In response to Adam Tobin's post, "Where have all the prophets gone?" I think there seems to be a lot of struggle in people's lives today with finding a balance between knowing when to speak out and when to stay silent. Adam mentioned a quote about jihiliyaa: "Jihiliyaa spirit is the poisonous venom spewing from our leaders mouths and their tribe is the white male, their vehicle the dollar bill. Where is the 2012 prophet when you need one?" Like Professor Silliman said, we need people who are "not afraid to try something radical, someone who is willing to take risks." Sometimes I think some people may go a little too far with their ideas, while others hold back. I think people may attempt to be prophets but fail. I found an internet article entitled How to Identify False Prophets:
"So, what does this mean in detecting "false prophets"? This means that you and I need no Pope. We need no men as Priests. We need no Ministers. We need no Evangelists. We need no Faith Healers that you or I must seek out for healings or other blessings. We need no Prophets nor do we need any person whatever! But almost all the False Prophets are in the business of saying something like: "You have to come to me for blessings." Or, some may say: "You have to go to that man or to that woman for anything from God."
I think this goes against the point Professor Silliman and Adam are trying to prove. Do we really need a prophet? Or should we fend for ourselves?
http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p970401.htm
I think that people often go too far in another way, as well; namely, they go too far for the supporters of the standing system to allow. With the current state of society, it is sometimes very easy for the rich or powerful to regulate what information the public can access. Thus, if someone writes a book presenting potentially revolutionary ideals, publishers may not publish the book, or schools may not hire the author to make presentations. Jesus and Muhammad, of course, faced similar problems, although in a far more direct manner; they were both at risk of assassination or execution. While I doubt that things go that far very frequently in modern American society, I think that messages which would pose too much of a challenge to an existing power or economic structure still often end up failing to reach their intended audience; namely, the majority of the public. As such, those who wish to communicate their ideas may have to censor them somewhat, toning them down for the sake of accessibility.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I also posted this on my blog if you'd rather read it there.