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James Martin, S.J.October 26, 2011

Here's my take on CNN.com, who asked me to weigh in.  

Asking if we have turned Steve Jobs into a saint is different from asking if he was a saint. The first question turns on how society sees the digital-age genius. That’s a question of perception. The second turns on how Mr. Jobs lived his life. That’s more a question of reality. The first is easy to answer; the second less so. So onto the easy answer: Yes, we have turned Steve Jobs into a saint, in the same way that we often project qualities of holiness onto any celebrity with whom we felt affection.

Yet there is a key difference between the saints and Mr. Jobs that we may overlook. For all of his talents, Mr. Jobs did not seem to be - to put this as charitably as possible - the kindest man in the world, which is something of a requirement for a real saint. Walter Isaacson’s new biography, "Steve Jobs," is chock full of incidents of its subject’s less-than-charitable behavior. And even though the saints didn’t always act lovingly, that is a rock-bottom requirement for a saint: kindness.

So here’s a third question: Is it accurate to speak of Steve Jobs as a saint?

Read the rest here.

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david power
13 years 8 months ago
Santo Subito!!!
Sainthood is usually some Priests speaking good of a dead one.In this case most of his acolytes would probably have done the same and buried the truth but this biography (why did he agree to it?) makes that more difficult.
The medium for Jobs was not a projected goodness as it is for most saints who are really often just as petty as the rest of us but have good PR.
There are exceptions of course and Jobs is not one of them.If we were limited to the exceptions the Roman shopkeepers would be up in arms.
I think Marti makes a better case for sanctity not just about being a sweetnatured person.
St Paul was choleric and St Ignatius was not exactly a wilting violet.One thing that Bill Mazella and I would agree on is that St Augustine was not exactly "kind".
Just read the fantastic Bio by Brown to see what a complex character is. 
St Jerome would have been barred from every blog in town for the violence of his writing.
What is Sanctity?I have asked that question so often but nobody seems to know!!!!
If we were to rest on Marti's more nuanced definition of sanctity then surely Fr Marciel would qualify.  
St Jobs wore the same "habit" every day and was bearded but that is where he and St Francis part ways.
Otto says that the Holy is nebulous, is he wrong?  
Jim McCrea
13 years 8 months ago
Ask his daughter if he was a saint or not.  Or his employees.

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