Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès, better known by the pen name Léo Taxil was a French writer and journalist who became known for his strong anti-Catholic and anti-clerical views. He is also known for the Taxil hoax, a spurious exposé of Freemasonry and the Roman Catholic Church's opposition to it. Taxil first became known for writing anti-Catholic books, notably La Bible amusante (The Amusing Bible) and La Vie de Jesus (The Life of Jesus) in which Taxil satirically pointed out what he considered to be inconsistencies, errors, and false beliefs presented in these religious works.