Education, Christianity, and the State: Essays

by J. Gresham Machen

This book contains several important essays by one of the most respected conservative theologians and educators of the twentieth century, J. Gresham Machen. Topics discussed include the Christian view of knowledge, the priority of Christian Scholarship and culture, and the need to establish Christ centered schools that are free from government controls.

Genres: Education, Theology, Christian, Nonfiction, Christianity, Philosophy

179 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

John Gresham Machen was an influential American Presbyterian theologian in the early 20th century. He was the Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary between 1915 and 1929, and led a conservative revolt against modernist theology at Princeton and formed Westminster Seminary as a more orthodox alternative. This split was irreconcilable, and Machen led others to form the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

Reviews

[Adam T. Calvert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great compilation on Machen’s thoughts regarding the title. I’m not sure I understand the order the articles appear in the book, and I wonder if a chronological order would’ve been easier to follow.

Nonetheless, I’m very grateful to God for the Trinity Foundation publishing these articles by Westminster Seminary’s founder. They’re a great reminder of how the church ought to think Biblically in every aspect of life, including in the areas of education and the state.

There are probably only a handful of thoughts to which I couldn’t give a rousing “Amen” in these essays: for instance at one point Machen says that government schools are a necessary evil (p. 63). He didn’t substantiate that statement Biblically. And perhaps I’m missing something from the historical context surrounding the statement. But I’m not sure how a Biblical view can validate the “necessity” of government schools at all - regardless of the amount of evil they do or do not espouse. But one thought in 155 pages of reading is hardly worth mentioning.

This book is by far a solid read on the topic and would be very useful for Christian parents, educators, and politicians. If nothing else, it would at least expose more minds to the rich history of the Christian church and its relation to education and the state (while as of now it seems, from my limited understanding, that most Christians believe state run schools are good on principle - even if not in current practice - and have always been good on principle). And so I must recommend it to all Christian parents, educators, and politicians - probably all thinking Christians is what I’m really getting at here.

Here is a modified table of contents based on chronology of when the articles first appeared or were stated (some of them are transcripts of public oral addresses):

1 (3) Christianity and Culture, 1912
2 (1) Faith and Knowledge, 1925
3 (4) Reforming the Government Schools, 1925
4 (6) Shall We Have a Federal Department of Education?, 1926
5 (7) Proposed Department of Education, 1926
6 (9) Westminster Theological Seminary: Its Purpose and Plan, 1929
7 (2) The Importance of Christian Scholarship, 1932
8 (5) The Necessity of the Christian School, 1934
9 (8) The Christian School: The Hope of America, 1934

While I don’t understand some of John W. Robbins’ overstatements in his postlogue (like “the seminaries” I assume he doesn’t mean all seminaries? being the “finishing schools of irrationalism”), I also appreciated much of what he wrote about the need for the church to teach the importance of the nature of truth, the knowability of truth, and the source of truth - God and His Word.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book on the role of the state in education. Machen stands firmly against the government's strong role in education, as it inherently undermines the truth claims of the gospel. The book is a collection of essays and lectures given by Machen, even Congressional testimony. Naturally many of these overlap and the book often feels repetitive. But the arguments are there and they are compelling. He doesn't take his thesis far enough in my opinion, since if he's right, and I think he is--then the Christian must reject any role the government might play in education. Perhaps he would agree with that, now that the state of education in America is even more rotten than when he criticized it in the early part of the 20th century.

[Davey Ermold · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible collection of essays all revolving around the nature and purpose of education both in the church and in society. Our children will certainly be reading some of these essays in their teenage years.

[MCsquared · Rating 3 out of 5]

Machen here brings up several valid points concerning the anti-intellectualism of his day (and frankly ours), the nature of moral education in public schools, and the threat of federal control of the public education system.
I don't rate this book highly mostly because the book gets pretty repetitive by the end, with the same wording for his arguments and same topics with no new material. You would get all his thought if you only read chapters one through six. This is fairly excusable since it is a collection of Machen's talks and speakers often use the same language for the sake of time and efficacy (people remember what's repeated), unfortunately it made me wish that he had written an actual chapter expanding on his thoughts and not just a transcript of his speeches.
Another issue is that Machen gets pretty polemical in his writing (either things are the ideal or they're evil) which is not my cup of tea even if I agree with the thought process behind it.
I think his thoughts are still valuable and this is a quick read, so if you can handle the issues, I recommend reading it.

[J. A. Littler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of writings and speeches by Presbyterian theologian J. Gresham Machen gives us a bright glimpse into a seminal moment in the history of the American educational system. The emphasis on “do” rather than on critical thinking is poison to Christian education and biblical thought. This work provides incredible clarity on what is needed for Christian institutions (i.e. family, local church, and Christian school) to maintain biblical fidelity on a fundamental level to continue to education children as people made in God’s image and not as complicated machines or a “mere creature of the state.”

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a compilation of topically related addresses, and as is the case in such publications, it has significant overlap and repetition. The content is solid and helpful, and in some places a nearly biographical window into the way Machen thought and responded.

It's a good book, but not racing to the top of any list.

[Ronnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Machen was arguing against the department of education in the 1920's and the arguments are still the same today. Parents are responsible for educating their children and not the state. The state wants to educate us into a profession while education is a basis for life. Standardizing education is to kill education. Forcing everyone to think the same is not education. ...

[Seth Mcdevitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful resource. Gets a little repetitive in the middle, but each speech gains ground and by the time we make it to Machen testimony against creating a Department Of Education he is rolling full strength.

[Peter Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Dabney on women's rights, Machen on the state and education was ahead of his time. His essays, as well as his speeches before Congress on this issue show he knew the downstream impact of uniform, government funded, public education.

[Sean Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who knew that anyone was arguing against a Federal Department of Education in 1926?! Machen was. This book has some great thoughts on the problems with anti-intellectualism, with government interference and the loss of liberty, as well as on the importance of Christian families and Christian schools.

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of essays by J. Gresham Machen regarding the value and need for Christian schools in America. There are many things that make this such a good read. First, I was amazed at the relevance of his analysis of the educational system of his time (20's and 30's) to the educational woes of our own age. Too many think that the educational system of this era was the "golden age" of learning. Machen does not hold back in his criticism of the public schools and its inability to effectively educate children in both knowledge and morality. A large portion of the essays contains his argument against the coming Department of Education and why this department would be a threat to American liberty. Machen provides a prophetic voice as he acutely foresees the dangerous educational trajectory of American education. How right he was! The book contains an engaging dialogue between Machen and a Senate committee about the bill to establish the Department of Education. The reader will read particular analogies and arguments several times as the essays were written independently for various audiences. I enjoyed the Ford analogy all four times but it was more impressive the first time. This book is a good read for Christians, educators, and parents.

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but Clark is better.

Found it interesting that his main point of opposition was that the formation of a Federal Department of Education had as a goal, and would in fact succeed, in making education, and students, more uniform. I believe he is correct in seeing this as harmful, but he never addressed the fundamental issue, What is the purpose of government and does it have authority to educate?

[Mark Cotterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding insights into recent history of our education system and the forming of the Dept of Education in particular. Machen's testimony prior to the forming of the Dept of Education is prolific. Issues we have with our government schools today are forewarned and we can see them unfolding before our eyes now.

[Sally]

attributed to this book:

"This notion that the children belong to the state, that their education must be provided for by the state … is inimical at every step to liberty.”

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good.