This is the 100th anniversary of the publication of J. Gresham Machen’s book, Christianity and Liberalism. Danny Olinger and Camden Bucey speak with Alan Strange about the fourth chapter of Machen’s classic, which addresses the Bible.

In this chapter, Machen addresses those who would seek to maintain that what we hold in our hearts about Christ can remain true no matter what the facts of history actually show. These people subjectivize Christianity—making it a function of personal experience. Machen, however, emphasizes the importance of the historical fact of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection and the Bible’s inspired, inerrant, and infallible testimony to this work.

In the course of conversation, the panelists discuss several liberal theologians and the events in American Presbyterianism that led up to 1923, when Christianity and Liberalism was published. These include Friedrich Schleiermacher, Albrecht Ritschl, Wilhelm Herrmann, and the case of Charles Augustus Briggs.

Dr. Alan Strange is Professor of Church History and Theological Librarian at Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana and an associate pastor at First Church (OPC) in South Holland, Illinois.

Links

• Alan Strange, The Doctrine of the Spirituality of the Church in the Ecclesiology of Charles Hodge
• Camden Bucey, Karl Rahner (Great Thinkers)
• Danny Olinger, Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theology, Confessional Presbyterian
• Mid-America Reformed Seminary’s Round Table podcast
• The OPC Ruling Elder Podcast
• New Horizons

Chapters

• 00:07 Introduction
• 02:12 Machen on the Bible
• 05:56 Liberalism and the Bible in 19th and 20th Century Presbyterianism
• 14:05 The Supernatural in History
• 17:41 Hodge and Liberalism’s Approach to the Bible
• 31:13 Machen, Hodge, and the Spirituality of the Church
• 33:52 Experience, Tradition, and Scripture
• 38:42 What Jesus Believes about Scripture
• 41:51 Addressing Liberals within the Church
• 50:22 Machen Thought the Liberalism Might Leave
• 52:42 Without the Bible, We are Left with Chaotic Anthropology
• 57:06 Conclusion

Participants: Alan Strange, Camden Bucey, Danny Olinger

Donald Fortson and Kenneth Stewart speak about their book, Reformed and Evangelical across Four Centuries (Eerdmans), in which they tell the story of the Presbyterian church in the United States, beginning with its British foundations and extending to its present-day expression in multiple American Presbyterian denominations. This account emphasizes the role of the evangelical movement in shaping various Presbyterian bodies in America, especially in the twentieth century amid increasing departures from traditional Calvinism, historic orthodoxy, and a focus on biblical authority. Particular attention is also given to crucial elements of diversity in the Presbyterian story, with increasing numbers of African American, Latino/a, and Korean American Presbyterians—among others—in the twenty-first century. Overall, this book will be a bountiful resource to anyone curious about what it means to be Presbyterian in the multidimensional American context, as well as to anyone looking to understand this piece of the larger history of Christianity in the United States.

Dr. Kenneth J. Stewart is Professor Emeritus of Theological Studies at Covenant College. He is a specialist in the history of Christianity from the Reformation to the present with special interest in the development of the evangelical Protestant tradition. He has a growing interest in early Christianity and the transmission of doctrine from the early church forward to our time.

Dr. S. Donald Fortson III is Professor of Church History and Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. Prior to RTS, he served as Assistant Professor of Ministry and the Director of the DMin Program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Before his teaching career, Dr. Fortson was a pastor for nine years; he continues his pastoral ministry through teaching, preaching in local churches, and leadership in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

Dr. Alan Strange is Professor of Church History and Theological Librarian at Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana. He served Providence Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Glassboro, New Jersey, for over nine years before coming to Mid-America. He is an associate pastor at First Church (OPC) in South Holland, Illinois.

Chapters

• 00:00:07 Introduction
• 00:03:15 The Idea for this Book
• 00:08:04 The Combination of Authors
• 00:14:07 Distinctive Features of the Book
• 00:26:44 The Relationship between Presbyterianism and Evangelicalism
• 00:35:43 The Missionary Impulse
• 00:41:38 Cultural Transformation
• 00:49:24 Modernism and Fundamentalism
• 00:57:05 Evangelical Marginalization and Church Union
• 01:08:40 Conclusion

Participants: Alan Strange, Camden Bucey, Kenneth J. Stewart, S. Donald Fortson III

Drs. Alan Strange and Cornelis Venema speak about the practice of catechetical preaching from a practical as well as historical perspective. While the practice is more common within the Dutch Reformed tradition, Dr. Strange also provides a case for Presbyterians to engage in preaching using the Westminster Standards as aids. Regardless of where you may land on the particular role of secondary standards in organizing the preaching of the Word, this conversation is useful and instructive for considering how the church may best instruct her members.

Dr. Cornelis Venema is Professor of Doctrinal Studies and President of Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana. Dr. Alan Strange is Professor of Church History, Registrar, and Theological Librarian of Mid-America Reformed Seminary.

Links

• Mid-America Round Table Podcast

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:02:02 Homiletics and Catechetical Instruction
• 00:15:34 Preaching from the Catechism
• 00:22:30 Preaching through the Westminster Larger Catechism
• 00:42:19 Reading the Catechisms during the Worship Service
• 00:51:09 Keeping Catechetical Preaching Fresh
• 01:05:09 Conclusion

Participants: Alan Strange, Camden Bucey, Cornelis Venema

Since Christ the Center began nearly twelve years ago, we have taken time to look back on the highlights of the year. Given that we now post highlights from each episode every week we have taken an analytic approach. These are this year’s top ten clips from Christ the Center as determined by YouTube views.

1. Episode 614 — Bracy Hill, Nimrod, the Mighty Hunter
2. Episode 600 — Glen Clary, Praying in Tongues
3. Episode 580 — Camden Bucey, Liberation Theology
4. Episode 603 — Cornelis Venema, Karl Barth and the Doctrine of Election
5. Episode 600 — Glen Clary, What Is Cessationism?
6. Episode 598 — Christopher Watkin, The Problem of the One and Many
7. Episode 603 — Cornelis Venema, Augustine and Pelagius
8. Episode 578 — Carl Trueman, Luther and Zwingli at Marburg
9. Episode 619 — Alan Strange and Brian DeJong, The Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the United Reformed Churches in North America
10. Episode 613 — Will Wood, Schools of Biblical Criticism

Participants: Alan Strange, Bracy Hill, Brian DeJong, Camden Bucey, Carl Trueman, Christopher Watkin, Cornelis Venema, Glen Clary, Will Wood

Christianity is based in history. Contrary to the teaching of classic liberalism, without the historical fact of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, Christianity is nothing. Moreover, God has been working in the lives of his people from the very beginning. It is essential that the church would remember God’s dealings with the generations that have gone before in order that she would rightly press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14). Our shared memories and the lessons of the past shape our ecclesiastical context and guide our present practice. Dr. Alan Strange and Rev. Brian De Jong discuss the role of history in the life of the church.

Dr. Strange is professor of church history at Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana. He is the author of The Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ in the Westminster Standards and The Doctrine of the Spirituality of the Church in the Ecclesiology of Charles Hodge.

Rev. De Jong is pastor of Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and the author of Honoring the Elderly: A Christian’s Duty to Aging Parents.

Participants: Alan Strange, Brian De Jong, Camden Bucey

Dr. Alan Strange discusses the Westminster Assembly and the Westminster Standards and whether they affirmed the imputation of Christ’s active obedience as necessary for our justification. Strange has written, The Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ in the Westminster Standards, which is published by Reformation Heritage Books in their Explorations in Reformed Confessional Theology series.

In the book, Strange gives a survey of church history before and during the Reformation to see how the Assembly relates to the tradition before it. He reflects on the relation of imputation to federal theology, modern challenges to the doctrine, and important rules for interpreting the confessional document.

