Prophets

[Rohirrim]

I thought I'd bring up something that occurred to me lately. When you look at the advent of these great, so-called prophets who came and went throughout history (Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, etc.), you begin to notice that they don't really have any long-range effect on the world whatsoever. After they're gone, their followers may erect a new religion in their name, but where's the difference in that? It just replaces some religion that came before, or more likely, integrates the old religion into the new one.

History swallows up the prophets like a stone dropped into a pond. Wars don't stop. Sickness doesn't end. The history of man doesn't veer over into a new direction. Empires still squabble over dominion of the Earth, rising and falling. Sometimes, religions become tools of empire, but then they fade as the power of the failing empire fades. Peace doesn't sweep the land (usually the opposite when the new religionists start fighting the old orthodoxy). Where's the divinity in that?

And then a new prophet comes along, the new religions wear out over time and then they are replaced as well. Pantheism sweeps animism away. Monotheism sweeps pantheism away. Maybe what we consider now, silly sci-fi religions like Scientology or some self-help/ psychology/yoga/vegan blend will replace the religions dominating the world today? Or maybe new sects that are tacked onto old ones, like Mormonism, will replace the originals. And yet, human beings go on pretty much as they always have, slowly evolving, in tiny increments, from age to age. To what end?...

If one were to step back and look at history's parade of prophets and religions with a critical eye, one would think that God can't make up his mind in what direction human beings should be led.

[bowtown]

I thought I'd bring up something that occurred to me lately. When you look at the advent of these great, so-called prophets who came and went throughout history (Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, etc.), you begin to notice that they don't really have any long-range effect on the world whatsoever. After they're gone, their followers may erect a new religion in their name, but where's the difference in that? It just replaces some religion that came before, or more likely, integrates the old religion into the new one.

History swallows up the prophets like a stone dropped into a pond. Wars don't stop. Sickness doesn't end. The history of man doesn't veer over into a new direction. Empires still squabble over dominion of the Earth, rising and falling. Sometimes, religions become tools of empire, but then they fade as the power of the failing empire fades. Peace doesn't sweep the land (usually the opposite when the new religionists start fighting the old orthodoxy). Where's the divinity in that?

And then a new prophet comes along, the new religions wear out over time and then they are replaced as well. Pantheism sweeps animism away. Monotheism sweeps pantheism away. Maybe what we consider now, silly sci-fi religions like Scientology or some self-help/ psychology/yoga/vegan blend will replace the religions dominating the world today? Or maybe new sects that are tacked onto old ones, like Mormonism, will replace the originals. And yet, human beings go on pretty much as they always have, slowly evolving, in tiny increments, from age to age. To what end?...

If one were to step back and look at history's parade of prophets and religions with a critical eye, one would think that God can't make up his mind in what direction human beings should be led.

That's why He has sent us Tebow.

[El Jué]

Write a book. If any of that bull**** actually happens, perhaps you too can be hailed as a prophet.

[mhgaffney]

I thought I'd bring up something that occurred to me lately. When you look at the advent of these great, so-called prophets who came and went throughout history (Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, etc.), you begin to notice that they don't really have any long-range effect on the world whatsoever. After they're gone, their followers may erect a new religion in their name, but where's the difference in that? It just replaces some religion that came before, or more likely, integrates the old religion into the new one.

History swallows up the prophets like a stone dropped into a pond. Wars don't stop. Sickness doesn't end. The history of man doesn't veer over into a new direction. Empires still squabble over dominion of the Earth, rising and falling. Sometimes, religions become tools of empire, but then they fade as the power of the failing empire fades. Peace doesn't sweep the land (usually the opposite when the new religionists start fighting the old orthodoxy). Where's the divinity in that?

And then a new prophet comes along, the new religions wear out over time and then they are replaced as well. Pantheism sweeps animism away. Monotheism sweeps pantheism away. Maybe what we consider now, silly sci-fi religions like Scientology or some self-help/ psychology/yoga/vegan blend will replace the religions dominating the world today? Or maybe new sects that are tacked onto old ones, like Mormonism, will replace the originals. And yet, human beings go on pretty much as they always have, slowly evolving, in tiny increments, from age to age. To what end?...

If one were to step back and look at history's parade of prophets and religions with a critical eye, one would think that God can't make up his mind in what direction human beings should be led.

History is an illusion.

The pond is us.

[That One Guy]

Regarding divinity: To me, it comes down to the message most inherent in the beliefs: Believe or meet your ultimate doom. Worship and spread the word or spend eternity in a fire.

If that's what the most holy of some of these religions supposedly preaches, what can you expect of the followers? If the most divine can torture you for eternity for not buying in, the followers on earth have free reign in the name of the religion.

As to it not actually changing anything, I think faith is something that is used to fill a void and is clung to once achieved or else it withers quickly. Someone who was just raised in a faith is going to adhere to the concept while it feels natural and right. Once they start having thoughts, tendencies, or questions then everything falls apart. The things that ARE truly constant, however, are human desires. They never change and they lead to much of the good and bad in the world.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

I thought I'd bring up something that occurred to me lately. When you look at the advent of these great, so-called prophets who came and went throughout history (Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, etc.), you begin to notice that they don't really have any long-range effect on the world whatsoever. After they're gone, their followers may erect a new religion in their name, but where's the difference in that? It just replaces some religion that came before, or more likely, integrates the old religion into the new one.


That's because the percentage of human beings in any time or place who truly "get" the message of the aforementioned prophets is always so small that such humans generally go unnoticed by the larger society.

That's why it's called "the road less traveled," etc.

As Hermann Hesse put it, "nothing in the world is more distasteful to a man than to take the path that leads to himself."

[Rohirrim]

History is an illusion.

The pond is us.

Damn! Only a couple of days in India and already turned into Kabir. Ha!

[Bronco_Beerslug]

History is an illusion.
The pond is us.I think you are onto something. I suggest to really discover what you are looking for you must forgo all man made evils, especially communication devices like PCs (or anything else that gives you access to the 'Internets) for at least 20 years.