January 19, 2025
Have you ever looked up to someone in whom you saw grace or peace or endurance or joy? Or maybe someone who you just want to hang out with because ‘there is something about them that is good’ or perhaps because they challenge you to become a better you. Maybe you just feel better for having been with them. I wonder if you have ever thought of such people as evidence for God?
Through the centuries there have been many kinds of arguments for the existence of God. However, in recent times an argument that looks at the person right in front of us has been put forward.
Dr. Robert MacSwain, an Associate Professor of Theology, is exploring the idea that the best proofs for God are living, breathing people right in front of us. Surprisingly, nobody seems to have explored this idea in any detail.
Instead of big, theological or philosophical arguments he argues for “something very concrete — a person that we might know or come in contact with.” Austin Farrer, during the 20th-century made a comment that “the saint is our evidence.” Building on that thought, MacSwain argues that the saintly traits of that person we know may actually be evidence for God.
He broadens the term ‘saint’ to include the sense that this or that trait or person represents the best of us humans. From this he argues in 3 ways:
- Propositional is an argument that relies on inference, i.e., the best explanation for acts of radical altruism is the existence of God.
- Perceptual is an argument based on a direct religious experience. You feel the presence of God when you are with a person who radiates qualities such as joy, peace and love.
- Performative is an assessment of someone’s entire life as the argument for God — individuals who exemplify holiness, not just in a single act or moment but throughout their whole life.
MacSwain writes: “One reason I think we’re fascinated by saintly people, is that, as unusual as they are, there still seems to be something about them that is right. And, while they may make us feel uncomfortable, we still feel that somehow in them we’re seeing how humans should be. It’s not that they’re self-righteous. But their righteousness challenges us and calls us to become better.”
This, in turn, he argues, points us like a street sign towards the presence of God.
So let’s open our eyes and senses to seeing Jesus as he comes to us through ordinary people displaying traits such as love, joy and peace. Such traits are indeed indicators of the divine presence.
Julian Holdsworth
BSBC Pastor