I have a few candidates for sainthood. My “Pope”, John the XXIII is one. He should have been beatified instead of the steps that are being taken to elevate Pius XII, the World War II fixture who ignored the fate of millions. But that is a matter of preference even though I do not believe that saints did anything to deserve the title. This is because I do not believe in miracles performed by humans.
I think the title “Saint Moses” is silly. “Moses” is a revered name for many peoples around the world, not simply Jews. Abraham may have a broader appeal for he announced to the world that there was just one GOD. Moses led a people out of slavery and whipped them into shape to conquer a land that is called holy by three religions and is still in contention today. That was some achievement – but Moses in not a saint. While alive, Teresa was saintly.
The thought that some people pray to saints who were human is disquieting to me. Instead of working to create conditions where they will be happier, they call on a dead person to help them. This is the same thing as worshipping a God or Gods or Luck or Money or – well, you know what I mean. Or, do you? I have problems with the supernatural and with the notion of an invisible power, or force that controls us. I do not believe in God in the sense that Christians do. The compromise forced on them in the third century of our era of including a “spirit” to complete the trinity of Jesus, the son and God, the father is not meaningful for me. WWJD – What would Jesus Say or Do about this?
On the other hand, the position taken by fundamentalist Muslims that there is but one god (they prefer the name, Allah) and that Mohammad is his prophet (and after Mohammad there will be no others) is a simplistic belief centered in a text, the Qu’ran, that still restricts the lives of people who follow it in modern times. Would Mohammad recognize the religion that is practiced today?
I like the Torah, which means Law, better. It is a liberating document if still archaic in some of its pronouncements. There is still controversy among believers that the 613 laws identified in that document must daily direct our behavior as well as belief. Reformers in the 19th Century began a simplification and reduced the laws to a meaningful and “modern” practice. According to tradition, Moses is the author of the entire five books. The Torah is what some people call the “Hebrew Bible”, an “Old Testament” superseded by the “New”. Whatever way you read this ancient document it shows how the past can be a model for the future. The past and present are not so different.
I think I am a Reform Jew. The name is a poor one although it implies reform is ongoing to create the Messianic Age in contrast to belief in a one-time messiah coming to redeem the world. I like the name, Modern Judaism. But, that is just me. Mother Teresa is, without a doubt, saintly.