J. M. Robertson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Mackinnon Robertson
Born	14 November 1856 Brodick, Isle of Arran, Scotland
Died	5 January 1933 (aged 76) London, England
Occupation	Journalist, politician, rationalist, writer

John Mackinnon Robertson (born November 14, 1856 – died January 5, 1933) was a Scottish journalist, writer, and politician. He was known for supporting rationalism, which means using reason and knowledge instead of belief or feeling. He also supported secularism, which is the idea that government and other parts of society should be separate from religious influence.

Robertson was a member of the Liberal Party and served in the British Parliament. He was also well-known for his ideas about the Christ myth theory. This theory suggests that the story of Jesus might not be about a real historical person, but rather a myth or a story that developed over time.

A Life of Learning and Writing

John Mackinnon Robertson was born in a place called Brodick on the Isle of Arran in Scotland. When he was young, his family moved to Stirling. He went to school there until he was 13 years old.

After school, he first worked as a clerk. Later, he became a journalist. He worked his way up to become an assistant editor at the Edinburgh Evening News.

Joining the Freethought Movement

Robertson became interested in the freethought movement when he was a teenager. This movement encourages people to form their own opinions based on logic and reason, rather than accepting ideas just because they are traditional or from authority.

In 1878, he heard a lecture by Charles Bradlaugh in Edinburgh. This inspired him to join the Edinburgh Secular Society. Through this group, he met William Archer. He also continued his work as a writer for the Edinburgh Evening News.

Later, Robertson moved to London. He became the assistant editor of Bradlaugh's newspaper, the National Reformer. When Bradlaugh passed away in 1891, Robertson took over as editor. The National Reformer stopped publishing in 1893. From 1899 into the 1920s, Robertson also gave lectures for the South Place Ethical Society, another freethinking group.

Robertson's Political Career

Robertson was a supporter of "New Liberalism." This was a political idea that believed the government should help improve society and people's lives. His political ideas grew stronger in the 1880s and 1890s.

He first tried to become a Member of Parliament in 1895. He ran as an independent liberal candidate for the Northampton seat, but he did not win.

Serving in Parliament

In the 1906 General Election, Robertson was successful. He won the Tynemouth seat as the official Liberal candidate. He strongly believed in free trade. This means he thought countries should be able to trade goods with each other without high taxes or restrictions. His book Trade and Tariffs (1908) was very important for people who supported free trade.

In 1915, he was given a special honor. He was appointed to the Privy Council. This is a group of important advisors to the British monarch.

Robertson ran for Parliament again in 1918 for the Wallsend area, but he finished third. He also ran in 1923 for the Hendon seat, but he was not successful.

John Mackinnon Robertson passed away in London in 1933. Homer Smith, a famous writer, called Robertson "an outstanding example of rationalism." He also said Robertson was "one of the most important scholars" in England during his time.

His Political Ideas

Robertson had strong ideas about how society and the economy should work. He believed that Members of Parliament should be paid for their work. He also wanted to get rid of the House of Lords, which is one part of the British Parliament. He was a strong supporter of Adult Suffrage, meaning all adults should have the right to vote, including women.

Ideas About the Christ Myth Theory

John Mackinnon Robertson was a supporter of the Christ myth theory. In several of his books, he argued that Jesus might not have been a real historical person. Instead, he suggested that the story of Jesus might have been created by a Jewish group in the first century. He thought this group might have been following a figure named Joshua, whom he linked to a solar deity (a god connected to the sun).

Robertson believed that religious groups sometimes create new gods or stories to fit the needs of their society at the time. He suggested that a sun god, often shown with a lamb or ram, had been worshipped by a group following Joshua. He thought this group then created the new messianic figure, Jesus of Nazareth.

He also explored other possible origins for the Christian story. He mentioned a Talmudic story about an executed Jesus Pandera from around 100 BC. He also considered ideas that Jesus might have been a would-be messiah who taught political ideas against Roman rule and was killed for it. Another idea he explored was that Jesus could have been a "Galilean faith-healer" who was killed as a human sacrifice during a time of social unrest.

Robertson thought that the letters written by Paul were the earliest Christian writings that still exist. However, he felt these letters focused more on religious ideas and morals, rather than details about Jesus's life. He wrote that Paul's letters "show no knowledge of any Jesuine biography or any Jesuine teaching." This made him think that the Jesus Paul wrote about was from a much earlier time than people usually believed.

He also thought that stories about the twelve apostles and the Eucharist (a Christian ceremony) probably developed later. He believed these stories came from non-Jewish believers who were taught by Jewish evangelists like Paul.

A theologian named Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare wrote a book in 1913. It was called The Historical Christ. This book was written to challenge the Christ myth theory that Robertson and others supported.

Books by John Mackinnon Robertson

• Modern Humanists (1891)
• Miscellanies (1898)
• History of Freethought in the Nineteenth Century (1899)
• Studies in Religious Fallacy (1900)
• A Short History of Freethought: Ancient and Modern (Volume 1, 1906; Volume 2, 1906)
• Rationalism (1912)
• The Baconian Heresy: A Confutation (1913)
• The Historical Jesus: A Survey of Positions (1916)
• The Jesus Problem: Restatement of the Myth Theory (1917)
• Shakespeare and Chapman (1917)
• Short History of Morals (1920)
• Explorations (1923)
• The Shakespeare Canon (1922–1932)
• Jesus and Judas (1927)
• A Short History of Christianity (third edition, 1931)

Images for kids

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  John Mackinnon Robertson

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  Robertson in 1920