Modern Prophets

I was watching a documentary the other day that described a famous deceased singer as a 'modern prophet'.

Religions often have prophets, or those similar, who speak from divine inspiration. Prophet also means 'inspired teacher' however.

Is there anyone you might consider to be a modern prophet? Do you think there is a place for prophets within Jediism?

I don't really like the word 'prophet'...something about it grates for me...I guess it seems melodramatic or overly grand or something?

Personally, I can't imagine that I'd ever want to refer to anyone as a prophet of Jediism. But 'inspired teacher'...yes, I think I could find room for a few of those.

As for modern prophets...I don't know. I guess it depends what speaks to you personally. I can quite easily understand how a musician could be a prophet to some, or an artist, or an author, or a sportsperson, or a politician, etc etc. Maybe I'd go with JK Rowling; Harry Potter being an epic modern-day exploration of morality that has permeated every generation and continent in a way that few other things ever have or will.

V-Tog wrote: I don't really like the word 'prophet'...something about it grates for me...I guess it seems melodramatic or overly grand or something?

Personally, I can't imagine that I'd ever want to refer to anyone as a prophet of Jediism. But 'inspired teacher'...yes, I think I could find room for a few of those.

I completely agree. 'Prophet' just seems so...unnecessary as a term for someone now. Maybe 'enlightened' I could get behind.

Like V-Tog said, who we'd concider modern prophets (just rolling with the term for the sake of the conversation) would be really up to the individual. I'd more likely go with Tolkien or Robert B. Parker (I basically base my life off of his character Spenser, or try to at least). Personally I like Paul Stanley in there as well, his autobiography really spoke to me.

Edan wrote: I was watching a documentary the other day that described a famous deceased singer as a 'modern prophet'.

Religions often have prophets, or those similar, who speak from divine inspiration. Prophet also means 'inspired teacher' however.

Is there anyone you might consider to be a modern prophet? Do you think there is a place for prophets within Jediism?

I actually like the "inspired teacher" meaning. I grew up with Christian Prophets. Anyone who claims it now though is called a fraud. But if you put the title of "prophet" in line with "Shaman", "Master", "Guru" or other high reaching titles it does make more sense for me.

I think there is a place in Jediism for prophets under that kind of meaning. But I don't think it'll ever be a single person for everybody. As we are each individually inspired to follow our own paths, I think we each come across personal prophets. Those people who inspire us keep going. Be it Joseph Campbell, Allan Watts, or any number of the Jedi or other individuals we look up to along the way.

I don't think personally there is a place for prophets, gurus or anything else in Jediism.
Be your own inspiration in everything you do.
Your own master.

If you ask Kanye West, he'll tell you he's Jesus :laugh:

But seriously, I think prophets in the past were more likely to be connected with "the divine", but they definitely served the purpose of storyteller. They were teachers in that they kept a mythology alive and passed it along to others. Through oral tradition, they would travel and spread knowledge. The moral lessons were being shared via stories, sermons and rituals. In the cases of Jesus, Buddha and Muhammad, they were teachers who inspired entirely new mythologies that are passed on to this day.

Since the invent of printed type, and more recently modern video and audio recording technology, these stories and myths have become readily available to the masses in various forms, so the need for a prophet to travel and share the mythology is no longer. The new myths are beamed directly to your living room or pocket.

It does make sense that authors, filmmakers and songwriters could be considered the modern version of this in that they use music and storytelling to impart moral lessons or to question existing moral teachings. The creators of Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, even 50 Shades of Grey :sick: could be considered "prophets" in that their stories are meant to convey some version of morality, so I guess there will always be a place for prophets in our society. The method of delivery has just changed.

Would this make Steve Jobs a prophet?

Senan wrote: Since the invent of printed type, and more recently modern video and audio recording technology, these stories and myths have become readily available to the masses in various forms, so the need for a prophet to travel and share the mythology is no longer. The new myths are beamed directly to your living room or pocket.

