon the authority of the word of God. For as the modern Evangelical Church has borne the weight of watching prominent Christian leaders fall prey to the seductive lies of self-governing Deconstructionism, along with the rise of “Progressive Christianity” from within her own ranks, Machen’s brave resilience in the face of adversity and resistance to the whims of cultural conveniences in the Protestant Church of his own day provide us in the 21st century with a worthy example of a life well lived.

            While we certainly do not want to exalt any mere man, we as the church of the present day are yet compelled to learn diligently from those faithful leaders who have gone before us. Hebrews 13:7 commends us with the following words: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” This imperative to not only respect, but to emulate those who have abided in the faith is rooted deeply in the timeless, foundational promise of the subsequent verse. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

            But how can the church learn from those who have gone before and seek to mirror their faithfulness, unless their story is told anew? Such then is not only the didactic aim, but earnest, pastoral desire of this writer and minister of the gospel for you, the reader. My prayer is that the spiritual health and vitality of your own communion with Christ would be enlivened all the more as we consider together the Lord’s work in the life of one of his under-shepherds.

            On a deeply personal level, the writings of Machen have stirred my own affections for Christ over the past decade. For those who are already familiar with Machen’s life and legacy, there is a nuanced warmth to his writings that transcends the polemic for which he is perhaps most widely known. In his correspondences ranging from his personal letters and publicized writings, to his sermons and radio addresses for the sake of Christ’s cherished bride, a truly pastoral demeanor and intonation within Machen’s voice would become all the more manifest as his ministry matured and his influence expanded. And as one becomes more greatly acquainted with Machen’s writings, the text of Galatians 2:20 is evidenced as the binding message of his ministry.

            As a young man, Machen found himself providentially placed in a sphere of influence within both the mainline Presbyterian Church (USA) and one of the nation’s leading institutions: Princeton Theological Seminary. Yet over the course of more than two decades, his lot became one who was made to share in the sufferings of Christ, similar to the Apostle Paul. Fittingly so, Galatians 2:20 increasingly became his most oft-repeated Scripture. Though he came from a family of notable prestige and lived in a dignified manner, he learned to embrace these timeless words: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me.” But Machen also took great comfort in the fruit of such a heavenward disposition. From his first few sermons, until the closing days of his time this side of glory, he both owned and unreservedly declared the refrain of this verse. “And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

            So I invite you, the reader, to learn with me from Machen’s life—flawed, as we all are, yet rooted in the life of Christ. Over the course of five chapters, you will witness both the polemical and pastoral undertones of Machen’s work and influence. In the preface, a brief overview of his ministry will be provided, to help acquaint those who are yet unfamiliar with his writings. Following this, his apologetic method will be explained in chapter one as being in accord with those Princeton theologians before him, yet harmonized with the work of his primary protégé, Cornelius Van Til. The second chapter will then begin to explore the largely untouched aspect of Machen’s genuine humility toward the work of those outside of his own tradition and how he bestowed the benefit of the doubt in areas that were better addressed by those in tune with differing philosophies—namely, Barthianism. Subsequently, chapter three will largely focus upon how the doctrine of the Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ, derived from the Scottish Reformers, influenced his ministry, especially as his platform in speaking to other like-minded Evangelicals grew in the 1920s and early 1930s. Chapter four will take more of a pragmatic stance in exploring Machen’s concern for Christian and civil liberties alike and how the intersection of such God-derived freedoms are of utmost value to hearers in our modern day and age, which is wrestling with the application of such nobilities. Finally, chapter five will express an important aspect of Machen’s preaching ministry: his zeal for evangelism in keeping with his commitment to delivering the whole council of God. Pastoral thoughts and reflections will then be provided, respective of the work as a whole.

We hope you will join us on this excursus and be encouraged to “stay the course!”

Log College Press and the Movies

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For those who enjoy the cinema, there are some interesting ties between American Presbyterians on Log College Press and the movies.

  • The 2003 film Gods and Generals, which tells the story of the War Between the States largely from the points of one military officer from the North and one from the South, features Stephen Lang who played Stonewall Jackson (Presbyterian deacon) and Martin Clark as Dr. George Junkin (Presbyterian minister, and Jackson’s father-in-law).

  • Francis J. Grimké and Matthew Anderson once had occasion to watch a film together - D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915). The movie is famous for its positive portrayal of the Klu Klux Klan, which Grimké noted in his review. He vehemently critiqued the film for its apparent effort to excite racial prejudice against African-Americans.

  • J.G. Machen was a Charlie Chaplin fan, according to D.G. Hart, who commented, writing in Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America, pp. 164, 207:

The final issue that split fundamentalist and traditionalist Presbyterians concerned personal morality. In [James Oliver] Buswell's estimation this was the proverbial straw that would break the camel's back. Those in the church who sided with him, Buswell wrote (in what turned out to be his last letter to Machen), were concerned about reports that Westminster students used liquor in their rooms "with the approval of some members of the faculty." The use of alcohol, even in the celebration of the sacrament, he added, was "far more likely" to divide the church than "any question of eschatology." Buswell and other fundamentalists in the church were also "shocked" by leaders of the new denomination who defended "the products of Hollywood," a "useless,...waste of energy." Machen never responded to Buswell but his opposition to Prohibition provides a clue to his views on alcohol. In addition to opposing the expanded powers of the federal government that the Eighteenth Amendment granted, Machen also thought the Bible allowed moderate use of alcohol. This was also the position of the majority of faculty at Westminster who came from ethnic churches were the idea of total abstinence with American evangelicalism was foreign. As for Buswell's reference to Hollywood, Machen did enjoy going to the movies and commented favorably on Charlie Chaplin but did not make any remarks about film in his published writings.10

10. Buswell to Machen, December 4, 1936, MA. On Machen's fondness for movies, see, for example, his letters to his mother, May 14, 1913, March 11 and August 23, 1914, MA.

