James Allanson Picton (8 August 1832 – 4 February 1910) was a British independent minister, author, philosopher and Liberal politician. Picton promoted a philosophy known as Christian

pantheism Pantheism can refer to a number of philosophical and religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arisesAnn Thomson; Bodies ...

Life

Picton was born at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, the eldest son of Sir James Allanson Picton and his wife Sarah Pooley. His father was an architect and supporter of the Liverpool Free Library. He was educated at the High School, and at the

Mechanics' Institute Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult edu ...

and joined his father's architectural practice at the age of 16. Three years later he decided to study for the ministry and joined the

Lancashire Independent College The British Muslim Heritage Centre, formerly the GMB National College, College Road, Whalley Range, Manchester, England, is an early Gothic Revival building. The centre was designated a Grade II* listed building on 3 October 1974. History a ...

and

Owens College Owens may refer to: Places in the United States * Owens Station, Delaware * Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota * Owens, Missouri * Owens, Ohio * Owens, Texas * Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. He achieved a first in classics and in 1855 was awarded MA at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. In spite of allegations of heresy, in 1856, he was appointed to

Cheetham Hill Cheetham is an inner-city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England, which in 2011 had a population of 22,562. It lies on the west bank of the River Irk, north of Manchester city centre, close to the boundary with Salford, bounded by Cru ...

congregational church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

. There he gave a course of popular lectures to the working classes, but one of his sermons revived the allegation of heresy and in 1862 he went to Gallowtree Gate chapel,

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. In 1869 he became pastor of St. Thomas's Square chapel, Hackney where he upset orthodox members by delivering lectures on secular themes such as English history and the principles of radical and conservative politics on Sunday afternoons to the working classes. He remained at Hackney until 1879. He wrote much in the press and published many sermons, pamphlets, and volumes on religion and politics. Picton started to take an active part in public life as an uncompromising radical. He represented Hackney on the

London School Board The School Board for London, commonly known as the London School Board (LSB), was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London. The Elementary Education Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75) was ...

from 1870 to 1879 and was chairman of the school management committee for three years. In 1883 he was chosen as a radical candidate for

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of ...

but in June 1884 he stood instead at a by-election for

. He was elected Member of Parliament to succeed Peter Alfred Taylor, most of whose opinions he shared. He retained the seat in the following elections and resigned from the House of Commons in 1894. He was very small in stature, but possessing good oratorical powers, and retaining the manner of the pulpit, he always won the ear of the House of Commons, where he was known as a sincere advocate of extreme views. After his retirement, Picton built Caerlyr Hall at

Penmaenmawr Penmaenmawr (, ) is a town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, which was formerly in the parish of Dwygyfylchi and the traditional county of Caernarfonshire. It is on the North Wales coast between Conwy and Llanfairfechan and was an ...

, North Wales in about 1896 (the name Caerlyr means City of Leicester in Welsh).

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

was said to have been a friend of Picton and visited the area frequently. Picton died at Caerlyr Hall aged 77. Picton married firstly Margaret Beauont, daughter of John Beaumont of Manchester; and secondly Jessie Carr Williams, daughter of Sydney Williams a publisher. He had four sons.

Pantheism

Picton was a disciple of

Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...

and authored ''Pantheism: Its Story and Significance'', in 1905. Picton was a proponent of Christian pantheism which was termed "the religion of the universe". In his book ''The Mystery of Matter'', Picton considered the universe as a manifestation of an infinite energy with the God of Christianity as substantially identical.Shields, Charles. (1888). ''Philosophia Ultima, Volume 1''. Applewood Books. p. 197

Publications

From 1879 to 1884 he wrote leaders in the '' Weekly Dispatch'', then an advanced radical organ, and contributed to the ''

Christian World The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...

'', ''

The Theological Review ''The Theological Review: A Quarterly Journal of Religious Thought'' was an English Unitarian theological journal that ran from 1864 to 1879. It was edited by Charles Beard and published by Williams and Norgate. Publications established in ...

'', the ''

Contemporary Review ''The Contemporary Review'' is a British biannual, formerly quarterly, magazine. It has an uncertain future as of 2013. History The magazine was established in 1866 by Alexander Strahan and a group of intellectuals intent on promoting their v ...

'', ''

Macmillan's Magazine ''Macmillan's Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine published 1859 to 1907 by Alexander Macmillan. The magazine was a literary periodical that published fiction and non-fiction works primarily by British authors. Thomas Hughes convinced Mac ...

'', the ''

Examiner Examiner or The Examiner may refer to: Occupations * Bank examiner, a kind of auditor * Examiner (Roman Catholicism), a type of office in the Roman Catholic Church * Examinership, a concept in Irish law * Medical examiner * Patent examiner * ...

'', and other periodicals. His books included : * ''A Catechism of the Gospels'', 1866. * ''New Theories and the Old Faith'', 1870
''The Mystery of Matter''
1873 * ''The Religion of Jesus'', 1876 * ''Pulpit Discourses'', 1879 * ''Oliver Cromwell: the Man and his Mission'', 1882 * ''Lessons from the English Commonwealth'', 1884 * ''The Conflict of Oligarchy and Democracy'', 188
James Allanson Picton ''The Conflict of Oligarchy and Democracy''
* ''Sir James A. Picton: a Biography'', 1891 * ''The Bible in School'', 1901 * ''The Religion of the Universe'', 1904
''Pantheism: Its Story and Significance''
1905
''Spinoza: A Handbook to the Ethics''
1907 * ''Man and the Bible'', 1909

References

* *Jincheng Shi. (2018)
"Pantheism and Science in Victorian Britain"
University of Leeds.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Picton, James Allanson 1832 births 1910 deaths 19th-century British philosophers 20th-century British philosophers Alumni of the University of London Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the London School Board Pantheists UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895