tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107887.post4980752922116945600..comments2024-03-27T08:37:26.489-04:00Comments on Not Another Episcopal Church Blog: What is Behind Those Prophets?Undergroundpewsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10182191422663119484noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107887.post-71780364435916677602008-12-16T09:05:00.000-05:002008-12-16T09:05:00.000-05:00This whole prophet business is interesting, and I ...This whole prophet business is interesting, and I am sure it will come up again, but may I close with this from today's reading from 2 Peter 1:20-21<BR/><BR/>"First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."<BR/><BR/>Hang the prophets from the great commandments, first love God with all your heart etc and then you will be able to truly love your neighbor as yourself.Undergroundpewsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10182191422663119484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107887.post-41259171846633510722008-12-15T20:46:00.000-05:002008-12-15T20:46:00.000-05:00Sorry, C2G, but the good people that Charlie menti...Sorry, C2G, but the good people that Charlie mentioned yesterday do not qualify as prophets. They qualify as social activists or reformers. It's unfortunate that you find a biblically based argument to be "closed minded". Even MLKJr himself would be horrified at that statement. <BR/><BR/>I'd also question your position that not all prophets come in a blaze of glory. In fact, none of them do. <BR/><BR/>The point was that while such charitable works as soup kitchens are laudable, they amount to nothing without the Lord Christ. Rather than preaching pious political platitudes from the pulpit, a healthy dose of the Good News of salvation might be in order.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08890870828860228480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107887.post-17458222957543320932008-12-15T17:58:00.000-05:002008-12-15T17:58:00.000-05:00C2GI missed the "proverbial" bus. What verse was t...C2G<BR/>I missed the "proverbial" bus. What verse was the prophecy about buses in?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107887.post-78883984272671364322008-12-15T17:03:00.000-05:002008-12-15T17:03:00.000-05:00I confess to thinking of modern prophets with an i...I confess to thinking of modern prophets with an initial bias against them. Their deaths and the test of time confirm their prophetic vision. MLK Jr, Dorothy Day, and Ronal King were and are deeply religious people and that is what I was getting at in this post. Just listen to Rev. Ronal King in the link in the post above and you know what is driving his ministry. <BR/><BR/>Without Christ, we are merely being social activists. With Christ we can be so much more. <BR/><BR/>P.S. I promise to be positive in my Christmas Eve post.Undergroundpewsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10182191422663119484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107887.post-48730827723004607232008-12-15T16:39:00.000-05:002008-12-15T16:39:00.000-05:00Cato - very disappointed in you - point to think o...Cato - very disappointed in you - point to think on - for all we know, the good people that Charlie mentioned yesterday may be(and I believe this to be true) sent by God as his prophets. Many times in the past humble and not so humble mankind has not recognized the prophetss among us until generations later. Thus Cato, I find you dissertation, while learned, rather closed minded. All prophets don't come to us in a blaze of glory accompanied by the anglic blare of trumpets. Many are very quiet and go about their business without recieving even so much as a thank you.<BR/><BR/>Signed C2G<BR/><BR/>PS - to the Pewster - just once I would love to see a sermon/ service/topic review that doesn't totally run our beloved clergy under the proverbial bus! Now wouldn't that be a lovely and economically sensative Christmas gift to the COOS congregation?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107887.post-27811276606211975632008-12-15T15:27:00.000-05:002008-12-15T15:27:00.000-05:00I believe that the Pewster is correct: Charlie's ...I believe that the Pewster is correct: Charlie's examples of modern "prophets" do not qualify in the biblical sense of the word. They do, however, qualify as social activists. The Church does not qualify as a school for social work...it is the machine for spreading the Good News of salvation.<BR/><BR/>As we hear in the Readings, all of the Old Testament was a preparation for the coming of Christ. The prophets announced, in varying ways, the salvation the Messiah would bring. John the Baptist, the greatest of those born of woman (cf. Mt. 11:11), was actually able to point out the Messiah himself; his testimony marked the culmination of all the previous prophecies.<BR/><BR/>It is the prophet's and the preacher's job to bear witness to the Good News of salvation. So important is the mission to bear witness to Jesus Christ that the Synoptic Gospels start their account of the public ministry with the testimony of John the Baptist. The discourses of Peter and Paul recorded in the Book of Acts also refer to this testimony (Acts 1:22, 10:37, 12:24). The Fourth Gospel refers to this testimony as many as seven times and we know that John the Apostle was a disciple of the Baptist before becoming a disciple of Jesus, and that it was indeed the Baptist who showed him the way to Christ (cf. 1:37 ff)<BR/><BR/>The New Testament shows us the importance of the mission of the Baptist. His testimony is undiminsihed by time; he invites people of every generation to have faith in Jesus the true Light. Such is the prescribed mission of every prophet and preacher. Soup kitchens are certainly important within the context of corporal works of mercy but, without acceptance of the Good News of salvation, they are as tinkling brass and sounding gongs.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08890870828860228480noreply@blogger.com