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God, Christ and Us
Here is a collection of Herbert McCabe's more popular spiritual writings. McCabe was highly regarded as a writer on philosophy and theology but in true Dominican tradition (the Order of Preachers) he was also a brilliant preacher. He always preached in a lively and witty way - his style has been compared to that of G.K. Chesterton. This collection of his sermons and spiritual addresses are never platitudinous or short of ideas, filled with questions, arguments and solid intellectual content. The major influence on McCabe was the Bible but he was also a devoted admirer of the thought of St Thomas Aquinas, whose ideas saturated his public speaking. From the Bible, McCabe derived the notion of God leading us to happiness through the work of grace and through the life and teachings of Jesus. From Aquinas, McCabe derived a hatred of idolatry, a powerful sense of the incomprehensibility of God and a recognition that we depend on God's gracious revelation of himself rather that what we can work out on the basis of our limited understanding. A presiding theme in this book is that we are saved because of the life of someone fully human. God, Christ and Us communicates the essence of the Gospel in an original and compelling way. It can therefore be mentioned in the same breath as works by Dean Inge, Donald Soper, H.A. Williams and Leslie Weatherhead.
Here is a collection of Herbert McCabe's more popular spiritual writings. McCabe was highly regarded as a writer on philosophy and theology but in true Dominican tradition (the Order of Preachers) he was also a brilliant preacher. He always preached in a lively and witty way - his style has been compared to that of G.K. Chesterton. This collection of his sermons and spiritual addresses are never platitudinous or short of ideas, filled with questions, arguments and solid intellectual content. The major influence on McCabe was the Bible but he was also a devoted admirer of the thought of St Thomas Aquinas, whose ideas saturated his public speaking. From the Bible, McCabe derived the notion of God leading us to happiness through the work of grace and through the life and teachings of Jesus. From Aquinas, McCabe derived a hatred of idolatry, a powerful sense of the incomprehensibility of God and a recognition that we depend on God's gracious revelation of himself rather that what we can work out on the basis of our limited understanding. A presiding theme in this book is that we are saved because of the life of someone fully human. God, Christ and Us communicates the essence of the Gospel in an original and compelling way. It can therefore be mentioned in the same breath as works by Dean Inge, Donald Soper, H.A. Williams and Leslie Weatherhead.
Here is a collection of Herbert McCabe's more popular spiritual writings. McCabe was highly regarded as a writer on philosophy and theology but in true Dominican tradition (the Order of Preachers) he was also a brilliant preacher. He always preached in a lively and witty way - his style has been compared to that of G.K. Chesterton. This collection of his sermons and spiritual addresses are never platitudinous or short of ideas, filled with questions, arguments and solid intellectual content. The major influence on McCabe was the Bible but he was also a devoted admirer of the thought of St Thomas Aquinas, whose ideas saturated his public speaking. From the Bible, McCabe derived the notion of God leading us to happiness through the work of grace and through the life and teachings of Jesus. From Aquinas, McCabe derived a hatred of idolatry, a powerful sense of the incomprehensibility of God and a recognition that we depend on God's gracious revelation of himself rather that what we can work out on the basis of our limited understanding. A presiding theme in this book is that we are saved because of the life of someone fully human. God, Christ and Us communicates the essence of the Gospel in an original and compelling way. It can therefore be mentioned in the same breath as works by Dean Inge, Donald Soper, H.A. Williams and Leslie Weatherhead.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
About the author
Herbert McCabe
26 books45 followersHerbert 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.
“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.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 28, 2019
This collection of unpublished sermons offers a good, accessible introduction to McCabe. Each sermon is dense with insight, and repetition is kept to a minimum. I've found that the text integrates nicely into an introductory college theology course that's loosely structured around the creed.
September 18, 2015
This book of homilies by the English theologian is one that I pick up for something to chew on. He never disappoints.
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March 20, 2025SIN
"The root of all sin is fear; the very deep fear that we are nothing; the compulsion, therefore, to make something of ourselves, to construct a self-flattering image of ourselves we can worship, to believe in ourselves - our fantasy selves." p. 17
FAITH
"The letter to Hebrews tells us that 'Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen' (Hebrews 11:1). [...] For the author of Hebrews, faith has to do with what is over the horizon. If you like, it is what lures us on to journey over the horizon to look at what we cannot yet see"
THE LOVE OF GOD
"And God's love can do terrible things to you. It may make you kind and considerate and loving.
Do you remember how Paul describes the catastrophic effects of love? God's love and forgiveness may make you patient and kind, not jealous or boastful; it may prevent you from being arrogant, or rude, or insisting on your own way, or being irritable or resentful, so that you do not rejoice in wrongs but only in what is right. It may make you bear all things, believe all things, hope all things (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Well, you know what happens to people like that: they are patronized, taken advantage of, used and despised. If you want an extreme reminder of the risks you take in being forgiven, in being liberated from sin, in becoming loving, just look at a crucifix." (p. 27-28)
SIN. FORGIVENESS. CONFESSION.
"When Jesus encounters people tormented and torn apart by guilt and self-disgust, they recognize that he loves them. And they recognize that he loves not just the nice, respectable and grateful parts of them, but the shamefulness and the darkness as well as the light" (p. 60)
"It is God's loving gift that we begin to think of repenting for our sin and of asking for his mercy. And that repentance dos not 'earn' his forgiveness. It 'is' his forgiveness under another name [...] If we go to confession, it is not to plead for forgiveness from God. It is to thank him for it." (p. 61)
"We confess our sins because we are free to do so, free from the desperate need to justify ourselves and prove ourselves right, free from fear of ourselves" (p. 62)
"The root of all sin is fear; the very deep fear that we are nothing; the compulsion, therefore, to make something of ourselves, to construct a self-flattering image of ourselves we can worship, to believe in ourselves - our fantasy selves." p. 17
FAITH
"The letter to Hebrews tells us that 'Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen' (Hebrews 11:1). [...] For the author of Hebrews, faith has to do with what is over the horizon. If you like, it is what lures us on to journey over the horizon to look at what we cannot yet see"
THE LOVE OF GOD
"And God's love can do terrible things to you. It may make you kind and considerate and loving.
Do you remember how Paul describes the catastrophic effects of love? God's love and forgiveness may make you patient and kind, not jealous or boastful; it may prevent you from being arrogant, or rude, or insisting on your own way, or being irritable or resentful, so that you do not rejoice in wrongs but only in what is right. It may make you bear all things, believe all things, hope all things (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Well, you know what happens to people like that: they are patronized, taken advantage of, used and despised. If you want an extreme reminder of the risks you take in being forgiven, in being liberated from sin, in becoming loving, just look at a crucifix." (p. 27-28)
SIN. FORGIVENESS. CONFESSION.
"When Jesus encounters people tormented and torn apart by guilt and self-disgust, they recognize that he loves them. And they recognize that he loves not just the nice, respectable and grateful parts of them, but the shamefulness and the darkness as well as the light" (p. 60)
"It is God's loving gift that we begin to think of repenting for our sin and of asking for his mercy. And that repentance dos not 'earn' his forgiveness. It 'is' his forgiveness under another name [...] If we go to confession, it is not to plead for forgiveness from God. It is to thank him for it." (p. 61)
"We confess our sins because we are free to do so, free from the desperate need to justify ourselves and prove ourselves right, free from fear of ourselves" (p. 62)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews