Saints as Divine Evidence? The Hagiological Argument for the Existence of God

An interdisciplinary panel on Robert MacSwain's Saints as Divine Evidence: The Hagiological Argument for the Existence of God (Cambridge University Press, 2025). This session explores the potential epistemic significance of unusually holy lives, drawn from multiple secular and religious traditions, for contemporary religious belief and practice, with ‘saints’ considered under three distinct categories: (1) radical altruists, (2) embodied sources of religious experience, and (3) enacted life narratives. Chaired by Hans Harmakaputra (Philosophy, Religion, and Classics, Augustana University), the panel includes Barbara Zimbalist (Literature and Cultural Studies, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley), Meghan Page (Philosophy, Loyola University Maryland), William Wood (Theology and Religion, Oxford University), and Jonathan Tran (Duke Divinity School). The author, Robert MacSwain (School of Theology, University of the South), will respond.