Publication
The Princeton Seminary Bulletin.
Physical description
pp. 46-60 p.; 23 cm
Notes
Dr. Marsden's opening comment:
"I realize that speaking at Princeton Theological Seminary on "Understanding J. Gresham Machen" may be like speaking to the ACLU on "Understanding J. Edgar Hoover," or to the Daughters of the Confederacy on "Understanding General Sherman," or perhaps more exactly like speaking at Westminster Theological Seminary on "Understanding Harry Emerson Fosdick." Memories are sometimes long.
When I was asked to speak here I immediately thought that Machen would be the best topic since it is a subject that we have in common. For both of us, Machen is a part of our history and has helped shape our heritage. For my part, dealing with the legacy of Machen has been a major part of my career. My father was an alumnus of this institution, but not a graduate. Although he came here as a moderate Presbyterian, he soon fell under Machen's spell and, after much agony in the summer of 1929, decided to give up the prestige of Princeton and of a lucrative position as steward at one of the eating clubs, and to follow his mentor to Westminster. So I was brought up on Machen. When Ned Stonehouse's biographical memoir appeared when I was a boy, it was read to us on Sunday afternoons. I was in fact president of the regional Machen League, the young people's organization of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In a sense, I have spent a career in trying to understand this heritage."
"I realize that speaking at Princeton Theological Seminary on "Understanding J. Gresham Machen" may be like speaking to the ACLU on "Understanding J. Edgar Hoover," or to the Daughters of the Confederacy on "Understanding General Sherman," or perhaps more exactly like speaking at Westminster Theological Seminary on "Understanding Harry Emerson Fosdick." Memories are sometimes long.
When I was asked to speak here I immediately thought that Machen would be the best topic since it is a subject that we have in common. For both of us, Machen is a part of our history and has helped shape our heritage. For my part, dealing with the legacy of Machen has been a major part of my career. My father was an alumnus of this institution, but not a graduate. Although he came here as a moderate Presbyterian, he soon fell under Machen's spell and, after much agony in the summer of 1929, decided to give up the prestige of Princeton and of a lucrative position as steward at one of the eating clubs, and to follow his mentor to Westminster. So I was brought up on Machen. When Ned Stonehouse's biographical memoir appeared when I was a boy, it was read to us on Sunday afternoons. I was in fact president of the regional Machen League, the young people's organization of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In a sense, I have spent a career in trying to understand this heritage."