God Matters

by Herbert McCabe

Seldom have God matters been treated with such verve, sense, rigour and humour as in this collection of writings by Herbert McCabe. The book demonstrates the depth and clarity of his theology and philosophy of God, his appetite for controversy, both political and theological, as well as a traditional Catholic concern for prayer, liturgy, Mary and St Dominic. The articles, which range widely, and represent over twenty years of characterstically dominican enterprise, reveal a personality that is itslef clear evidence that God matters.

Genres: Theology, Philosophy, Religion, Catholic, Christianity, Faith, Nonfiction

249 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1987

About the author

Herbert McCabe was a much loved member of the English Province of the Dominican Order of Preachers. He was born on the 2nd August 1928 and studied chemistry and philosophy before joining the Dominicans in 1949.

“Faith seeking understanding” guided him through his life’s vocation - the study and teaching of the writings of St Thomas Aquinas. His work as a student chaplain led to the publication of The New Creation (1964) and Law, Love and Language (1968). Social radicalism and profound orthodoxy met and matched in Herbert’s thinking and preaching.

He was editor of New Blackfriars from 1964. Controversy attended these years in his life and ministry, and after some time in Ireland he taught in Oxford in the mid 1970s. “He had an unrivalled clarity of utterance, and in his hands Thomas became a vivid living voice...” (Eamon Duffy, The Tablet, 7 July 2001).
He regarded as his finest work the booklet The Teaching of the Catholic Church which was a catechism rooted in the teachings of the Second Vatican Council commissioned by the then Archbishop of Birmingham.

A loyal friend, fierce critic of woolly thinking and passionate advocate of social justice, he was made a Master of Sacred Theology by the Dominican order in 1989. He died on the 28th of June 2001.

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read it a while ago, but I found myself re-reading McCabe's "The Class Struggle and Christian Love" today when it was posted online here (where it's available only for a limited time): https://christiansocialism.com/herber...

When I read it a few years ago it was an essay that seemed to answer many questions I had while opening the door onto a wider field of inquiry. Reading it today, having trodden that inquisitive field for a time, it serves as a crystallization of the basic outline of what I believe (for what little that's worth), but more importantly, in its "return to basics," it reads as a rousing call to action, to naming and choosing sides consciously and with clear eyes. It's the kind of shot in the arm one needs every now and again to restore clarity and, importantly, the courage needed in the ongoing struggle.

[Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

McCabe is definitely worth reading.

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

The exchange on the eucharist in part 2 was confusing. I'd rather have seen an extended exposition of McCabe's own views and would like to see a modern Thomist critique of his views. The chapter on class struggle is not even wrong. His heart was clearly solid gold and in the right place, but he addresses every topic at the wrong level of abstraction with a jumble of dogmatic assertions and logical leaps reminiscent of beer night in the '70s, after the third beer. Even if his conclusions are right, his arguments fail.

But the rest of the book is brilliant, and I strongly recommend it.

[Ben Crosby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book of essays and sermons. The first four are particularly stunning (on God, creation, evil, and human freedom), but all are worth reading. The essays on Eucharistic theology are difficult but rewarding, and open up surprising avenues of ecumenical conversation. I do think his account of the atonement is rather seriously lacking, but the meditation on the Easter Vigil is profound.

[Amelia Crowther · Rating 4 out of 5]

the chapters on freedom and obedience are really good. Made me think differently about quite a few things!

[cindy]

Read "The myth of God incarnate" for Modern Doctrine.

[James Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A grab bag of topics. Some were better discusses than others. I'm not sure who this is for, other than perhaps someone looking to find out one man's way of explaining certain thing. Not all of his explanations are full proof, and some more political stuff he certainly goes off the deep end but there is good material.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have inspected the small print. it;s a collection of short essays rather than a single book. means there are some gems, but whole bits I skipped. Disappointed but it's probably my own fault I suppose.

[Peter Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good stuff in here, especially in part one, about the transcendence of God, human and divine causality, and about the problem of evil. But there are it seems to me serious problems with it, for example some of the material on the Eucharist.

[Ben McFarland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to teach like Herbert McCabe writes. He takes the nearly-thousand-year-old ideas of Thomas Aquinas and sharpens them to fine points, then uses them to poke holes in all manner of shoddy thinking. He is a Dominican who writes so clearly about transubstantiation and the Immaculate Conception that they make sense to even this Protestant scientist. My understanding of sacraments, Holy Week, creation, even time itself was expanded by this book. The worst part is when other scholars write a chapter or so and he argues back and forth with them. These other scholars are good, but it's like sunspots, they look dark even though they're bright because they are against the backdrop of the sun itself. I find McCabe's politics challenging and (since most of this was written in the 80's) not quite as applicable, but still, it's a genuine loss for us that we don't have him around to comment on today's events.