Machen’s Warrior Children

While some critics of the Federal Vision still consider its adherents to be Reformed, many consider them outside the Reformed camp, and some have gone so far as to call the adherents heretical. I had been under the impression that the ferocity of the attacks were out of character. Not so. John Frame, in a paper written a couple years ago titled, “Machen’s Warrior Children“, provides a history of “the twentieth-century Reformed pattern of being militant about their views.” Frame is Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida.

J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937) battled against modernist (aka liberal) theology within the Presbyterian Church, USA (PCUSA). Machen finally left the PCUSA in 1936 and helped form what would become the Orthodox Presbyterian Church denomination.
Frame contends in his paper that Machen’s spiritual descendants, his ‘warrior children;, took this fighting spirit and turned it inward, with a mantra of “Truth Before Friendship.”
Which would be fine if we were dealing with foundational theological doctrines, but few of the fights were of that magnitude doctrinally (though the heated debates were of the same magnitude). He enumerates 21 theological conflicts that have divided and are continuing to divide (sometimes too literally) conservative Reformed circles. The Federal Vision controversy would just be #22, although opponents would want to just lump it into #9, Covenant and Justification.

1. Eschatology
2. Christian Liberty
3. The Incomprehensibility of God
4. Apologetics
5. Philosophy
6. Sabbath
7. Charismatic Gifts
8. Theonomy
9. Covenant and Justification
10. Law and Gospel
11. Counseling
12. The Days of Creation
13. Worship
14. Roles of Women
15. Preaching and Redemptive History
16. Subscription
17. Church Unity
18. Tradition in Theology
19. Sonship
20. Christian Hedonism
21. Multi-Perspectivalism

Many of these controversies led to church splits and new denominations. Like an immune system gone haywire, fellow believers turn inward and attack each other. Calling into question motives, brothers and sisters in Christ opponents are told that they are “not Reformed” or that they are denying the Gospel. In his conclusion, Frame asks:

Since Jesus presents love as what distinguishes his disciples from the world (John 13:34-35), this bitter fighting is anomalous in a Christian fellowship. Reformed believers need to ask what has driven these battles. To what extent has this controversy been the fruit of the Spirit, and to what extent has it been a work of the flesh?

Of course if you call your opponents heretics you can rationalize your un-Christian treatment of them, barring Jesus’ command to “Love your enemies”.

HatTip: John H. Armstrong