Fighting the Good Fight: A Brief History of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church

by D.G. Hart, John R. Muether

From the Publisher

The OPC, by the grace of God, stands out as a remarkable chapter in the chronicle of church history. She is a statement against the insidious drift of mainline Protestantism, a challenge to an often misdirected and theologically weak evangelicalism, and a clear rejoinder to fundamentalism. She has been a positive, although not always consistent, testimony for Presbyterianism in the orthodox Calvinistic sense.

The authors of this book understand these things and are especially well-suited to write a history of the OPC. They know the church—John Muether because he was raised in it, and has loved and studied it; Darryl Hart because he chose it after a long journey through seminary and graduate school that included the detailed investigation of J. Gresham Machen's life and OPC beginnings. Here is sound assessment—to be sure, not without evaluation and criticism, as in all historical writing, but a valuable reading of the OPC's story meant for the church's edification, the communication of the truth, and the glory of the triune God of the Bible.

Genres: History, Church History, Theology, Church

217 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1995

About the author

Darryl G. Hart (Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University) directs the honors programs and faculty development at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and serves Westminster Seminary California as adjunct professor of church history. He has written or edited more than fifteen books, including Defending the Faith, a biography of J. Gresham Machen. He is coeditor of the American Reformed Biographies series.

Reviews

[Paul Wichert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read, a very interesting view into a denomination that is "committed to the irrelevance of the world to the church." The OPC is quite literally one of the last bastions of orthodoxy in the Christian world, but its voice cannot be ignored. By reviewing the history and character of the OPC this book treats the reader to a thoughtful discussion of many pertinent theological and ecclesiastical issues that are relevant today. While some may find the OPC "long on theory, heavy on intellect, and short on warmth, Christian love, and evangelistic zeal" (I have not found this to be so), the commitment of its leaders and members to proclaiming the whole counsel of God and above all else to remain utterly faithful to God's revealed will in his Word, makes them a fixed point of comparison for all other expressions of Church life -- "The Pea Beneath the Mattress," as Mark Noll writes. There is much here to learn from this history and to provoke stimulating thought on the role of the Church in the world today. This book is available from the OPC Committee on Christian Education at https://store.opc.org/.

[Dom Silla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good read and summary overview of the history of the OPC. I imagine to get any further detail one must supplement this book with Machen's biography written by Stonehouse and the actual records and minutes of the OPC GA and presbytery's themselves.

At this point it is a little dated and I would love to see an update to the book but it stands as a testament to the "little denomination with a big mouth" and its near constant pursuit of the truth of the gospel and the unity of Gods saints.

[Brendan Westerfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never know how to rate history books.

This one did the trick; a concise history of a small but mostly faithful denomination. It also featured the best description of the OPC ever:

"Like Balaam's ass, though a thing of naught and the humblest of all God's creatures, it has seen the angel of God, and has tried to heed His word." - Mark Noll

Made me laugh, and had a bit of truth to it!

[Zack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting, and well researched. This book demystified a couple of historical curiosities for me. But, it's not well written like some of Hart/Muether's other collaborations. And the bias - though I share it, in large part - unbalances what should be a balanced historical treatment.

[Adam Nesmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised with this book: I thought it would be a rather dry denominational history, but I found it an engaging and thought provoking read. As someone who joined the OPC from a non-denominational church background, it was interesting to learn about denominational history and ethos since non-denominational churches (by definition) tend to only have individual identity and only a loose connection at best to history. It was helpful for me to see the historical context in which I find myself in the OPC and to understand more deeply the ways I agree and disagree with denominational characteristics and decisions. All in all, I appreciate the OPC so much more and know my place in it more clearly.

As a side note, the book includes at the end an address by Machen which is basically a cliff notes version of his book “Christianity and liberalism”. The address is amazing and worth a read regardless of whether you are OPC or not.

[Joshua Sunderland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is admittedly incredibly niche. It is for the people interested in church history of a Christian, small, conservative denomination. However, as a newer member of this denomination, I absolutely loved to read it. It was handed to me by a friend and I'm so thankful.

