Try leaving the word "prophecy" out of the equation. "This is what I think is going to happen", is a speculation. We all entertain speculations. But when one states "this will happen" with an aire of authority...eh, then one gets into the prophecy business.
We don't need prophets here. We have quite enough intelligent thinkers who did not fall off the turnip cart last night, and realize the way things are going.
In short, preaching to the choir is a waste of time and energy.
v/r
Q
Sorry about that. I was just wondering what paganprophet had been hinting at in the last few posts. At first I thought it was a sarcasm/humour about Messiahs/Prophets and that he was impersonating one as a joke. It turns out that he might have views on possible/potential present-day "prophets." I thought that might be interesting.
Of course, according to traditional Christian/Islamic belief, all necessary prophets have come and gone.
Yet, an interesting question is how a person qualifies as an apostle, assuming prophets and apostles are practically the same thing (interchangeable words), prophets coming before the Messiah, and apostles after the Messiah, as in Christianity/Islam. Examples -- Peter, James, Paul and John in Christianity. Is there a formal declaration?
A conventional/traditional and dogmatic/doctrinal use of the word "apostle" would be similar to the way we use the word "saint." But let's suppose I was not adhering to the traditional use of the words "prophet," "apostle" or "saint" (as examples). I believe religious words like that can have a more abstract meaning.
The Catholic use of the word "saint" (correct me if I'm wrong) might refer to a person who has served as part of the clergy. The more abstract meaning of "saint," however, is one of God's people. So you and I are saints (so far as we believe). Prophets and apostles as we know them are regarded as such by tradition, yet the exact definition of what makes them prophets and apostles has never been given. There are theories, but these theories are debatable as they impose limits on the meaning of the words "prophet" and "apostle."
There are possibly, present-day equivalents of Paul, Peter, James and John who aren't called prophets and apostles. Yet their lives may be similar to their ancient counterparts. Despite their deeds, their devotion and dedication to the cause of their faith, they simply haven't been given the same level of recognition as their ancient counterparts.
I know the purpose of tradition -- it's to stop us from thinking too much, not to imprison or enslave us (but yet that is often what tradition has done to people
).
What I was interested in, however, was paganprophet's perspective on prophethood and apostlehood. What was his/her "reality?" I wasn't asking for a "beliefs for others" perspective, but a "beliefs for me" perspective.
That kind of prompted me to explore the CR site a bit further . . . these views might be discussed on some other forum. I usually look for threads/forums that are relevant to me, and as a result haven't explored the kinds of views paganprophet might have explored.
Where is Brian in this? I still haven't heard from the owner of this forum.
I think Quahom speaking might be a signal for us to switch to another channel. You've been paged/PMed.