These are a few of the curious and fascinating connections between Hollywood and American Presbyterianism to be found at Log College Press. As we say here, even in regards to culture:

THE PAST IS NOT DEAD. 
PRIMARY SOURCES ARE NOT INACCESSIBLE.
18TH-19TH CENTURY AMERICAN PRESBYTERIANS ARE NOT IRRELEVANT.

Log College Press: Summer Update (August 31, 2021)

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So much has been going on at Log College Press that it is often hard to find time to write about it, but we wish to keep our readers aware, so here is a brief summary of recent activity.

In the month of August, we have added 17 new authors and almost 300 new works. That includes 45 works by Charles Henry Parkhurst, 19 by B.B. Warfield, and 16 by J.G. Machen.

We now have around 700 links to useful Secondary Sources which are well worth browsing.

This summer we published Mediations on the Lord’s Supper by Jacob Jones Janeway. And Log College Press was represented at a booth at the PCA General Assembly. We have received much kind feedback from our readers, and we thank everyone for their interest and support. One of our July posts was shared on Facebook at least 144 times and reached over 17,000 people. It is hoped that the work done at Log College Press in dusting off 18th and 19th century Presbyterian works is an encouragement and a blessing to our 21st century readers. We continue to grow and build on this project begun four years ago. Lord willing, there is much more to come.

Blessings to all!

Some Pastors' Wives who were Prolific Writers

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The Child’s Story Bible [by Catherine Vos] was such a success that it sold more copies than all Geerhardus’s books combined. — Danny E. Olinger, Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian, p. 273

When we think of the most prolific or best-selling writers on Log College Press, names like B.B. Warfield, Archibald Alexander and Samuel Miller may come to mind. But some of the most prolific writers were often pastors’ wives, and, in some cases, as writers, out-sold their husbands. It is worth taking notes of some of their names and stories.

  • Isabella Macdonald Alden — The wife of Rev. Gustavus Rosenberg Alden, Mrs. Alden was the author of over 200 books, most written under the pen name “Pansy” (a childhood nickname), and contributed as a journalist and editor as well. Her literary fame was world-wide and she received much fan mail, responding to each letter individually. Rev. Francis E. Clark once said, “Probably no writer of stories for young people has been so popular or had so wide an audience as Mrs. G. R. Alden, whose pen-name, ‘Pansy,’ is known wherever English books are read.”

  • Charlotte Forten Grimké — Both before and after her 1878 marriage to Rev. Francis James Grimké, Charlotte was a poet, diarist and author of articles and essays. Her contribution to African-American literature is still greatly appreciated today.

  • Elizabeth Payson Prentiss — Mrs. Prentiss, author of Stepping Heavenward, was the wife of Rev. George Lewis Prentiss, author of her biography. Elizabeth wrote dozens of books, as well as poetry and hymns. Stepping Heavenward sold over 200,000 copies in the 19th century, and since a 1992 reprint was issued, at least another 100,000 copies have been sold.

  • Harriet Beecher Stowe — The wife of Rev. Calvin Ellis Stowe, Harriet is best known as the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. But she also wrote around 30 novels, plus articles and letters. She was a celebrity to many, infamous to others, but her writings were an important factor in the momentous events of 1861. Uncle Tom’s Cabin sold over 2 million copies worldwide by 1857 (5 years after its publication) and to date it has been translated into 70 languages.

  • Mary Virginia Hawes Terhune — Mrs. Terhune, wife of Rev. Edward Payson Terhune, was known by her pen name, Marion Harland. She was the author of many novels, short stories, cookbooks, books on etiquette and more. She gave birth to six children, three of whom survived into adulthood - all three became successful writers as well. Her autobiography contains many fascinating insights into the Presbyterian circles in which she participated in Virginia, such as her remarks on the anti-slavery convictions of Mrs. Anne Rice, wife of Rev. John Holt Rice.

Other prolific female Presbyterian writers, married (whose spouses were not ministers) or unmarried, include:

  • Pearl Sydenstricker Buck — Mrs. Buck, daughter of a missionary, Rev. Absalom Sydenstricker, and the wife of agricultural missionary John Lossing Buck (until they divorced) and Richard J. Walsh, is well-known for her liberal convictions and for her role in the upheaval that led to Rev. J. Gresham Machen’s departure from the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. Her 1931 novel The Good Earth won her a Pulitzer Prize, and in 1938 she won the Nobel Prize for Literature in recognition of her writings on China.

  • Martha Farquaharson Finley — The author of the Elsie Dinsmore series and many more novels, Ms. Finley was a descendant of Samuel Finley and of Scottish Covenanters. Of the Elsie Dinsmore series, it has been said that it was “‘The most popular and longest running girl’s series of the 19th century,’ with the first volume selling nearly 300,000 copies in its first decade, going on to ‘sell more than 5 million copies in the 20th century.’”

  • Grace Livingston Hill — Niece of Isabella M. Alden, and daughter of Rev. Charles Montgomery Livingston and Mrs. Marcia B. Macdonald Livingston, she was a popular writer of over 100 books on her own, but also compiled the Pansies for Thoughts of her aunt, and they collaborated on other works as well.

  • Julia Lake Skinner Kellersberger — The wife of medical missionary Eugene Roland Kellersberger, both served the Presbyterian mission to the Belgian Congo. Mrs. Kellersberger wrote many books based on her experience, including a noted biography of Althea Maria Brown Edmiston.

  • Margaret Junkin Preston — Known as the “Poet Laureate of the Confederacy,” Mrs. Preston was the wife of Major John Thomas Lewis Preston, a professor of Latin at the Virginia Military Institute; the daughter of Rev. George Junkin; and the brother-in-law of Stonewall Jackson. Her literary productions were many, and she was a beloved poet of the South.

  • Julia McNair Wright — A very popular writer of books for children, including historical novels and introductions to science, and more, Mrs. Wright (wife of mathematician William James Wright), was a remarkable author, whose works were translated into many languages. Her The Complete Home: An Encyclopedia of Domestic Life and Affairs, Embracing all the Interests of the Household sold over 100,000 copies.

These brief notices show that there are a number of popular women Presbyterian writers from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Their bibliographies are lengthy, their legacies in some cases enduring to the present day, and their impact has been culturally significant. The work of adding all of their published writings is ongoing and in some cases far from complete at the present. We hope to make much more progress with each of these writers. The corpus of their literary productions is a real treasure.

Log College Press Audio Resources

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It is well known that J.G. Machen delivered radio addresses, utilizing a medium that was new at the time, to advance the gospel. In recent years, much of this material has been reproduced as audiobooks or in print/digital format: The Person of Jesus: Radio Addresses on the Deity of the Savior (2017); Who Is Jesus?: Radio Addresses on the Deity of the Savior (2017); What Is Predestination?: Radio Addresses on the Election of God's People (2017); Is the Bible Inspired?: Radio Addresses on the Origin of Scripture (2017); and Things Unseen: A Systematic Introduction to the Christian Faith and Reformed Theology (2020).

There are others on Log College Press whose voices may be heard today. Below we have assembled a few links for those who enjoy hearing as well as reading voices from the past. Certainly, there are more, but the resources below will be of interest to some.

As mentioned, more such audio resources are certainly available out there, and we hope to keep expanding on this material to let our readers and hearers know where to find them. It is one thing to read, and another to hear, voices from the past. Take a listen to these recordings, and enjoy!

Sprunt Lectures at Log College Press

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THE JAMES SPRUNT LECTURES

In 1911 Mr. James Sprunt of Wilmington, North Carolina, gave to The Trustees of Union Theological Seminary in Virginia the sum of thirty thousand dollars, since increased by his generosity to fifty thousand dollars, for the purpose of establishing a perpetual lectureship , which would enable the institution to secure from time to time the services of distinguished ministers and authoritative scholars, outside the regular Faculty, as special lecturers on subjects connected with various departments of Christian thought and Christian work. The lecturers are chosen by the Faculty of the Seminary and a committee of the Board of Trustees, and the lectures are published after their delivery in accordance with a contract between the lecturer and these representatives of the institution. — W.W. Moore, in Francis L. Patton, Fundamental Christianity (1926, 1928)

An endowment that began 110 years ago, and continues today, for a lectureship at Union Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, has included — from a roster that is worldwide — some notable American Presbyterians. The early years encompass some authors found at Log College Press, as noted below.

These lectures contain rich material on a variety of topics. Machen’s lectures are particularly well-known even today, but all of these contributions to the church from a century ago are worthy of study by the current generation. (Interestingly, Kyle also delivered the 1919 Stone Lectures at Princeton.) Sprunt’s legacy consists not only in his own writings, which are fascinating — especially for those interested in eastern North Carolina history — but in the lectureship he established which lives on.

Machen on the consecration of culture

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Some have well and truly observed that the interest of religion and good literature hath risen and fallen together. – Increase Mather

Of the five paradigms sketched by H. Richard Niebuhr in Christ and Culture (1951), it is clear that J.G. Machen fits not into the “Christ Against Culture” category, or most of the others found therein, but the “Christ Transforming Culture” paradigm is good match. Culture is not irredeemable or inherently antagonistic to Christianity, but can be sanctified to the glory of God, in Machen’s view.

Machen’s 1912 address “The Scientific Preparation of the Minister” was published in 1913 as Christianity and Culture, and here he makes this case.

