I have been wondering about this.

 I think we all can be, prophets. To be a prophet is to listen to silent prayer and be directed in what we do by love, compassion and awe. We turn our backs on the universal call to prophesy when we identify our own problems as being greater than god's, our will as wiser, our interests as having priority... ego is what stands in the way of becoming a prophet.

considering all our imperfections

i doubt it

i for one am sick of wating creepy old men dictate what is right for the rest of us

WOW!!!! good answer!!!! brother.

Bolt

But what Mike (and I'm basically agreeing with him) said is that we can all be prophets, ie. no more "creepy old men dictating what is right for the rest us". Instead, he's talking about each of us finding the voice of The Divine in our lives and living that truth. Sure we all have our imperfections, but seeking that prophetic voice means finding our way past those imperfections.

Mendalla

To say one is a prophet isn't a big deal really, unless one is reaching into thin air for a message that may be false.

To be a false prophet is not a place one wishes to be.

To mislead the children of God is a place I would not choose to be.

It is about falling in love with God actually, & discovering this love that is rather new & a love that will actually change a person's internal, to a point where it is externally evident for all to see.

This man we call Jesus is such a man as this, & more.

Jesus was a prophet, & high priest, when prophets & high priest would be at odds, Christ was indeed both, & much more.

There was never another like Jesus the Christ, & He set's a new standard from law, to love of a Godly kind that needs no laws, nor needs any explanation or excuses.

Bolt

I feel that I may have prophecy as one of my minor gifts from the Holy Spirit. This prophecy, I believe, is in the form of speaking authoritatively from God's Word. Interpreting God's Word for the audience of today. As I say, though, it's a minor gift for me. My major gift being that of teaching.

Hi crazyheart,

No.

I have spoken prophetically from time to time.  I have also been wrong from time to time.  My hit to miss ratio is such that I would most likely fall into the false-prophet category and the consequence for that is a stoning.

The minimum characteristic would be that God speaks clearly to you and instructs you to speak just as clearly to others.  The other thing I see, from a quick glance of identified prophets in scripture is a tremendous reluctance to take on the job.  Those who jump at the chance to hold the office are most likely not suited for the vocation.

It might be.  Again, most of those called to the office in scripture wrestled with God to get him to change his mind.  God overcomes those objections in some manner and then they go into that particular ministry.  I'd be suspicious of stories that run along the lines of God spoke to me and I went and spoke to others.  From where I sit that sounds more like ego than legitimate call.

That is a really good question.  Jesus speaks about how prophets were routinely reviled and how prophets sent to Jerusalem usually had a rocky welcome.  It must be a difficult life you know, not wanting the responsibility and having others want to kill you because of your calling.

I suspect that prophets are not typically cheerful and easily given to merry-making.  They wouldn't be the life of the party.  They would say things that make me uncomfortable or uneasy and at the same time that would be because they touch something deep and aren't simply offending because of buffoonery or jackassery.

It is a thin line thing I think.

I also tend to distrust anyone who claims to be a prophet.  I know of know Biblical figure who needed to announce that.  Prophet seems to be a title given and not one grasped by one's self.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Mike and Mendalla say it well.   

Wow, i guess all the prophets that were stoned to death were false?

Many prophets felt the consiquence of prophecying from time to time, but who is to say they were false?

I can understand why a prophet wouldn't take on the job unless directed.

Bolt

Hi boltupright,

Which is not what I said at all.

Grace and peace to you.

John

I don't know exactly how to answer this other than to say that I have had times in my life when I have felt "well used" by God... that the words from my mouth (i.e. when preaching perhaps) or a song that I'm singing in church or somewhere else or even in some of my  art work... there are moments when I know clearly that I am just a vessel, that my gifts are being used in a much deeper and meaningful way that I could ever offer on my own...and carry a message of God's love and mercy and beauty and hope, added to my own small voice or painters brush or words on a page.  In those moments and opportunities, I believe I've been a prophet... 

And I guess from that experience, I think we are all called to be prophets...i.e. to take the gifts we are given, listen deeply for what to offer and to offer it widely, no matter how it is received. Words, images, music - all the myriad of ways that call out and lead one (or many) to God.

More like a Cassandra.  No one ever believes me.

I know John, which is why I put a question mark at the end.

You just made a comment that didn't sit well with me that's all.

Bolt

I agree with what has been said by others: We can all be prophets, if we get in touch with the divine and act from divine inspiration.

