Phil Johnson has an interesting entry entitled “Machen Speaks From the Grave,” and I am in sympathy with much of what he notes there. In a era of postmodern and relativistic mush, we ought to be wary of all ecumenical common-causers who think that moralism is the most important thing about religion. But while Machen was a staunch Protestant, as noted in Phil’s post, he was no sectarian Protestant — and there is a difference. I would be interested to know how many of Phil’s readers, who were able to say amen to that quote from Christianity and Liberalism, would be able to say amen to this one as well.
“Yet how great is the common heritage which unites the Roman Catholic Church, with its maintenance of the authority of Holy Scripture and with its acceptance of the great early creeds, to devout Protestants today! . . . The Church of Rome may represent a perversion of the Christian religion; but naturalistic liberalism is not Christianity at all” (Christianity and Liberalism, p. 52).
Common heritage? Was Machen wobbley?