Are then Christianity and culture in a conflict that is to be settled only by the destruction of one or the other of the contending forces? A third solution, fortunately, is possible — namely, consecration. Instead of destroying the arts and sciences or being indifferent to them, let us cultivate them with all the enthusiasm of the veriest humanist, but at the same time consecrate them to the service of our God. Instead of stifling the pleasures afforded by the acquisition of knowledge or by the appreciation of what is beautiful, let us accept these pleasures as the gifts of a heavenly Father. Instead of obliterating the distinction between the kingdom and the world, or on the other hand withdrawing from the world into a sort of modernized intellectual monasticism, let us go forth joyfully, enthusiastically to make the world subject to God. …

There are two objections to our solution of the problem. If you bring culture and Christianity thus into close union — in the first place, will not Christianity destroy culture? Must not art and science be independent in order to flourish? We answer that it all depends upon the nature of their dependence. Subjection to any external authority or even to any human authority would be fatal to art and science. But subjection to God is entirely different. Dedication of human powers to God is found, as a matter of fact, not to destroy but to heighten them. God gave those powers. He understands them well enough not bunglingly to destroy his own gifts. In the second place, will not culture destroy Christianity? Is it not far easier to be an earnest Christian if you confine your attention to the Bible and do not risk being led astray by the thought of the world? We answer that of course it is easier. Shut yourself up in an intellectual monastery, do not disturb yourself with the thoughts of unregenerate men, and of course you will find it easier to be a Christian, just as it is easier to be a good soldier in comfortable winter quarters than it is on the field of battle. You save your own soul — but the Lord’s enemies remain in possession of the field. …

I do not mean that the removal of intellectual objections will make a man a Christian. No conversion was ever wrought simply by argument. A change of heart is also necessary. And that can be wrought only by the immediate exercise of the power of God. But because intellectual labor is insufficient, it does not follow, as is so often assumed, that it is unnecessary. God may, it is true, overcome all intellectual obstacles by an immediate exercise of his regenerative power. Sometimes he does. But he does so very seldom. Usually he exerts his power in connection with certain conditions of the human mind. Usually he does not bring into the kingdom, entirely without preparation, those whose mind and fancy are completely dominated by ideas which make the acceptance of the gospel logically impossible. …

Modern culture is a tremendous force. It affects all classes of society. It affects the ignorant as well as the learned. What is to be done about it? In the first place, the church may simply withdraw from the conflict. She may simply allow the mighty stream of modern thought to flow by unheeded and do her work merely in the back-eddies of the current. There are still some men in the world who have been unaffected by modern culture. They may still be won for Christ without intellectual labor. And they must be won. It is useful, it is necessary work. If the church is satisfied with that alone, let her give up the scientific education of her ministry. …

The church is puzzled by the world’s indifference. She is trying to overcome it by adapting her message to the fashions of the day. But if, instead, before the conflict, she would descend into the secret place of meditation, if by the clear light of the gospel she would seek an answer not merely to the questions of the hour but, first of all, to the eternal problems of the spiritual world, then perhaps, by God’s grace, through his good Spirit, in his good time, she might issue forth once more with power, and an age of doubt might be followed by the dawn of an era of faith.

As man can be redeemed, so can the society of men, and all their political, scientific, artistic and other endeavors and forms of expression when consecrated to God. The Spirit works not only in individuals, but in their social relationships as well. And as we pray, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, so may we affirm, work for, and rejoice with the promise that one day it will be evident that, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). Machen believed in cultural engagement — not abandonment or rejection of culture — and in the transforming power of God’s grace to redeem society as well as individuals. Consecration, as Machen would say, is key.

How do you say "Machen"?

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Having recently added more published authors from the Machen family — parents of the famous John Gresham Machen — it seems fitting to introduce them to our readers by way of this extract on how to pronounce that intriguing last name. Charles E. Funk (of the family which owned Funk & Wagnall) published What’s the Name, Please? (1938), which is a handy little guide to such matters, and it includes Machen.

Charles Earle Funk, What's the Name, Please.jpg

Funk writes:

Machen, Arthur — author — “My name (of Scottish origin) is pronounced mack’en to rime with blacken. Maytshen, mayken, masken are incorrect.” But see the next entry.

J. Gresham — Philadelphia clergyman — “The first syllable is pronounced like May, the name of the month. In the second syllable the ch is as in chin, with e as in pen: may’chen. In Gresham, the h is silent: gres’am.”

Thus, we have a good idea how the father (Arthur W. Machen) and the son (J.G. Machen) (who was also known as “Das”) pronounced their names. One thing to know about Arthur’s wife, Mary Jones Gresham Machen, is that her nickname was “Minnie.”

Get to know more about and by the Machens here at Log College Press (several biographies of the son are available at our Secondary Sources page), and learn how one family had a profound impact on American Presbyterianism.

Pre-Eminent American Presbyterians of the 18th and 19th Centuries: A List

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The question is sometimes asked, “Who are the important or significant early American Presbyterians to know historically?” Another question that is often posed to Log College Press is ”Where should someone unfamiliar with this time period start?” These are difficult question to answer because the period of which we are speaking — primarily the 18th and 19th centuries — was so diverse and there are so many representative authors. But in an attempt to respond helpfully, as well as to introduce readers of Log College Press to some of the pre-eminent authors on our site, we have developed a list - or actually a set of lists. Lists are both subject to scrutiny and often have a subjective element, and this one can certainly be modified or adjusted as needed. But lists provide a starting point for discussion. Consider the following as our contribution in response to some excellent questions that challenge with their simplicity.

17th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

  • Francis Makemie (1658-1708) - Although Makemie was not the first Presbyterian minister to serve in the American colonies, because of his pioneering labors along the Eastern Seaboard, particularly in the establishment of the first Presbytery in America, he is often credited as “the Father of American Presbyterianism.”

18th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

  • David Brainerd (1718-1747) - A pioneer Presbyterian missionary who died young, his diary was reprinted by Jonathan Edwards and remains a spiritual classic.