Dr. Strange is professor of church history at Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana.

Links

Strange, “The Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ“

Participants: Alan Strange, Camden Bucey

Alan Strange speaks about the doctrine of the spirituality of the church in the ecclesiology of Charles Hodge and how it was formed in the years leading up to and during the American Civil War. Dr. Strange’s dissertation on the topic has been published in P&R Publishing’s Reformed Academic Dissertations series as The Doctrine of the Spirituality of the Church in the Ecclesiology of Charles Hodge. Dr. Strange previously addressed the topic in episode 443 of Christ the Center, but in this episode, we focus more on the Presbyterian General Assemblies and how they wrestled with the theological and political issues surrounding the war.

Participants: Alan Strange, Camden Bucey

Episodes

• 425 — David VanDrunen, God’s Glory Alone
• 428 — Vern Poythress, The Miracles of Jesus
• 441 — John Galbraith and Danny Olinger on John Galbraith’s Life and Ministry
• 443 — Alan Strange, Charles Hodge and the Spirituality of the Church
• 444 — Iain Murray, J. C. Ryle
• 445 — Lane Tipton, Trinity, Processions, and Missions: The Pactum Salutis
• 449 — Rob McKenzie and Bob Tarullo, Dispensationalism
• 452 — Michael Kruger, A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament
• 453 — Dennis Johnson, Walking withe Jesus through His Word
• 455 — Richard Gaffin, Jr., Calvin and the Sabbath
• 461 — Gregg Allison and Chris Castaldo, The Unfinished Reformation
• 464 — Mark Vanderhart and Cornelis Venema, The Reformed Church in Latvia
• 467 — Patricia Clawson and Diane Olinger, Choosing the Good Portion: Women of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church

Participants: Adam York, Alan Strange, Camden Bucey, Chris Castaldo, Cornelis Venema, Danny Olinger, David VanDrunen, Dennis Johnson, Diane Olinger, Glen Clary, Gregg Allison, Iain Murray, Jared Oliphint, Jeff Waddington, Jim Cassidy, John Galbraith, Lane G. Tipton, Mark Vander Hart, Michael Kruger, Patricia Clawson, Richard B. Gaffin Jr., Rob McKenzie, Robert Tarullo, Vern Poythress

Dr. Alan Strange is professor of church history and apologetics at Mid-America Reformed Seminary and associate pastor of New Covenant Community Church in Joliet, Illinois. Dr. Strange sits with us to speak about the great American Presbyterian, Charles Hodge, and his contribution to the Doctrine of the Church. Hodge was a proponent of the doctrine known as the Spirituality of the Church. While many Reformed theologians are familiar with the name of the doctrine, its permutations are many. Dr. Strange details the history of the doctrine through several controversies of which Charles Hodge was involved. By understanding this history, we learn many important practical lessons for the Church today.

Participants: Alan Strange, Camden Bucey

Dr. Alan Strange comes to the program to discuss the animus imponentis. Animus imponentis is a legal term that refers to the meaning of the words of an oath or confession that is intended by the body imposing the oath or confession. The concept clarifies what it means for officers of a modern church to subscribe to a confession composed by men who lived several centuries ago. On today’s episode, Dr. Strange explains the animus imponentis in greater detail and applies it to the issue of the days of creation, the topic of an OPC committee of which Dr. Strange was a part. Dr. Strange is Professor of Church History, Registrar, and Theological Librarian at Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana. He recently completed a Ph.D. from the University of Wales. Conference talks on the animus imponentis: http://www.pncnopc.org/audio/audio-presbytery/2009-animus-imponentis-conference/ “What is the ‘System of Doctrine?'” – Charles Hodge: http://www.pcahistory.org/documents/subscription/hodge.html OPC report on the creation days: http://opc.org/GA/CreationReport.pdf

Participants: Adam York, Alan Strange, Camden Bucey, Jim Cassidy