If a saint performs miracles like plucking sundry articles out of thin air and claims himself to be God.......

Question

Would you say he is God or just another saint, or....... ?

Please give your reasoning for the conclusion you make.

It appears that my use of the word 'saint' has created a confusion here.... what I meant was not that the person has been proclaimed a saint by church... I simply meant that the person is leading a saintly life of service and renunciation.

Answer 1

There's a wonderful scene in Monty Python's Holy Grail where King Arthur tries to convince a peasant that he's actually King. The scene is a brilliant example of absurd comedy.

As is the notion that God Almighty would spend his time doing parlor tricks so the tool making apes will believe.

Answer 2

Friend,

These kind of tricksters and jugglers are abundantly available now a days and that is their livelihood.They earn their bread through these sundry things,

On the way to His Kingdom, during penance , a person acquires at first some sundry things called siddhis .If he thinks he achieved a great thing and starts performing them like bringing some salagrams or Lingams or some other idols from thin air he is fooling himself.He has lost his way.

These are some tests whether he can withstand the attractions of such things.If he ignores them and progresses in his way he will go further and after many a tests like this if fortunate he will realise the truth.

Such people are not Gods nor saints.They are lesser than a common person.Please ignore them.

God bless you.

Answer 3

That's a good question, buddy.

If a person is already a saint, or proclaimed a saint, and can perform miracles, then there's no mistaking or doubting the miracles he is capable of performing, at least against the backdrop of Catholic Christian practices or tradition. My statement presupposes that the person in question passed the needle's eye of the Catholic Church's criteria for sainthood even when he's still alive, for normally sainthood is only bestowed on someone after his death and after having lived a martyred life. At any rate, if he's a saint and does those things, I will not question it....BUT....

The qualification that he will claim that he is God owing to those miracles will negate his pride of place as a saint, like a house of cards collapsing, for only the ex-archangel more than a saint, Lucifer, had claimed as much before he fell from Heaven.

I'm a Catholic, small, and I hope my views here will not incite unreasonable clashes with others which I respect very much. Thanks!

Ah, OK. If that person is leading a saintly life, then he is a fake using God for his own end. It's not uncommon this happens in real life. Advertisers use the name of popular celebrities to claim their product is the best because it is used by Britney Spears, Lyndsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, etc. This kind of logical fallacy, buddy, is called in Latin, Argumentum Ad Verecundiam. Thanks again. God Bless!

Answer 4

I would call this person one who is good at sleight-of-hand, or just another talented magician-showman. If he/she claims to be God, I would also call him or her deluded. I just don't think a God would stand around "plucking sundry articles out of thin air." Perhaps I'm confused by your question, since you also start it out with declaring this person to be a saint "performing miracles."
For miracles, my beliefs are more along the lines of the type of miracle that cures people in an instant of an 'incurable' disease and such like that... Now THAT would impress me. I may then think about saintly things in regards the person who could do that... but I think God has done His bit for plucking sundry articles out of thin air, if indeed that is how we all came to be...

Answer 5

Since miracles are considered as an exceptional merit, then said saint is still a saint. In the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, individual saints are regarded as having a special relationship with God and are therefore venerated for their perceived role as intercessors.

Thanks for asking. Have a great day!

Answer 6

There is a difference between Miracles and Magics.

Anyone can do a Magic but Miracle is done by The God Himself

Like make you Help others without your knowledge

Answer 7

First of all, at least in the Catholic tradition, a "saint" is only recognized as such after his death. In fact, many saints were unappreciated, ignored, or even persecuted during their earthly lives.

Jesus performed miracles so that those who witnessed them, or who heard about them, would come to believe in Him. If Jesus were to give the power to work miracles to a mere man, then his miracles would be accompanied by holiness of life and an authentic faith. If those things were present, I would accept such a man as a holy man and (possibly) a future saint.

God has come to earth in human form already, in the person of Jesus Christ. He will come again, but many signs will precede His coming. If someone were to show up suddenly performing miracles, I would not be inclined to believe that it was God without more evidence.

Answer 8

Come 2 India. Every street corner has a saint . All of them were caught when the movie camera pictures ran @ very slow motion.
Let me add , among Catholics any saint needs to be certified by Pope who is freely elected.
Yehova`s witnesses ask "which saint after Jesus made a born blind see ?"

Answer 9

Neither. He is either dillusional, mad or possessed.

How can a person be a saint(one set apart to God) and call themselves God?????

Some forms of insanity cause people to think they are someone other than who they are.

Some people are pathological liars and lie so often that they begin to believe their lies.

And then there are those who have been subverted by demons to cause trouble. Jesus destroyed demons in scripture.

Answer 10

Many magicians do that. So at best, he is a magician.

If he has to claim to be God, he need to do better things. you know..