I consider myself a prophet, and I feel divinely inspired. The words with which I express my divine inspiration, however, are my personal creations. They reflect my personal, conceptual framework of interpretation, and with it my personal bias and that of my culture and time.

I think this was and is so for all prophets. We have to take this into consideration when contemplating their words.

This being said, I think there are degrees of divine inspiration. Highly inspired prophets like Jesus may well have been more profoundly inspired than others.

I don't believe it's about us getting in touch with the divine. I believe it's about God getting in touch with us. There are different spiritual gifts which God gives out according to His own good pleasure. Prophecy is just one of these gifts. Only those to whom God has given said gift may exercise it.

Indeed.

In my previous post I said that to say one is a prophet is no big deal, well that isn't true per say.

It is a big deal to me in every way, but the thing is, it isn't a big deal to me if anyone really listens & understands because of me, as I just let the words speak for themselves.

It's kind of like being someone who sees something wonderful, & sees it in all creation.

Like being someone who looks at his brothers & sisters & sees a potetial that is quite substantually greater than what is seen now.

For me, a Prophet of God & one who sees himself as one doesn't see this as a light thing at all within himself.

But to been seen by others as such isn't a matter of importance as much as the message getting accross.

So for me, whether one gives a vote of confidence is of little importance as well, as long as I do what is directed.

Bolt

Well, jae, this may be so. But how can God be in touch with us if we are not willing to be in touch with God?

I think and feel that we are innately united with God. The hindrance to experiencing our innate unity with God is on our side, not on the side of God. We have created the illusion of separateness, and it is up to us to remove that illusion! The state of grace is attainable for everyone—if we are willing to open ourselves to IT.

"Would you know a prophet if you met one?"

Good question! How would one know for sure?

Would a prophet only be called a prophet after time has gone by?

Yet the people in Jesus time were expected to know this without time passing? Who do you say I am?

Oh that Jesus!

I remember a minister preaching on modern day prophets and asking who might be considered one.  That night I watched an interview that Clinton was giving.  It was around his initiatives to aleviate world poverty and I was struck with the impression that I would consider him a prophet...cms

To be a prophet, do you have to consistantly show people. Or can one statement, cjms, that clinton spoke at that time, make you a prophet? So are we sometimes prophets and sometimes not?

I believe that to be a prophet one must first be a Christian; it is to the Jesus-followers that God gives spiritual gifts.

Gosh Jae, is it me today? I seem to disagree with you all over the place. I think that there are many prophets that aren't Christian. But I have been known to be wrong.

I believe that in this case, ch, you are wrong, but then that's just my belief. Here's a passage from the Bible which, to me, speaks reasonably clearly about all this...

"God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful: wise counsel, clear understanding, simple trust, healing the sick, miraculous acts, proclamation, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues. All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when." - 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11 (MSG)(Emphasis mine)

My understanding of passages like this one include the beliefs that only Christians are given spiritual gifts (since they are the ones that God's Spirit indwells and the gifts come from God's Spirit), that only the people who have any given gift in question can exercise said gift, and that God decides when it is best to give a believer a gift, and also when it is best to take said gift away.

Were the prophets of the old testament Christian?

It was certainly more than one statement.  I see him working and speaking out for a better world for all...cms

What about Ghandi and others? Are they not prophets, Jae?

Jae...if God's gifts are handed out everywhere and originate in the Spirit - how is it that you understand this only to apply to Christians? I'm seriously asking because it confuses me.  It would seem that to all God has given gifts and that we, as Christians, understand those and use a framework of the Spirit working in those gifts and those people.  God gives... we understand that in a Christian theology but how can we imagine that God only gives those gifts to Christians? 

I believe that Jesus was a prophet to the Jews and to the early Church and to us, who follow and the world that we share this with... but I also believe that there are prophets from other faiths and traditions that speak truth and wisdom and of God in other words and images.  God is good and God is a generous God and the Spirit, so powerful  to inspire, remind, push us to use the gifts we've been given... I can't imagine that these gifts are limited to just a few.

That was a different time, yet I believe they too believed in Christ. The difference is that they were looking forward to their Savior.

Well, I don't know, who are these "others"?

As for Ghandi, I do not believe he was a prophet, no.

I agree with Gaiagirl... religions seem to assume far to much but they can provide languages to talk about, almost always inadequately, spiritual experience. They are cultural artifacts with no justification to claim universal relevance and a few religions recognise this. Christianity is a particularly imperialistic religion but that goes with the culture.

On the other hand, it's easiest to communicate within the referential framework of a familiar culture. I think we overstep the utiility of religion the moment we use it to make assertive statements about the nature of "god" because god is mystery; so is whatever lies on the other side of death, and so is the origin of the universe.I believe we are all, as a species, far too limited and too little exposed to reality, to make absolute claims about anything very much. But that doesn't stop us, of course. it's just too bad that it becomes a very dangerous temptation when we start believing what we say, and believing it's about time other people saw it our way too. The best we can do is ask better questions.

Because, gaiagrrl, Christians are the only ones the Spirit of God indwells.

I agree that God does give gifts to all. Talents, and skills. Spiritual gifts, however, I believe to be in a different category than those things. Talents and skills are natural, spiritual gifts are supernatural. 

Than we disagree on this.

Why can you not imagine that? Do you agree with me that God is Sovereign? Do you agree with me that God can choose to bless people as He best sees fit? I believe that not everyone is blessed by God in the same way and that he absolutely can reserve spiritual gifts for his chosen people.

pshaw

Crayheart- If you don't believe, The only way to God is through his Son  Jesus.         Please tell us all the other ways.The followers of Jesus the christ, as far as I know are the only ones that can come to God the Father . Those that follow Jesus are called Christain.

 Frog & AirClean... are you REALLY denying the spiritual authenticity of followers of all religions other than your particular brand of Christianity? Or do you accept all people who declare themselves Christian?

Sorry, I'd find that a sadly impoverished view of spirituality, of God and even of Christ's teachings. "God" is no god at all unless she/he/mystery is all-enveloping, all-engaging, all-embracing, all-being. Or are you referring to some minor god of some sort?

The way to God = Let me count the ways.

Love God, love self, love neighbour as self. This is what Jesus teaches me.  What does the Lord require of me " To seek justice, love kindness, walk humbly with my God".  What more do I need.?

How about Mohammad? Who is known as The Prophet? And whose God is fairly clearly an Arabic view of the Judaeo-Christian God?

One of the UU sources is the "words and deeds of prophetic men and women" with no specification of what ethnicity, creed, nationality, etc. they should come from. I hope that makes it fairly clear where I stand here. While this obviously includes Isaiah, Daniel, etc. as well as Jesus, it also includes Martin Luther King, Jr. (who, I assume, qualifies in your book since he was Christian), Mahatma Gandhi, The Buddha, and many others from many cultures and times. The message is not limited to one book or one religion but, in the words of a UU hymn, "echoes through the ages".

Again, we are going to agree to disagree. Sounds like a good basis for going out for a drink sometime, eh?

Mendalla

Where is Goldenrule when we could use his thoughts?

Well, airclean, the last shall be the first, eh?

In the Christian mystical tradition, Jesus was the first prophet to show us that we are not passively dependent on God's Grace but can actively and consciously bring it about, and that Grace is available as a physical and emotional experience to everyone—if we trust totally and completely in God and open ourselves to the unitive experience. This opens the door to the "kingdom of heaven," which is attainable for everyone.

MOst of the prophets that I know of were poets.  A few were politicians.  almost none were really ministers or in "religion" as an act.  I guess, I would add a couple of teachers in there some with PHD's others with nothing at all. Writers, scientists  . . . to me the great prophets are all pretty obvious people.

Still, I have listened to the streets and the kids living there and know that my interest in this prophecy is really unpopular.  Because by the time that the type of information that they are talking about gets heard it has become a bullsh** industry.  Slam poetry for instance.  Actually, I  invented slam poetry . . .  .

Perhaps, Trump is a prophet . . . a prophet of doom but a prophet nonetheless?

I believe those of other faiths are genuine in them. I believe there is some truth to be found in every faith. I believe that salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Yep, next time you're in Toronto. I'll buy.

Hi jlin:

The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls.

-Simon & Garfunkel, Sound of Silence

I'm not a prophet but like all who are born again, I'm a disciple and I hope to be a better one.

I Believe Jesus to be the Way the Truth and the Light. That is my Belief.Jesus-Meaning Jehovah is salvation -the son of the Virgin Mary; came to earth as the Messiah and died for the salvation of His people.----The Jew don't Believe this..--The Moslums Don't Believe this.--WE Three Pray to the same God But in Different ways.Thats why I am called a Christian. He and He alone is the Way to God.I Believe any one can believe what ever you want.I don't think you should call your self Christian unless you believe the underline part. Just My thoughts.

That's very Christian of you.

Would you mind terribly if I called you a nutcase for believing the underlined part?