(August 21, 2021 at 9:55 am)Mashmont Wrote:(August 21, 2021 at 9:49 am)vulcanlogician Wrote: 1) You missed my point. Brewer said it better. The "great deeds" of saints are evidence of belief... not of God's existence.
2) Canonization is a rather a political process. Think of Aquinas. A remarkable figure, yes. But hardly on par with the stories of some of the saints. He didn't live in poverty and still give all he had... he wrote some works that the Catholic Church quite liked. So be sure not to read too much into the fact that someone is canonized by the Church.
(Let's focus on item 1, though.)
I say it is circumstantial evidence of God's existence, that these people are God's most ardent believers have borne such great fruit in their lives for the benefit of mankind.
It isn't even circumstantial evidence. Certain people perform great deeds. The reason why they performed these deeds is (assumed to be) belief in God. God's actual existence isn't needed to explain any of it.
Unless maybe you refer exclusively to miracles. And if a saint performed miracles, I'm more apt to think he was a charlatan... not a great person. That's a strike against the person in my book.
