What makes a prophet?

I wonder now if the ratio of prophets to charlatans has changed over the millennia... Or if they had to deal with more street magic posited as miracles than we?
 
Maybe there are more false prophets among all the Abrahamic faiths than ever before ?
 
wil said:
You think it restricted to abrahamic? Could be, any 'entrepreneur' goes where there are customers...
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I don't think it's restricted, but I do think it's probably alot more common among Abrahamic faiths because all three believe in so many Prophets.
 
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Arif Ghamiq said:
I don't think it's restricted, but I do think it's probably alot more common among Abrahamic faiths because all three believe in so many Prophets.
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Interesting yes. Because it may be mostly Abrahamics who place so much weight upon the literal reading of their scripture?

To the point of ignoring the book of nature available to everyone?
 
But people have always looked to shamans and seers and witch doctors to predict the future. So what makes a prophet different? Perhaps it is that while a fortune teller needs to be approached and consulted, the prophet makes it his business to proclaim it and tell it like it is? Usually unwelcome news?
 
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Yeah - I don't think Shamans would be equivalent to Abrahamic Prophets.
 
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wil said:
Not the good news?
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Not usually for the establishment. It was instruction to look to God alone and not to trust in the material world: to care for the weak and the widow, to use true scales and not to speak with forked tongue, etc?

"Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with thy God."

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Divine retribution in the form of karma? Spiritual laws ...
 
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RJM Corbet said:
..The punishment for speaking falsely in God’s name was death (Deut. 18:20) ..."
No room for mistakes: everything had to be accurate or ...
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..or .. or you will be sent to Herod.

A "mistake" is somebody who claims to be a prophet, is not insane, and thinks that G-d has enrolled them for duty.
..best not to claim such things, I should say .. unless you happen to be Jesus, son of Mary :)
 
The mystery of the incarnation, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection. A lot of fairy tales have come and gone. Christ remains. Libraries are filled with writings. Great churches all over the world. Millions of people, thousands of years. Kings and beggars. It will survive our know-it-all urban smartass generation. Imo...
 
RJM Corbet said:
The mystery of the incarnation, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection. A lot of fairy tales have come and gone. Christ remains. Libraries are filled with writings. Great churches all over the world. Millions of people, thousands of years. Kings and beggars. It will survive our know-it-all urban smartass generation. Imo...
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A tad confused as to the question or comment this was in response.

Or is it fodder for another thread?
 
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Cino said:
They tend to bear some kind of divinely inspired message or dispensation.

So you wouldn't count the likes of L. Ron Hubbard, Aleister Crowley, Black Elk, Joseph Smith, Ellen G White, Baha'u'llah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Sabatai Zvi, Emmanuel Svedenborg, Guru Nanak, or Al Hakim (and many more I forgot to mention or don't know about) as prophets? They all lived within the past millennium, give or take a few years in the case of the latter.
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These are false prophets and they will be punished severely for everyone they misled.
 
wil said:
A tad confused as to the question or comment this was in response.

Or is it fodder for another thread?
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Ok. Sorry. Definitely not directed at anyone here. Just at the generation, really.

Was responding to:
muhammad_isa said:
best not to claim such things, I should say .. unless you happen to be Jesus, son of Mary
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healthnut said:
These are false prophets and they will be punished severely for everyone they misled.
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Welcome to the forums, healthnut.

This is an interfaith forum, so tell us about your beliefs:

So, you seem to believe that prophets should be guides or even leaders, did I get that correctly? How should this guidance or leadership look like? How did the ones I listed not measure up to your standards?

(Also, on an interfaith forum, it is polite to say, "I believe XY misled people, for reasons A, B, and C, and in my faith, we believe there will be divine punishment in that case" - this leads to more fruitful discussions than one-way testifying. Otherwise, what's the point in participating in interfaith discussion?)
 
If you look at Biblical prophets called seers were counselors to the king, not honored in their own country, inspired by angels. Growing up Christian I've wondered about Biblical similarities in other faiths and belief systems?
Is there a universal awareness or understanding that we strive to achieve? Are we all spiritually the same, only our methods differ but with the same goal to understanding?
 
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