It does make sense that authors, filmmakers and songwriters could be considered the modern version of this in that they use music and storytelling to impart moral lessons or to question existing moral teachings. The creators of Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, even 50 Shades of Grey :sick: could be considered "prophets" in that their stories are meant to convey some version of morality, so I guess there will always be a place for prophets in our society. The method of delivery has just changed.

Would this make Steve Jobs a prophet?

By your suggestions, that would have made any storyteller of the past a prophet, but that word has been reserved for much fewer people.

When I said 'prophet' I was personally thinking of individuals who had important and meaningful moral lessons... I don't see that in 50 Shades.

elizabeth wrote: I don't think personally there is a place for prophets, gurus or anything else in Jediism.
Be your own inspiration in everything you do.
Your own master.

I have to respectfully disagree

I do not live in a void. Inspiration comes from everywhere And I can't say that I'm my own master, but I will say I do chose the things I bind myself to

I am a strong enough person to admit that I am not strong enough to go through life alone. My pride made me think that and I've broken enough times to realize that help (be it inspiration, mental, or physical) is not a weakness. Now I just need to chip that pride away enough to more easily accept it when I need it haha.

I think this is part of the spiritual wellness pillar. Everyone needs someone to look up to. There's been many times that I had no one. I turned to fictional characters to fill that requirement. There's a few (both real and fictional) Jedi I look up to. I can't say I'd call them Master (or Prophet) and they'd yell at me if I did. But I do think we need, as human beings, someone to fill that role.

Inspiration can come from within as well as from without.
We in my opinion are all masters of ourselves.
You can walk through life with someone but you do not need prophets or gurus, in my opinion. Just another human by your side.
Personally I don't NEED someone to look up to, but I have great respect for certain people and see strengths in them.

Edan wrote:

Senan wrote: ... It does make sense that authors, filmmakers and songwriters could be considered the modern version of this in that they use music and storytelling to impart moral lessons or to question existing moral teachings. The creators of Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, even 50 Shades of Grey :sick: could be considered "prophets" in that their stories are meant to convey some version of morality, so I guess there will always be a place for prophets in our society. The method of delivery has just changed...

By your suggestions, that would have made any storyteller of the past a prophet, but that word has been reserved for much fewer people.

When I said 'prophet' I was personally thinking of individuals who had important and meaningful moral lessons... I don't see that in 50 Shades.

That's the tough part about using the word 'prophet'. It's a word with a definition open to subjective interpretation that carries a heavy religious connotation with it.

The word has been reserved for only a few people when you consider the definition to be a "proclaimer of the will of God". Even that use of the word has just become associated with the most popular. We tend to hear about Jesus and Mohammad a lot more than most others because their God is the most popular. By this definition, anybody could "proclaim the will of God" and be considered a 'prophet' as long as enough people believed them. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints considers the president of their church a prophet. I don't.

If we consider a 'prophet' to be "an inspired teacher", it still leaves the meaning open to interpretation. What makes a teacher 'inspired'? Who decides this? Charles Manson could be an 'inspired teacher' from the point of view of his followers. Is that ridiculous to most people? Yes. But not to those who followed him. The "important and meaningful moral lessons" of Jesus weren't exactly popular with the mainstream in his time either, but thanks to the other "crazy people" following him and documenting the story, that has clearly changed. Those "crazy people" are now called "prophets", one of which is the author of The Book of Revelations which is no less fantastical than Star Wars or Lord of the Rings.

I chose the example of 50 Shades because it demonstrates how this subjectivity can be taken to stupid ridiculous levels. I happen to believe that 50 Shades of Grey is a horribly written piece of crap pandering to a gullible audience, but that doesn't change the fact that millions of people bought the entire series of books, watched the movie, and are currently reading the next installment. It would be naive of me to think that there aren't people out there who take the moral message of this story to be an emancipating tool for women. They could certainly allow it to motivate their behavior in certain ways. Do I think E.L. James is a 'prophet'? Nope. But what if 125,000,000 people who have purchased her books believe her teaching is 'inspired'?