Hi Billy, On Mar 22, 2012, at 7:57 PM, [email protected] wrote: > Coming from a Baptist background, also with Lutheran and Buddhist experiences > that have shaped my understanding, and more could be added, my standards for > what constitutes valid prophetism are "high bar," to use that metaphor. > > My experience with Charismatic / Bible church prophetism in action is very > limited > and, from it, is essentially negative. By way of comparison, today's "church > prophets" > strike me as similar to a shop keeper who goes into politics, or a dentist, > or a > high school teacher. In either case it is something that one makes up as one > goes along. And, allowing for special exceptions, I have extreme difficulty > in accepting any such thing. Amateur hour in politics has no more appeal > than amateur hour in matters of faith , at least concerning such matters > that effect whole congregations or whole populations.
Obviously I have a very different perspective. :-) > Hence my criticisms of LDS doctrine that holds that all male heads of families > are "prophets." Sure they are , and being a lifelong rancher prepares one > for > being a prophet how ? Or for that matter a lifelong banker or lifelong > salesman. > Same exact principle for Bible churches, etc. Ah, *here* I agree with you. I believe the prophetic gift is something given by God, not by fiat. Entrusting that power and authority to individuals by virtue of their *position* -- rather than a recognized calling and gifting -- is dangerous in the extreme. > My standard is Old Testament or, cie vous plait, Zoroastrian --in which > genuine > prophets , or prophetesses, are uncommon in any population. Sure. But we have a lot more people than Israel did, so even if you assumed the same ration the absolute number would be quite high. > Not sure exactly how best to read the Apostle Paul on this issue. At times > he seems to affirm the "Charismatic" position, yet taking a very dim view > of glossolalia, but at other times his standards seem to be consistent > with the views in the Hebrew Bible / OT. In any case, while I make allowances > for exceptions, basically I am OT about this. > > A genuine prophet has to go through a helluva lot of bad stuff to be > taken seriously, has to persevere, and has to not only have a powerful > moral message, but an original message that contributes to knowledge. > Simply expressing inner spiritual feelings doesn't begin to cut it. I'm with you on that. -- Ernie P. > > My view, anyway > Billy > -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
