Joseph Martin McCabe (12 November 1867 – 10 January 1955) was an English
writerA writer is anyone who creates a written work, though the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms.-Profession:...
and
speakerDebate or debating is a formal method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examine the consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examine what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is technique of...
on
freethoughtFreethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or any other dogma...
, after having been a
priestA priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons collectively.Priests and priestesses...
earlier in his life.
McCabe was born in
MacclesfieldMacclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, with a population of about 50,688...
in Cheshire, but his family moved to
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
while he was still a child. He entered the
FranciscanThe term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic religious orders, also known as the Orders of Friars Minor, that follow a body of regulations known as "The rule of St. Francis", or a member of one of these orders. As well as Roman Catholic there are also small Old Catholic and...
order at the age of 15, and spent a year of preliminary study at
Gorton MonasteryThe Church and Friary of St Francis , known locally as Gorton Monastery, is a 19th century former Franciscan friary in Gorton, in east Manchester, England. The Franciscans arrived in Gorton in December 1861 and built their friary between 1863 and 1867. The foundation stone for the church was laid...
. His
novitiateNovitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
year took place in
KillarneyKillarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region is home to St...
, after which he was transferred to
Forest GateForest Gate is a residential area in the London Borough of Newham.Its name is derived from a southern gate of Epping Forest which once stretched continuously down from Epping...
in London (to the school which is now
St Bonaventure's Catholic Comprehensive SchoolSt. Bonaventure's Roman Catholic Comprehensive School, also known as St. Bons is located in Forest Gate, London Borough of Newham, United Kingdom, and is a voluntary-aided Catholic comprehensive secondary school for boys aged 11–18...
) for the remainder of his priestly education.
Any body of men who believe in hell will persecute whenever they have the power.
What Gods Cost Man
If a single one of these gentlemen is correct, if a believer of any type is right, the essential truth for man, the real drama of life, in comparison with which the secular story of the race, is a puppet-show and the unfolding of the universe is a triviality, is the dialogue of the immortal soul and the eternal God. Yet it seems that there is nothing in the world so hard to discover as this. The theory refutes itself.
The Psychology of Religion, Little Blue Book 446, p. 47
An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.
The Psychology of Religion, Little Blue Book 446, p. 48
The theist and the scientist are rival interpreters of nature, the one retreats as the other advances.
The Existence of God, p. 84
...the absence of theistic belief ...
defining the word "atheism", in A Rationalist Encyclopedia (1950)
The sentiments attributed to Christ are in the Old Testament. They were familiar in the Jewish schools and to all the Pharisees, long before the time of Christ, as they were familiar in all the civilizations of the earth -- Egyptian, Babylonian, and Persian, Greek, and Hindu.
The Sources of the Morality of the Gospels
Today we know not only that there is a terrible amount of disorder in the heavens -- great catastrophes or conflagrations occur frequently -- but evolution gives us a perfectly natural explanation of such order as there is. No distinguished astronomer now traces "the finger of God" in the heavens; and astronomers ought to know best.
The Story of Religious Controversy, p. 86,
A law of nature is not a formula drawn up by a legislator, but a mere summary of the observed facts -- a "bundle of facts." Things do not act in a particular way because there is a law, but we state the "law" because they act in that way.
Existence of God
Joseph Martin McCabe (12 November 1867 – 10 January 1955) was an English
writerA writer is anyone who creates a written work, though the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms.-Profession:...
and
speakerDebate or debating is a formal method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examine the consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examine what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is technique of...
on
freethoughtFreethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or any other dogma...
, after having been a
priestA priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons collectively.Priests and priestesses...
earlier in his life.
Early life
McCabe was born in
MacclesfieldMacclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, with a population of about 50,688...
in Cheshire, but his family moved to
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
while he was still a child. He entered the
FranciscanThe term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic religious orders, also known as the Orders of Friars Minor, that follow a body of regulations known as "The rule of St. Francis", or a member of one of these orders. As well as Roman Catholic there are also small Old Catholic and...
order at the age of 15, and spent a year of preliminary study at
Gorton MonasteryThe Church and Friary of St Francis , known locally as Gorton Monastery, is a 19th century former Franciscan friary in Gorton, in east Manchester, England. The Franciscans arrived in Gorton in December 1861 and built their friary between 1863 and 1867. The foundation stone for the church was laid...
. His
novitiateNovitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
year took place in
KillarneyKillarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region is home to St...
