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Friday, 23 October 2015

Prophecy and Prophets

Torah and Canon: 2nd Edition,
James A. Sanders, Cascade Books, 2005, page 54

At the start of the second (and big) chapter in "Torah and Canon", James Sanders starts by identifying a prophet.

The prophet in ancient Israel was a spokesman both for G-d and for the people ... As an Israelite his identity lay fully and completely with his people: but as a man called by G-d to be his prophet, his identity lay also in G-d over against the people. THis identity crisis was such that the prophet, to the extent that he obeyed his call, lived a life of agony.

We don't see much of that in the desire to be a prophet today. If people aspire to follow Rav Sha'ul's subbestion, "earnestly desire to prophesy" (1 Cor 14:39), perhaps they should be aware of the side effects. Or, put another way, if people who prophesy don't experience something of Sander's 'agony', it might be appropriate to ask for whom they are prophets.

Posted By Jonathan, 8:00am Comment Comments: