Modernism

[The Sanity Inspector]

It is my belief, as a friendly neutral in all such high and ghostly matters,
that the body of doctrine known as Modernism is completely incompatible, not
only with anything rationally describable as Christianity, but also with
anything deserving to pass as religion in general. Religion, if it is to retain
any genuine significance, can never be reduced to a series of sweet attitudes,
possible to anyone not actually in jail for felony. It is, on the contrary, a
corpus of powerful and profound convictions, many of them not open to logical
analysis. . . .

What the Modernists have done . . . [is] to get rid of all the logical
difficulties of religion, and yet preserve a generally pious cast of mind. It is
a vain enterprise. What they have left, once they have achieved their imprudent
scavenging, is hardly more than a row of hollow platitudes, as empty [of]
psychological force and effect as so many nursery rhymes. . . . Religion is
something else again-in Henrik Ibsen's phrase, something far more
deep-down-diving and mud-upbringing. Dr. Machen tried to impress that obvious
fact upon his fellow adherents of the Geneva Muhammad [i.e., Calvin]. He
failed-but he was undoubtedly right.

-- H. L. Mencken, "Dr. Fundamentalis", an obituary of Rev. J. Gresham Machen,
Baltimore Evening Sun (January 18, 1937), 2nd Section, p. 15.

--
bruce
The dignified don't even enter in the game.
-- The Jam

[Graham Weeks]

I do not see how anyone can contemplate present-day educational conditions without
seeing that something is radically wrong. And about one thing that is wrong -
indeed by far the most important thing - there can be no doubt. It is found in the
widespread ignorance of the Christian religion as that religion is founded upon the
Word of God.... I do not believe that there can be any truly comprehensive science
that does not take account of the solid facts upon which the Christian religion is
based. Hence I sympathize fully with your desire to promote an education that shall
be genuinely Christian. And I pray that those who, like you, wherever they may be,
cherish such a desire may not be discouraged by the opposition of the world. You
represent a cause which cannot ultimately fail. -- Gresham Machen

After listening to modern tirades against the great creeds of the Church, one
receives a shock when one turns to the Westminster Confession... and discovers that
in doing so one has turned from shallow modern phrases to a "dead orthodoxy" that
is pulsating with life in every word. In such orthodoxy there is life enough to set
the whole world aglow with Christian love. -- J. Gesham Machen, 1923.

I can see little consistency in a type of Christian activity which preaches the
gospel on the street corners and at the ends of earth, but neglects the children of
the covenant by abandoning them to a cold and unbelieving secularism.-- J. Gresham
Machen

The Christian cannot be satisfied so long as any human activity is either opposed
to Christianity or out of connection with Christianity. Christianity must pervade
not merely all nations but also all of human thought. J. Gresham Machen

The Sanity Inspector wrote:

--

Graham J Weeks M.R.Pharm.S.
http://www.weeks-g.dircon.co.uk/ My homepage of quotations
http://www.grace.org.uk/churches/ealing.html Our church
http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/Christiansquoting Daily quotes
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The Human Race has improved everything except the Human Race.- Adlai Stevenson
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