“. . . a faint picture emerges of Machen’s childhood, a blend of seriousness and high culture and laughter and pranks. And at the center of this upbringing was the Bible, the Shorter Catechism, and The Pilgrim’s Progress, all poured into the lives of the Machen boys by their mother” (Stephen J. Nichols, J. Gresham Machen, 25-26).