Monday, February 13, 2006

Piety obsolete. Faith obsolete. Mysticism obsolete. Prophetic vision obsolete.

When I started this blog 5 months ago, I was bored at work and had a lot to say. I still have a lot to say, but I am so busy at work right now, with things I’d rather not be doing, that I don’t have the time to be writing as often as I’d like. I have found the time to read and comment on many of the blogs I read regularly, but I don’t have the time to sit down and write the things that I want to write about.

While I have finished saying all that, I do want to take a minute to point something out and actually say something as well. First, I wanted to point out that in the last two weeks or so, there has been a very good, spirited conversation going on over here. We’ve been dealing with religion, why it exists and the existence of god in general. It isn’t a heated discussion, rather a cordial, thought provoking one that I have enjoyed reading and taking part in. I encourage anyone with curiosity about this topic to visit and read on!

The question I would like to ask deals with this topic as well. Where have all the prophets gone? Thousands of years ago, all of these prophets were running around preaching this and that and people were listening to and following them religiously. Today, their teachings are still being discussed and debated, as well as taught. Encyclopedia Britannica defines a prophet as, “Men specially elected by God to be his messengers.”

When was the last time we named someone a prophet? Around Jesus’ time (if he actually existed)? Do we still have them? Or is our intellect too evolved to notice? Maybe Martin Luther King, Jr. was a prophet? Maybe JFK? Ronald Reagan? Abraham Lincoln? Thomas Jefferson? Josef Stalin? Winston Churchill? Adolf Hitler might have even been considered a prophet, in a twisted sort of way. The same could be said for Osama bin Laden. What was it about prophets from a few thousand years ago that made them prophets and what leads us to not having any today? Are we too smart to be led by that type of propaganda? I would say the answer to that is a resounding NO, considering all the bullshit and lies that we’re fed from our government, starting right at the top with our President. Or you could say the same thing about terrorists. They are told these lies about how wonderful the afterlife will be for them. Meanwhile, they are killing innocent people – and for what? Maybe we should stop referring to President Bush as the “President” and start calling him “The Prophet George”? It doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as Moses.


4 comments:

CyberKitten said...

Thanks for the kind mention. Appreciated.

Very good question too. Where HAVE all the prophets gone....? Or maybe (heaven forbid - grin) it's Pat Robinson.. [snigger]

Was it obvious at the time who the prophets were or are they only recognised in hindsight?

goal10der said...

CK - you're very welcome, I've enjoyed reading and participating!

OH MY - please not Pat Robertson!

I suppose at the time, people did not know those they were following would be considered prophets, but still, they followed these people for some reason. Maybe in a thousand years, Osama bin Laden and George Bush will both be considerd prophets, who knows? (I should hope neither of them, but I guess it won't be my call!)

I just have to wonder why we haven't had any in the last 2000 years - since Jesus supposedly did some walking and talking.

Maybe in 2000 years, the blogging community will all become prophets! Well, maybe not the teenagers and hopefully not the pornographers, but you know what i mean!

Anonymous said...

I don't know if I should get involved in this discussion, because I don't want to piss anyone off, but I don't believe in the bible or in God (conventionally), and I'm pretty sure that prophets were really just government officials who were hired to brainwash the public.

You still love me though, right Josh? :)

sam

Anonymous said...

Okay, you must still love me...I just read cyberkitten's posts and comments and realized I probably wouldn't be stepping on any toes with that comment. Woo hoo!

sam