  • Samuel Davies (1723-1761) - Davies accomplished much in a short life, contributing significantly to the Great Awakening as a pioneer minister in Virginia and as President of the College of New Jersey (Princeton).

  • Jonathan Dickinson (1688-1747) - Dickinson was the first President of the College of New Jersey and an important voice in American colonial Presbyterianism.

  • John Mitchell Mason (1770-1829) - Mason was a leading figure in the Associate Reformed Church.

  • David Rice (1733-1816) - An early Presbyterian opponent of slavery, “Father Rice” helped to build the Presbyterian Church in Virginia and Kentucky.

  • John Rodgers (1727-1811) - An early colleague of Samuel Davies, Rodgers went on to play a very influential role in the establishment of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.

  • Archibald Stobo (c. 1670-1741) - Stobo helped to found the first Presbytery in the New World (Panama) and the first Presbytery in the Southern United States (South Carolina).

  • Gilbert Tennent (1703-1764) - The son of the founder of the original Log College, Gilbert Tennent was also known as the “Son of Thunder.” A New-Side adherent, he was involved in both the 1741 split of the Presbyterian church and the 1758 reunion.

  • William Tennent, Sr. (1673-1746) - The Founder of the original Log College seminary was a major force in the early American Presbyterian Church who left a legacy of well-educated ministers and many academies and schools which trace their roots to his labors.

  • John Thomson (1690-1753) - The architect of the Adopting Act of 1729, which influenced the course of the American Presbyterian Church tremendously, Thomson was an Old Side minister who served different pastorates throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

  • John Knox Witherspoon (1723-1794) - President of the College of New Jersey, Witherspoon was also the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence, and he signed the Articles of Confederation as well.

19th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

  • John Bailey Adger (1810-1899) - Adger served the church as a widely-respected and influential pastor, missionary, seminary professor and author.

  • Archibald Alexander (1772-1851) - Pastor, author and first professor of the Princeton Theological Seminary, Alexander was a major force in American Presbyterianism in the first half of the 19th century. He also served as President of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia for 9 years.

  • James Waddel Alexander, Sr. (1804-1859) - Son of Archibald Alexander, J.W. was, like his father, an eminent pastor, professor and author.

  • Daniel Baker (1791-1857) - The founder of Austin College was a pioneer missionary and noted preacher who did much to bring Presbyterianism to the Western United States.

  • Robert Lewis Dabney (1820-1898) - A leading voice of Southern Presbyterianism, Dabney was a noted preacher, seminary professor, author and architect. His 5 volumes of Discussions remain in print today.

  • John Lafayette Girardeau (1825-1898) - A pastor with a heart for ministering to former slaves, as well as author and seminary professor, Girardeau became one of America’s greatest theologians.

  • Ashbel Green (1762-1848) - President of the College of New Jersey, Green authored lectures on the Westminster Shorter Catechism and was an influential voice within the Presbyterian Church in the first half of the 19th century.

  • Francis James Grimké (1850-1937) - A former slave of French Huguenot descent, Grimké was a leading African-American Presbyterian during his lengthy ministry, mostly based in Washington, D.C.

  • Archibald Alexander Hodge (1823-1886) - Son of Charles Hodge, A.A. Hodge was the author of a well-respected commentary on the Westminister Confession of Faith, and followed in his father’s footsteps as a leader at Princeton.

  • Charles Hodge (1797-1878) - One of the most important leaders of the Presbyterian Church in the 19th century, Hodge authored a 3-volume Systematic Theology, served as principal of Princeton Theological Seminary, and wrote numerous articles as editor various theological journals.

  • Moses Drury Hoge (1818-1899) - Hoge served as a minister of the Second Presbyterian Church of Richmond, Virginia for almost 54 years, during which time he was a widely-respected leader throughout the Presbyterian Church.

  • Jacob Jones Janeway (1774-1858) - Janeway served the Second Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1799 to 1828, and also authored sermons, articles and other works for the advancement of missions, both foreign and domestic.

  • Alexander McLeod (1774-1833) - McLeod was an important leader both in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, influencing its institutional opposition to slavery, and within the broader Presbyterian Church, by means of his evangelistic efforts and concerns for the welfare of society.

  • Samuel Miller (1769-1850) - The second professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, Miller was a prolific writer, and diligent minster of the gospel, who was widely recognized as a leader in 19th century American Presbyterianism. Many of his works remain in print today.

  • Benjamin Morgan Palmer (1818-1902) - Palmer was a leader in the Southern Presbyterian Church because of his pastoral ministry, and his role as a seminary professor and author.

  • Thomas Ephraim Peck (1822-1893) - Peck was an important Southern Presbyterian minister, author and seminary professor whose 3 volumes of Miscellanies remain in print today.

  • William Swan Plumer (1802-1880) - Plumer was an Old School minister, seminary professor and prolific writer with a heart for teaching God’s Word to as many as possible, young and old.

  • John Holt Rice (1777-1831) - Rice did much to preach the gospel and promote education in the South as a minister, seminary professor and editor.

  • Stuart Robinson (1814-1881) - Robinson’s advocacy of the spiritual independence of the church during a time of civil conflict made him a controversial but respected figure in the Presbyterian Church.

  • Thomas Smyth (1808-1873) - Minister, scholar, seminary professor, author - Smyth’s 10 volumes of Works reveal his prolific output and influential voice within the 19th century Presbyterian Church.

