John J. Bannan
Registered Senior Member
Why are the major religions of today based on ancient teachers, i.e. Jesus, Moses, Mohammed, Buddha? Has the well run dry?
Why are our best Prophets ancient?
- Thread starter John J. Bannan
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Just speculation, but I think society has either wised up or become so skeptical that anyone trying to proclaim they are a prophet (think David Koresh) would be quickly debunked by society. PLUS, a lot of 'miracle's supposedly performed back then can be easily explained by science today.
Perhaps in a thousand years ,Tom Cruise may be considered a prophet of Scientology.
Now there is a scary thought!
Grantywanty
Registered Senior Member
Because those teachers have had time to have followers who created organizations that humans being creatures of habit have given a lot of power to. Conservatives who would kill a comtemporary Jesus can worship the dead radical because he's in the old book and the church has found ways to maniuplate his ideas that suit their temperment. Once challenging people can be misinterpreted and made not challenging. Even better they can be used by organizations interested in their own power.
John J. Bannan
Registered Senior Member
Or is it, as Jesus said, a time when the wood is no longer green?
because their faults have drifted into time. Like sand dissolves ruins of ancient houses by ocean, like rain dissipates the statues of kingdoms, like you and I are forgotten by everyone over time.
Christopher Hitchens: "We shall have no more prophets or sages from the ancient quarter, which is why the devotions of today are only the echoing repetitions of yesterday, sometimes ratcheted up to screaming point so as to ward off the terrible emptiness."
They were able to make prophecies because then, humans, including them, were laughably ignorant of what we take for granted these days.
They were able to make prophecies because then, humans, including them, were laughably ignorant of what we take for granted these days.
John J. Bannan
Registered Senior Member
Jesus was a big deal only a few centuries after his death. By that standard, we should have had a major prophet a couple hundred years ago - but we don't.
John J. Bannan
Registered Senior Member
The middle ages were full of the laughably ignorant, and yet we have no major prophets from that time?
Laughably ignorant from our standards, yes. That doesn't mean those ancient prophets weren't still laughably ignorant from middle age standards as well.
"We" don't. Unless you're a Mormon I suppose.
John J. Bannan
Registered Senior Member
But Jesus lived during the Pax Romana. The middle ages were certainly far more ignorant than the Romans.
I'm not a huge history buff, but I think my point stands anyway; he was able to make his prophecies in his day, yes, but those people were still ignorant by our standards. Jesus, in today's context, would be more like a self-professed psychic.
I believe the best prophets were in the past due to biological reasons. For instance they grew up in a time when there wasn't a widely available system of healthcare, nobody knew what to do except let the female pop a baby out.
This would naturally give rise to some abnormalities, ones that might offer more unique abilities than todays average-borns.
Also society back then didn't have a great deal of learning to do, the people would've had alot of time on their hands to think. During this process they would likely become quite brilliant because the nonsense of an average week would be nada.
This would naturally give rise to some abnormalities, ones that might offer more unique abilities than todays average-borns.
Also society back then didn't have a great deal of learning to do, the people would've had alot of time on their hands to think. During this process they would likely become quite brilliant because the nonsense of an average week would be nada.
*************Perhaps in a thousand years ,Tom Cruise may be considered a prophet of Scientology. Now there is a scary thought!
M*W: I'm afraid that it won't take a thousand years. He's already been elevated to some high position in his cult.
*************
M*W: Because they were good mythical characters.
John J. Bannan
Registered Senior Member
Well, that's an interesting insight. Tom Cruise, an attention starved movie star, becomes a scientologist because he can literally be worshiped by its members. Fits.
Ha ha ooooh boy...I'm sorry, I'm just reminded of God when you say that. (Substitute "God" for "Tom Cruise", "deity" for "movie star", and "creator" for "scientologist" and you've got my mood.)
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Simple...Christianity, Islam et al crush resistance. They allow sects that appear similar, but opinions that are too different are not tolerated.
Indeed science is only tolerated because of the conveniences it generates Unluckily for religions, science has become a power unto itself.
Indeed science is only tolerated because of the conveniences it generates
Unluckily for religions, science has become a power unto itself.I can tell you in the bible there is a period of time called the Gentile Times.
Gentile is a word meaning "nations". Gentiles were basicly everyone other than a Jew.
the Gentile times supposedly began once Jew leadership was destroyed. Through the prophesy of Daniel and a little math there is a set time for those Gentiles or nations or the world.
This is basicly a time of noninterference by God. Israel failed and was thus abandon. Man was so convinced of his own superiority that this span of time was set aside to prove it.