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Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Expected online publication date:
November 2025
Print publication year:
2025
Online ISBN:
9781009653237

Book description

In Saints As Divine Evidence, Robert MacSwain explores 'the hagiological argument' for God, that is, human holiness as evidence for the divine being. Providing an overview of the contested place of evidence in religious belief, and a case study of someone whose short but compelling life allegedly bore witness to the reality of God, MacSwain surveys sainthood as understood in philosophy of religion, ethics, Christian theology, church history, comparative religion, and cultural studies. With epistemological and hagiological frameworks established, he then further identifies and analyzes three distinct forms of the argument, which he calls the propositional, the perceptual, and the performative. Each version understands both evidence and sainthood differently, and the relevant concepts include exemplarity, inference, altruism, perception, religious experience, performativity, narrative, witness, and embodiment.  MacSwain's study expands the standard list of theistic arguments and moves the discussion from purely logical and empirical considerations to include spiritual, ethical, and personal issues as well.

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