  • William Buell Sprague (1795-1876) - A prolific preacher and author, Sprague is also known as the “Patriarch of American Collectors,” for his collection of autographs, including those of every signer of the Declaration of Independence, pamphlets and other materials. He authored the Annals of the American Pulpit, an important collection of biographical sketches.

  • James Henley Thornwell (1812-1862) - Thornwell wrote and accomplished much in a short lifetime, helping to found The Southern Presbyterian Review, and representing the Southern Presbyterian perspective on matters of ecclesiology in debates with Charles Hodge.

  • Cortlandt Van Rensselaer, Sr. (1808-1860) - Van Rensselaer served the church as a pastor, missionary, editor and as the first President of the Presbyterian Historical Society.

  • Moses Waddel (1770-1840) - Founder of the “American Eton,” Waddel pioneered education in the South.

  • Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1851-1921) - An eminent Biblical scholar and seminary professor, Warfield was a prolific author. His Works were collected into 10 volumes.

  • James Renwick Willson (1780-1853) - A leader in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Willson was known as an opponent of slavery, and for his call to reform the United States Constitution.

  • John Leighton Wilson (1809-1886) - Wilson was a pioneer Southern Presbyterian missionary to West Africa, and the first to bring a skeleton of a gorilla back to the United States.

Early 20th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

  • John Gresham Machen (1881-1937) - A conservative minister and Princeton professor, Machen led a split from the increasingly liberal mainline Presbyterian Church to help form what became known as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

  • John McNaugher (1857-1847) - "Mister United Presbyterian," McNaugher served the United Presbyterian Church of North America as a pastor, professor of New Testament literature, seminary president and as a writer and teacher.

  • Geerhardus Vos (1862-1949) - A Dutch-American minister and seminary professor, Vos is known as a pioneer of Biblical Theology, and as an eminent expositor of Scripture. He was a also a poet.

Other Early American Presbyterian Worthies to Know

  • John Boyd (1679-1708) - Boyd was the first Presbyterian minister ordained in America (1706).

  • David Stewart Caldwell, Sr. (1725-1824) - Caldwell is known for many contributions to church and society, but especially as the founder of the “Southern Log College,” near Greensboro, North Carolina.

  • James Caldwell (1734-1781) - “The Fighting Parson” was a noted supporter of the colonists in the civil conflict with Great Britain.

  • John Chavis (1763-1838) - Chavis was the first African-American Presbyterian to be ordained as a minister (in 1801).

  • Alexander Craighead (1707-1766) - Craighead was the first Reformed Presbyterian minister in America, a member of Hanover Presbytery, and the Mecklenburg Declaration of Indpendence, although written after his death, may be his greatest legacy.

  • John Cuthbertson (1718-1791) - Cuthbertson was a pioneer Reformed Presbyterian (Covenanter) missionary in America, and helped to found the first RP Presbytery in America, and the Associate Reformed Church as well. He estimated that during his missionary labors he rode over 70,000 miles on horseback.

  • Theodore Ledyard Cuyler (1822-1909) - Pastor of the largest Presbyterian congregation in the United States in New York City, Cuyler was a leading minister and prolific writer, as well as a friend to many American Presidents.

  • Henry Highland Garnet (1815-1882) - Garnet was the first African-American to address Congress (in 1865), and later served as a diplomat to Liberia, where he died, as well as a minister of the gospel.

  • John Gloucester, Sr. (1776-1822) - An early African-American Presbyterian minister (ordained in 1811), he was a former slave who helped to found the First African Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

  • William Graham (1745-1799) - As principal of Liberty Hall Academy in Lexington, Virginia, Graham trained Archibald Alexander and John Chavis, among others.

  • Jacob Green (1722-1790) - Father of Ashbel Green, Jacob was a chaplain in the American War of Independence, and an early opponent of slavery.

  • John McMillan (1752-1833) - “The Apostle of Presbyterianism to the West,” McMillan’s great legacy was the pioneering educational institutions which he founded.

  • Samson Occom (1723-1792) - Occom was one of first Native American Presbyterian ministers whose writings were published in English.

  • James W.C. Pennington (1807-1870) - The former “Fugitive Slave”-turned-Presbyterian minister and author became the first African-American to receive a doctorate of divinity at a European university.

  • Thomas De Witt Talmage (1832-1902) - “The Spurgeon of America” was one of the most popular ministers in America during the last half of the 19th century with an estimated 30 million readers of his sermons in the newspapers, and elsewhere.

  • Marcus Whitman (1802-1847) - Whitman was a pioneer ruling elder and medical missionary whose tragic death in Oregon inspired others to travel westward and continue to spread the gospel.

  • Julia McNair Wright (1840-1903) - An important Presbyterian author, she wrote widely on various topics, but is known especially for her Christian biographies for young readers.

  • Theodore Sedgwick Wright (1797-1847) - Wright was the first African-American to attend a theological seminary in the United States (Princeton). He was a leader in the Underground Railroad, as well as a well-respected minister of the gospel.

This list, it is hoped, will help to introduce readers to important figures in early American Presbyterianism. While not definitive or all-encompassing (it was difficult to leave off certain names from the approximately 900 authors that we have on Log College Press alone), it highlights some people very much worth getting to know. Their contributions to the Presbyterian Church, America and the world endure, and their memory is cherished.

