Prophecy?

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An icon of the prophet Micah.

People are hungry for answers, hungry to know about the future.  So this week we're tackling the topic of prophecy and prophets - in scripture and in our day.  In scripture God gives revelations and words to the prophets.  We are about to begin a series of readings through Advent which will use themes of prophecy and apocalyptic in speaking of God's coming kingdom and how we wait in anticipation of God's reign.  

But what about prophets today? 

Predictions of the future and apocalyptic themes are popular - we don't have to look too far in movies or books . . .  The Left Behind series has captured a lot of attention and conversation, for one.  Street preachers speak of doomsday - are they prophets? 




Are there modern-day prophets?  Are prophets just opportunists who either after the fact assert "see, I predicted that!" or who use interpretation so loosely (like fortune tellers) that we read into it what we want? 
One documentary, Kumare, tracked this phenomenon that people are so eager to follow someone who says they have the answers.  The filmmaker created a persona of a (guru) prophet out of thin air, as an experiment to see if people would follow him.  And oh, how they followed . . .  He discovered the depth of this basic hunger for answers and acceptance - and then had to tell them he was false.

In any case, we wrestle with these questions in our conversation this week...  Listen in.  Share with a friend.  Join us Tuesdays at 7pm at Bowl of Good on Port Republic Rd for some conversation on these and any other questions of faith.