Machen's Letters and Libertarian Views

[Grafted In]

Does anyone know whether or not J. Gresham Machen's personal letters have ever been published collectively or in an abbreviated form? I know that there is a large collection of them at Westminster Seminary but I am not able to make my way over there anytime soon.

I am trying to do some research on Machen's libertarian views and it sounds as if his personal correspondences maybe a good place to look.

Thanks in advance

 

[Laura]

In Pressing Toward the Mark (available from the OPC here) there is a complete bibliography of Machen's published writings (including letters to periodical editors and to his state representative). Though it's still up to you to actually find said writings... I learned of that through Hart's biography of Machen. In case you didn't already look, starting on p. 135 there is an examination of Machen's political views (it goes on for 10 or so pages).

Edit: Ooh, I forgot about this book. http://www.amazon.com/Selected-Shorter-Writings-Gresham-Machen/dp/0875525709

Part Seven, on church and society, should shed some light on Machen's political views. There is an essay called "Christianity and Liberty" in that section that looks promising.

 

[Wayne]

Machen's "papers" - his correspondence, etc., are preserved at the Montgomery Library at Westminster Theological Seminary, in Philadelphia.

Grace Mullen is the librarian overseeing that collection, as well as the papers of other faculty members, and she would be the person to contact regarding the Machen papers. There are about fifty boxes in the Machen collection [25 cu. ft.?], though I don't know that a finding aid (index) has been prepared for that collection. As I understand, the collection is preserved [in good archival fashion] in the order that Machen had it in, namely by year. A "finding" aid would typically be a folder-by-folder list of what is in each box. An "inventory" would be an item by item list, with description. Inventories are rarely produced by archives anymore, except for the most important of collections.

There is a smaller body of Machen correspondence preserved at the PCA Historical Center, mostly between Machen and J. Oliver Buswell, Jr. An intern at the PCAHC prepared an "inventory" of that correspondence under my direction.
See PCA Historical Center : Inventory of the Buswell-Machen Correspondence, 1926-1936 for details.

I think I did hear of plans to publish a book of selected letters, but I don't have further information at this point.

 

[Grafted In]

Thank you so much!