Benjamin Rice Lacy, Jr. - the "Fighting Parson"

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The “Great War” (World War I) was a time of death but also a time of great courage. We have previously highlighted the Covenanter soldiers who served as detailed by John Wagner Pritchard (1851-1924) in Soldiers of the Church: The Story of What the Reformed Presbyterians (Covenanters) of North America, Canada, and the British Isles, Did to Win the World War of 1914-1918. Barry Waugh has edited a fascinating volume containing the correspondence of J.G. Machen titled Letters from the Front: J. Gresham Machen's Correspondence from World War 1 (2012), available here. Today’s post concerns a North Carolina-born Presbyterian who would go on to become President of Union Seminary in Richmond, Virginia and also wrote the notable work Revivals in the Midst of the Years (1943, 1968): Benjamin Rice Lacy, Jr. (1886-1981).

Lacy served in WWI as a chaplain, but the nickname he earned, the “Fighting Parson,” reveals something of his character. After having graduated from Davidson College, North Carolina, and having studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, England, at the time of America’s entrance into the War Lacy was serving as a chaplain in the North Carolina National Guard. He was inducted into active federal military service in July 1917. After basic training was completed at Camp Sevier, South Carolina, Lacy was sent overseas from Long Island, New York to England in May 1918. He preached for the men on his ship, and led them in the singing of hymns as well.

Lacy’s World War I service card (courtesy of the State Archives of North Carolina).

Lacy’s World War I service card (courtesy of the State Archives of North Carolina).

He and his brother Thomas A. Lacy were eventually stationed in France. He preached on the Lord’s Day, ministered to the sick and injured, helped to provide entertainment for the soldiers, and presided at funerals. Matthew M. Peek writes:

Although he stated that he would not trade his job with a man in the regular Army on the front lines, Lacy became known as the “Fighting Parson” because of his heroism in aiding the wounded before the German lines in France. On one occasion, a deserted German battery with guns and ammunition was found, but it could not be turned against the enemy because all of the instructions were in German. Chaplain Lacy — who was read German and was able to decipher the tables and symbols — took charge, and for two hours joined in operating the guns in well-directed fire.

Benjamin Lacy Jr. received the Silver Star citation for his bravery on September 26, 1918, for the following actions:

 “By direction of the President, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved July 9, 1918 (Bul. No. 43, W.D., 1918), First Lieutenant (Chaplain) Benjamin R. Lacy, Jr., United States Army, is cited by the Commanding General, American Expeditionary Forces, for gallantry in action and a silver star may be placed upon the ribbon of the Victory Medals awarded him. Chaplain Lacy distinguished himself by gallantry in action while serving with the 113th Field Artillery, American Expeditionary Forces, in action in Bois de Avocourt, France, 26 September 1918, in rendering aid to the wounded under heavy enemy fire.”

He would be twice cited for meritorious service during WWI. Lacy Jr. was involved in the following military campaigns: Saint-Mihiel offensive; Meuse-Argonne offensive; and the Lorraine offensive. He left France and arrived back in the United States on March 21, 1919, at Camp Stuart, Virginia. Lacy Jr. was honorably discharged from active military service on April 15, 1919, at Camp Jackson, S.C.

At Log College Press, we have recently added a batch of his correspondence to family and loved ones which covers the time period of June - November 1918. He shares with the folks back home a full and lively account of his experiences. In a letter dated October 7, 1918, he recounts the engagement alluded to above, although the reader would not surmise that the writer would be awarded a Silver Star for his brave actions under fire. He does make this poignant remark near the end:

Too long a letter you will say. How I do wish I could write more often. Letters to bereave parents will be the order of the day tomorrow. Don’t measure my love by the number of letters I write. I took my breeches off for the first time in two weeks last night. I’ve tried to do my work, and it takes most of my time. I’ll try to write as often as I can.

Lacy ended up living a long and productive life, serving as pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, George, and as Moderator of the Synod of North Carolina and of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS). He died peacefully over 60 years after his return from the battlefields of France, and his legacy is fondly remembered today. His letters provide a snapshot of a chapter in his life which was not peaceful, but which helps us to know the man and his experiences in the midst of a great war more deeply.

Elisha Mitchell's Mountain

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J.G. Machen once wrote:

One thing is clear — if you are to learn to love the mountains you must go up them by your own power. There is more thrill in the smallest hill in Fairmount Park if you walk up it than there is in the grandest mountain on earth if you go up it in an automobile. There is one curious thing about means of locomotion — the slower and simpler and the closer to nature they are, the more real thrill they give. I have got far more enjoyment out of my two feet than I did out of my bicycle; and I got more enjoyment out of my bicycle than I ever have got out of my motor car; and as for airplanes — well, all I can say is that I wouldn't lower myself by going up in one of the stupid, noisy things! The only way to have the slightest inkling of what a mountain is is to walk or climb up it….There is, far above any earthly mountain peak of vision, a God high and lifted up who, though He is infinitely exalted, yet cares for His children among men. (“Mountains and Why We Love Them”).

