Machen Chapter 2

IN CHAPTER TWO of Machen's Christianity & Liberalism, Machen introduces how liberalism and Christianity's doctrine differ, with this chapter focusing mainly on the doctrine of Christianity. Machen goes about presenting questions appearing to be from the liberalist's side about the Bible/the Gospel, and then proceeds to answer them.
     The most interesting topic I found in this chapter was Machen's point of Jesus in history versus Jesus in doctrine. I think this is an incredibly difficult and delicate balance to find, even in the mind of a Christian, let alone someone who denies the majority of the Bible.
    The first point Machen makes is that Christianity was founded on lives changed based on a doctrine, and not the other way around. What does this mean for us? It means our experience does not shape (or should not shape) the basic fundamentals of Christianity, but that these truths should shape our experiences with God! This can be seen Biblically with the case of Paul -the message of the Gospel was given to him, and that is when his life turned around.
     I appreciate what Machen wrote: " 'Christ died' -that is history; 'Christ died for our sins' -that is doctrine" (23). He also says, "The narration of the facts is history; the narration of the facts with meaning of the facts is doctrine" (25).
     So what does this mean for us as Christians? This is the question I have personally been wrestling with the past year. Although I think my problem has been the opposite of what a liberalist's would be -I have focused so long on the doctrine of Christianity, that it wasn't until last year that I really started trying to understand who the "historical" Jesus was. Of course, He is the same person. But to really grasp the understanding that our "doctrinal" or "religious" God in fact became human in history... it was not something that had been adequately expressed to me. While I'm still trying to understand the ramifications of what that actually means in my life, I do think it is important to accept. Jesus was not simply a character made up to believe in. He walked the earth. What's more, Christianity burst on the sight because of the people who actually walked and talked with him. Christianity, against all odds, spread like wildfire and resisted so many attacks against it, and this is both historical and doctrinal.  
     THUS, CHRISTIANITY WAS BASED OFF of a proclamation of an event, an event that was both foretold by Jesus Himself and shared afterward by his disciples. This doctrine continues to be the core of what Christianity is and is worth fighting for -an historical event that carries significant doctrinal implications.