, after which he was transferred to
Forest GateForest Gate is a residential area in the London Borough of Newham.Its name is derived from a southern gate of Epping Forest which once stretched continuously down from Epping...
in London (to the school which is now
St Bonaventure's Catholic Comprehensive SchoolSt. Bonaventure's Roman Catholic Comprehensive School, also known as St. Bons is located in Forest Gate, London Borough of Newham, United Kingdom, and is a voluntary-aided Catholic comprehensive secondary school for boys aged 11–18...
) for the remainder of his priestly education. In 1890 was ordained into the priesthood with the name
Father Antony.
He was recognised as an outstanding scholar of philosophy, and was sent for a year (1893-1894) to study at the Catholic University of Louvain. Here he was successfully taught Hebrew by A van Hoonacker, and less successfully, Syriac by T. J. Lamy. He also studied under, and befriended, Mercier. He returned to London and resumed priestly and educational duties, until in October 1895 he was put in charge of the newly founded Franciscan college in
BuckinghamBuckingham is a town situated in north Buckinghamshire, England, approximately from the border with Northamptonshire. The town has a population of 11,572 ,...
, (which is now St Bernardine's Catholic Church, Buckingham). He had gradually been losing his faith and he left that post and the priesthood in February 1896.
Writing career
Shortly after leaving the priesthood, McCabe began writing. He wrote a pamphlet on his experiences,
From Rome to Rationalism, published in 1897, which he then expanded to book length as
Twelve Years in a Monastery (1897). From 1898–1899 he was secretary of the
Leicester Secular SocietyLeicester Secular Society is the world's oldest Secular Society. It meets at its headquarters, the Leicester Secular Hall in the centre of Leicester, England, at 75 Humberstone Gate.-Founding of the Society:...
, and he was a founding board member in 1899 of the Rationalist Press Association of
Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
. He wrote prolifically on science, religion, politics, history and culture, writing nearly 250 books during his life. Many of his books and pamphlets were published by
E. Haldeman-JuliusE. Haldeman-Julius was an American social reformer and publisher.-Biography:Emanuel Julius was born in Philadelphia on the son of a bookbinder...
, both as
Little Blue BooksLittle Blue Books are a series of small staple-bound books published by the Haldeman-Julius Publishing Company of Girard, Kansas . They were extremely popular, and achieved a total of more than 300 million booklets sold over the series' lifetime...
and Big Blue Books. Over 100 Big Blue Books by McCabe were published.
McCabe was also respected as a speaker, and gave several thousand lectures in his lifetime.
McCabe is also known for his inclusion in
G. K. ChestertonGilbert Keith Chesterton was one of the most influential English writers of the 20th century. His prolific and diverse output included journalism, philosophy, poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy and detective fiction....
's book
Heretics. In a previous essay he took Chesterton to task for including humor in his serious writings. By doing so, he allowed Chesterton to make the quip "Mr. McCabe thinks that I am not serious but only funny, because Mr. McCabe thinks that funny is the opposite of serious. Funny is the opposite of not funny, and of nothing else."
In about 1947, McCabe accused the
Encyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopaedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., a privately held company. The articles in the Britannica are aimed at educated adult readers, and written by a staff of about 100 full-time editors and more than...
of bias towards the
Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
. He claimed that the 14th edition, which had been published in 1929, was devoid of the critical comment about the church that had been in the 11th edition. McCabe similarly accused the
Columbia EncyclopediaThe Columbia Encyclopedia is a one-volume encyclopedia produced by Columbia University Press and sold by the Gale Group. First published in 1935, and continuing its important relationship with Columbia University, the encyclopedia underwent major revisions in 1950 and 1963; the current edition is...
of bias towards the Catholic Church in 1951. These and similar actions have made him be termed a "Catholic basher" by his Christian critics. Biographer Bill Cooke, however, disputes the allegation, citing McCabe's opinion that "Catholics are no worse, and no better, than others", and "I have not the least prejudice against the Catholic laity, which would be stupid." .
McCabe was also active in organizations, although his biographer notes that he had a difficult relationship with some of their leading figures, and consequently relations between McCabe and various groups could also be strained. McCabe's freethought stance grew more militant as he got older, and he joined the
National Secular SocietyThe National Secular Society is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism, the separation of church and state. It holds that no-one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of religion. It was founded by Charles Bradlaugh in 1866...
in the year before he died.
Works
The 'Big Blue Books': (a selection of titles available online)
Some Other Works: with an introduction by
Lady Florence DixieLady Florence Caroline Dixie , before her marriage Lady Florence Douglas, was a British traveller, war correspondent, writer and feminist....
See
List of names in A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Rationalists (Note that online sources often erroneously date this work to 1920, confusing it with his
Biographical Dictionary of Modern Rationalists.)
External links