Another Presbyterian minister who loved mountains and mountain-climbing — doing so with fragile scientific equipment under strenuous circumstances — was the Rev. Dr. Elisha Mitchell (1793-1857). A professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he was a chemist, a mathematician, and a geologist, as well as a minister of the gospel. On a geological tour of western North Carolina in the Black Mountains in 1828 (with return visits in 1835, 1838, and 1844), he observed a peak that, according to his barometric calculations, was higher than either Grandfather Mountain or Mount Washington in New Hampshire. That peak was then known as Black Dome (or Attakulla to the Cherokee), and he reckoned its height to be 6,672 feet above sea level. Challenged by a former student as to the accuracy of his observations, he made a final trek up the mountain in 1857 to prove his claim. Last seen on June 27, 1857, he never returned from that trip. His body was found on July 8 by a search party at the base of a waterfall, now known as Mitchell Falls. Originally buried in Asheville, North Carolina, his body was re-interred at the top of the peak he had set his eyes and his heart upon - later named in his honor. With modern altimeters, Mount Mitchell is now reckoned to be 6,684 feet above sea level, the highest mountain peak on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. The Rev. Dr. Mitchell now rests above the clouds.

What moves armies and pulls down empires, according to J.G. Machen

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D.G. Hart explains the background for an article that we know as “Christianity and Culture” by J.G. Machen:

An address that the young professor delivered to the Philadelphia Ministers’ Association in the spring of 1912 revealed his maturing thoughts on the ministry. The address was to be a defense of “scientific theological study” that he repeated at the seminary’s opening exercises in the fall of that year. A forthright declaration of the aims of theological education at Princeton, the lecture also contained Machen’s personal confession of faith. It was published a year later in the Princeton Theological Review under the title “Christianity and Culture.” (D.G. Hart, Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America, p. 30).

Machen was concerned about the growing divide between intellectual scholarship and piety that he observed from his role as a teacher. “In his six years as instructor he had become painfully aware of a tendency among students, as well as in the Church as a whole, to set up a sharp disjunction between knowledge and its pursuit, on the one hand, and piety and cultivation, on the other” (Ned B. Stonehouse, J. Gresham Machen: A Biographical Memoir, p. 155). The wedge of anti-intellectualism from the Fundamentalist camp had a tendency to weaken and undermine the Christian apologetic to the non-Christian world. In Machen’s view, Christianity was being sidelined at the table where important ideas and worldviews were battling it out, and to him this was not acceptable.

It is true that the decisive thing is the regenerative power of God. That can overcome all lack of preparation, and the absence of that makes even the best preparation useless. But as a matter of fact God usually exerts that power in connection with certain prior conditions of the human mind, and it should be ours to create, so far as we can, with the help of God, those favorable conditions for the reception of the gospel. False ideas are the greatest obstacles to the reception of the gospel. We may preach with all the fervor of a reformer and yet succeed only in winning a straggler here and there, if we permit the whole collective thought of the nation or of the world to be controlled by ideas which, by the resistless force of logic, prevent Christianity from being regarded as anything more than a harmless delusion. Under such circumstances, what God desires us to do is to destroy the obstacle at its root. Many would have the seminaries combat error by attacking it as it is taught by its popular exponents. Instead of that they confuse their students with a lot of German names unknown out side the walls of the universities. That method of procedure is based simply upon a profound belief in the pervasiveness of ideas. What is to-day matter of academic speculation begins to-morrow to move armies and pull down empires. In that second stage, it has gone too far to be combatted; the time to stop it was when it was still a matter of impassionate debate. So as Christians we should try to mould the thought of the world in such a way as to make the acceptance of Christianity something more than a logical absurdity.

Christianity, as the religion of Truth, must engage the minds as well as the hearts of unbelievers, according to Machen. Combatting false ideas is an important aspect of the Christian witness because ideas have consequences. It was just one year after publication of “Christianity and Culture” that the Great War began in Europe, the first of two World Wars in the 20th century. Machen himself served in Europe during the war in a non-combatant role. But above all, in the witness of his life and work, Machen “remains Mr. Valiant-for Truth par excellence” (Stonehouse, J. Gresham Machen: A Biographical Memoir, p. xiii).

New Addition to Log College Press: Machen's Christianity and Liberalism

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January 1, 2019 marked the lapse of copyright restrictions for many books published in the United States in the year 1923. It also marked the 82nd anniversary of the passing of J.G. Machen into glory (which occurred on Jan. 1, 1937). It so happens that one of his most famous books — Christianity and Liberalism — was published in 1923 and is now in the public domain. A faithful friend and reader of our site, Pastor Phil Pockras, was kind enough to alert us to the availability of this particular book, which is now accessible at Machen’s author page.

To whet your appetite for this classic work, here are a few notable quotes that have stood out to this reader:

“In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight.” - pp. 1-2

A public-school system, if it means the providing of free education for those who desire it, is a noteworthy and beneficent achievement of modern times; but when once it becomes monopolistic it is the most perfect instrument for tyranny which has yet been devised. Freedom of thought in the middle ages was combated by the Inquisition, but the modern method is far more effective.’ – p. 14

“Christ died" -- that is history; "Christ died for our sins" -- that is doctrine. Without these two elements, joined in an absolutely indissoluble union, there is no Christianity. – p. 27

The narration of the facts is history; the narration of the facts with the meaning of the facts is doctrine. "Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried" -- that is history. "He loved me and gave Himself for me" -- that is doctrine. Such was the Christianity of the primitive Church. – p. 29

Paganism is that view of life which finds the highest goal of human existence in the healthy and harmonious and joyous development of existing human faculties. Very different is the Christian ideal. Paganism is optimistic with regard to unaided human nature, whereas Christianity is the religion of the broken heart. – p. 65

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