This book shows that a lot of the churches beliefs are forged from past events that challenge them. As someone who is new to the OPC, I've been slowly picking up the views unique to this denomination. This book thoroughly tells the church history and the church beliefs at the same time, while still being an easy to understand read for people who aren't seminarians. I highly recommend it!

[Joel Zartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief and accessible. They walk you through the history of American Presbyterianism, then the controversies that gave rise to the OPC and WTS. AFter that they walk you through the various issues faced over the years, the controversies and outcomes explained. Clear. Well-written. Concise.

[Andrew Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A balanced account of the origins of the OPC as she broke away from the mainline denomination, maintains the reformed faith, and came into her own during the early years.

[Ryan Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great history of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, from it's founding till the mid 90s. Very helpful for filling in my knowledge of the denomination in the decades following its founding.

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ❤️ OPC

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great starter book for anyone new to the OPC.

[Zach de Walsingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview.

[Andrew Klob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book on the history of the OPC. I found that they did a fantastic job of covering the OPC without being too lengthy or dry. I also found the chapters on social issues and missions especially interesting because of my own involvement with an OPC church (and RBF at the local college). I love the OPC, but I was always curious on how they did missions (since, now I know, they don’t typically partner with para-church organizations) and how they dealt with social issues in their communities. All in all, this book gave me a comprehensive understanding of the OPC, answered many questions, and encouraged me in my walk with the Lord.

As a side note, this is truly a five star book for covering the history of the OPC, but I gave it a three star only because I typically base my ratings on how much a book impacted my thinking/life. Three stars usually mean it was a solid book and it had a good impact on me.

[Greg Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This history of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church is somewhat dated (published 1995), but it exceeded my expectations in its thoroughness and objectivity. While I'm still relatively new to the OPC, I have come away from this book with a deeper understanding of and love for the denomination.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

For more than ten years now Hart has written some of the best American church history around. His scholarly biography of Machen was widely acclaimed and in some ways set the standard for its genre.

But this book is so utterly foreign to that Hart writing I have come to love. Balance, and indeed charity, often seems discarded for the sake of savaging the majority views of the OPC during their many controversies. Hart not only consistently sides with the right-wing minority camps within the OPC, but he shows little respect for the majority. I gotta say -- you should proceed with humility when your view is one of a minority (right-wing camp) within a minority (OPC) within a minority (conservative Reformed folk) within a minority (confessional Christians)!

The OPC has a long, interesting and, in many cases, heroic history. Despite the editorializing, much of that wonderful story shines through on these pages.

[Chris Comis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a while ago, but I still remember being stunned by all the craziness and political meandering and pandering that went on in the OPC. It's amazing how utterly irrelevant some church fights turn out to be; and this book is the epitome of irrelevant church fights between hard-up Presbyterians.

Although, everyday I drive by the infamous alley way that was mentioned in this book, and which has gone down in the annals of Presbyterian church history. This is an alley way that is about 12 ft. across, and it has separated the liberal mainline First Presbyterian Church from the splinter group that broke off from them in the 30's or 40's, the Bible Presbyterian Church. Two huge Presbyterian church buildings separated by 12 ft. of alley way!

[Peter Krol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book better than "The Presbyterian Controversy" to get a big picture view of the founding of the OPC. TPC was better for fleshing out the details.

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about the OPC, although the authors had a particular agenda regarding the doctrine of the church and the future of the OPC that was a little annoying to me at times.

I was particularly moved, however, by the chapters on missions. There are some real heroes peppered throughout the history of our denomination, and I am thankful to be a part of it.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hart and Muether give a helpful summary of the highlights of OPC history from 1936 to 1989. I liked the brief descriptions of key controversies, although I don't care for their use of the pilgrim motif to explain the OPC's struggle to grow. Small = faithful, seems to be their idea. I hope a new edition will come out covering more recent OPC history.

[W. Littlejohn · Rating 2 out of 5]

History of American Presbyterianism class.


More like "Fighting many silly irrelevant fights very stubbornly: A Tedious History of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church."

[Wayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Readable introduction to the history of the OPC.

[mpsiple · Rating 2 out of 5]

Helpful information on the OPC, but objectivity was thrown out the window in the first chapter.