Today is the 143rd anniversary of the birth of John Gresham Machen, and I was going to do a little tribute post to him, linking to all the various and sundry posts I’ve done about his books over the years. Teeny little problem with that cropped up. I’ve only written about three of his books, having read the bulk of them several years before starting this site. The night before the post is supposed to go up is a lousy time to realize that. So, instead, I’m going to just repost this. Now, Things Unseen is a collection of things that had been previously published in three or four volumes. So really, this is a post about four or five books.
But only technically. I’m tired enough that I’m going to roll with it, tho 🙂
The anniversary of his birth or not, any day is a good day to think about the work of J. Gresham Machn.
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Things Unseen:
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What’s Things Unseen About?
Starting in 1934 and continuing until his death in 1937 (although he had plans to keep it going for at least another two years), J. Gresham Machen delivered a series of radio addresses on WIP in Philadelphia. The addresses focused on the Christian doctrine of the Bible and what the Bible tells us about God, the Christian view of Man, and then doctrines of salvation (this was cut off before he completed it).
While not technically a Systematic Theology, the outline matches how many/most Systematics cover the topics.
These addresses had been collected and published in collections in previous decades, but now, they’re published in one attractive (and seemingly durable) volume.
So, what did I think about Things Unseen?
With a couple of weekends off for travel or sickness, I read a chapter a week this last year, and it was a great practice. The addresses took thirty minutes or so a week when delivered, so they take only a few minutes to read. But minutes that serve as a wonderful reminder of the basics of Christian Doctrine.
In the 1930s, the vogue was to downplay Reformed distinctives, as well as a whole-hearted belief in a supernatural Christianity. Machen flies in the face of that and was bold in his teaching on both fronts. He’s succinct, pastoral, accessible, and even witty. These are not talks for scholars, or dumbed-down–they’re straightforward presentations of the topics for everyone.
Were this a smaller collection, I might be able to get deeper about some of the topics–but there’s just too much to try to talk about. But it’s all great–this has been one of the most rewarding books I’ve read in a few years. Even when Machen is merely restating what generations before him taught, there’s a freshness to his presentations that really are appealing.
I can’t recommend this enough.
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