Dr Machen answered my call to help in presenting the cause of The Presbyterian Church of America in Bismarck, North Dakota. The Presbytery of Bismarck of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. had painted Dr. Machen as a very unsavory and troublesome person. That, as usual, was their answer to all the charges of unbelief made against them.
From the time he assented to the call, nothing could dissuade him from answering it—neither the smallness of the seceding group, coldness of North Dakota’s weather, nor pleas of dear friends and relatives who feared for his health. He was determined to go out to North Dakota and help in the conflict for the faith as it was being waged in that locality.
Accordingly he undertook the arduous trip from Philadelphia, and arrived in Bismarck 11 A.M. Tuesday. I met him emerging from an elevator in the Patterson hotel. After a warm greeting, “Dassie” immediately wanted to know the plans. In an offhand way he told me that he had been sick the night before on the train, but that he was feeling better and ready to do anything that I thought would help the cause. I then told him that, if he were up to it, I would like him to go to Leith, 75 miles away, so that my people could see for themselves “this terrible man, Machen.” On that trip to Leith, he kept saying, “You are not seeing ‘Dassie’ at his best; I’m not like this very often.” One could see that he was not feeling well. During this trip his whole conversation showed his devotion to the Reformed Faith. His whole heart and soul were particularly centered on Westminster Seminary and The Presbyterian Guardian. His ambition for the latter was to see it a real organ of the new denomination, propagating truly reformed doctrine, maintaining its glorious tradition.
When we arrived at Carson where I live, my four little girls clambered about him as if they had known him always. Our dog was vying with the children for a place on his lap. At dinner, “Dassie” could hardly touch a bite, yet he never complained. He commended Mrs. Allen on her biscuits and said if he were himself he would pack away at least five.
Later we went to Leith. There was only a small crowd but it didn’t dampen his ardor for one minute. During the speech he was hampered by a cough that made it appear as though he were troubled with asthma. The room was hot and stuffy and made it even more difficult for him. Nevertheless, he went straight through without one single complaint or excuse.
Almost immediately after his talk he was stricken with pleurisy. He could not walk up the steps by himself. The pain was intense. He was in agony. From Leith to Bismarck (75 miles) he groaned with pain and had a terrible thirst. Sometimes he thought he was going to die. More than once he cried out about his thirst. I offered to stop but he said, “We can’t do it. Wait until we get to Bismarck.” At one time he cried, “I can’t make it, I can’t make it”; then he would say, “I can’t die now, I have so much work to do.” This was the saddest and most grievous trip I ever made. My heart grieved as I heard his groaning and wondered if he would reach Bismarck. At last, after what seemed an age, we arrived in Bismarck about 7.15 P.M. He had to be helped from my car to his room. At first he wouldn’t consent to the calling of a doctor, but the pain was so intense that he finally yielded on this point. After calling the doctor at 7.30 P.M. I had to go to the hall where the meeting was to take place and arrange things. At 8.05 P.M. I called him by phone and asked him how he felt. To my surprise and delight he told me that the doctor had bandaged him up and eased the pain, and that he was fit as a fiddle and ready to meet any Auburn Affirmationist that might wish to meet him. About ten minutes later he walked into the auditorium apparently as spry as ever, with a big, broad smile on his face. After he was introduced he gave a fine address which made a strong impression on the people present and destroyed, in their minds at least, all the slander and calumny about his “bitter character.” After the address he answered questions for fifteen minutes—but the signers of the Auburn Affirmation at Bismarck did not attend. Read more»
Samuel J. Allen | “The Last Battle of Dr. Machen,” The Presbyterian Guardian, January 23, 1937.
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Brad Isbell
Brad Isbell is a ruling elder at Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Oak Ridge, TN, board member of More In The PCA, co-host of the Presbycast podcast, editorial member of Presbyterian Polity, and treasurer of the Heidelberg Reformation Association.
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