Go to Religion in the Modern World
- Add a comment
- Go to How and why biblical prophecies work
IT'S LIKE THE LITTLE BLACK BALL WITH THE MESSAGES
or the Greek oracles.
word it in a non-specific manner so that a great number of interpretations can be gleaned from it, and, in more than a majority of cases, it appears close.
posted by
Xeno-x
on March 20, 2008 at 12:15 PM
| link to this | reply
it is pretty well established
that OT prophets were written after the events they were prophesying.
And the Book of Revelation (NO "S" AT THE END OF IT) is metaphor for events at the time of the author.
Matthew 24 was written after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.
We cannot use Bible prophecies.
I have experienced prophetic events. Dreams prophesied events that I didn't want to have happen -- and yet they did.
Other prophecies -- I don't know -- Nostradamus? There was a movie out about him back in the early 80's narrated by Orson Welles. The interpretation at that time was that a middle east personage would launch a nuclear missile to hit New York City. Don't remember the exact passage. And then 9/11 hit. Similar. Makes one ask questions sometimes. And yet interpretation of obscure seeming verses can cover a wide range of events. So prophecy can be fulfilled if the prophecy covers a broad expanse -- like a large blanket where there is little chance of it not covering.
posted by
Xeno-x
on March 20, 2008 at 6:48 AM
| link to this | reply
gomedome
Actually, the definition speaks only of the source of the prophecy, not the actual mechanics (or significance) of it. By this definition, "Oh know that after Monday a Tuesday will come" is a prophecy if it is God's revelation through his prophets. :) So I don't think that this definition quite covers the essence of matter.
posted by
hagi
on March 19, 2008 at 10:18 PM
| link to this | reply
hagi - self fulfilling prophecies in reality are not true prophecies, at
least when we consider the definition of a prophecy.
- knowledge of the future (usually said to be obtained from a divine source)
- a prediction made as a result of divine inspiration or clairvoyance
-prophecy in a religious sense, is the prediction of future events or the speaking of divine words (divine Revelation) through chosen human messengers (prophets).
To proactively fulfill a prophecy renders the prediction less than prophetic. Prophecies that are fullfilled without proactive efforts are as you imply, inevitable, due to lack of specific details and the use of broad imagery.
posted by
gomedome
on March 19, 2008 at 7:26 PM
| link to this | reply
holy cow! I can't believe you are still writing this stuff
You are certainly persistent after all these years!
posted by
homegirl
on March 19, 2008 at 5:06 PM
| link to this | reply
I've given some thought to this prophecy stuff,
not just because I'm writing about it but because I'm toying with Tarot, I Ching and other divination methods (although I usually try to look into present, not the future).
Anyhow, prophecies could work in such cases:
1. If time isn't linear, then it's possible to go back in the past and leave a message about a future (a rather trivial idea, which I'm currently exploiting),
2. If everything is determined and thus it is theoretically possible to predict the "future" if there exists an entity capable of foreseeing this future... Of course, there still remains a question whether this entity would have nothing better to do than to make prophecies :)
3. A prophecy is self-fulfilling by definition, thus a perfectly crafted prophecy would sooner or later become true - which in fact is quite accurate with divination, I am a bit of a skeptic myself but I have to admit that divining actually works if you approach it with care and inventive mind. So maybe it's too much to ask from a prophecy - for it to be precise in every detail - maybe it is just what it is, something that will come to pass in one way or another because of its diverse imagery... and imagination of its followers. So probably the real idea behind the prophecies is something like "try to be aware of false prophets, especially ones who consider themselves messiahs" or "remember that there is a possible danger, a Beast, something powerful you cannot fight" - a simple exercise of awareness so that people don't slumber in false optimism.
posted by
hagi
on March 19, 2008 at 4:59 PM
| link to this | reply