By Rudy Barnes, Jr.
In the current Methodist Advocate, Rev. John Culp characterized modern prophets as God’s “whistle blowers”. Culp cited Rev. Carl Griffifth: “The Word of God generally comes from outside established pulpits. God’s Truth is so dangerous and disturbing that, if God speaks at all, He must use the voices of sheep- herders and dressers of sycamore trees.”
On the same page of the Methodist Advocate, Rev. Bill Bouknight asserted the fundamentalist mantra that God’s truth “never distorts or disagrees with biblical truth.” He cited the Bible to condemn homosexuality as being “entangled in sexual sin and /or dysfunction” based on biblical prohibitions; and the Quran provides similar condemnations of homosexuality.
Prophecy is God’s truth, and it’s not limited to scripture or to the pulpit. The Bible was written 2,000 years ago, and the Quran almost 1,500 years ago, but God has continued to speak to humankind through prophets since then, even if most prophets have been ignored. In fact, it took a resurrection to validate the teachings of Jesus as God’s truth.
Jesus was a radical rabbi whose family “took offense at him” when he taught in his hometown synagogue. Jesus lamented: “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor” (Mark 6:1-6). Jesus also gained the enmity of Jewish teachers of the law when he criticized them for their hypocrisy and sanctimony. (Matthew 23)
Prophecy challenges religious standards of legitimacy. Jesus challenged Mosaic Law as God’s standard of righteousness when he asserted the primacy of love over law (Mark 2:23-28; 3:4-6; and 7:1-23) and in the six antitheses of the Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5:21-48) They were prophetic teachings of Jesus intended to make Mosaic Law relevant to his times.
How do we recognize prophets? Jesus warned his disciples, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” (Mt 7:15-17)
Later, Jesus warned his disciples that at the end of the age, “...If anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that is possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.” (Mt 24:23-25). Does that seem relevant to our times?
Both the Bible and Quran predict that Jesus will return in the end times that now seem to be upon us. If God’s will is to reconcile and redeem humankind, and Satan’s will is to divide and conquer, then Satan and his false prophets have done a convincing imitation of God in politics and religion and are winning the popularity contest in the cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil. Fortunately, God’s kingdom is not a democracy.
After the moral debacle of the 2016 election, can American Christianity and democracy be saved? Only if a majority of Americans seek religious and political reconciliation based on the greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors, including those of other races and religions, as we love ourselves. That’s a common word of faith for Jews, Christians and Musilms. The challenge is to apply it to the changing political issues of our time and place.
All who seek God’s truth and share it by word and deed with others are modern-day prophets. But most churches don’t relate the moral teachings of Jesus to politics and they fail to speak God’s truth to power. The result is that most modern prophets are without honor in their own hometown and their church--and the silence is deafening.
Notes:
The commentaries of Rev. John Culp (The Whistle Blower) and Rev. Bill Bouknight (Expressing Christian Love Toward a Friend Concerning Homosexuality) are in the S.C. Methodist Advocate, December 2019, at page 17.
On the Antitheses in Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_5.
O Young and Fearless Prophet is a hymn that describes Jesus as a great universal prophet:
1. O young and fearless Prophet 2. We marvel at the purpose
of ancient Galilee, that held thee to thy course
Thy life is still a summons while ever on the hilltop
to serve humanity; before thee loomed the cross;
to make our thoughts and actions thy steadfast face set forward
less prone to please the crowd where love and duty shone,
to stand with humble courage while we betray so quickly
for truth with hearts uncowed. and leave thee there alone.
3. O help us stand unswerving 4. Stir up in us a protest
against war's bloody way, against our greed for wealth,
where hate and lust and falsehood while others starve and hunger
hold back Christ's holy sway; and plead for work and health;
forbid false love of country where homes with little children
that blinds us to his call, cry out for lack of bread,
who lifts above the nations who live their years sore burdened
the unity of all. beneath a gloomy dread.
5. O young and fearless Prophet,
we need thy presence here,
amid our pride and glory
to see thy face appear;
once more to hear thy challenge
above our noisy day,
again to lead us forward
along God's holy way.
See The United Methodist Hymnal, page 444 (1931); Words by S. Ralph Harlow; Music by John B. Dykes at https://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh444.sht.
On prophecy in social media, see Meet the Twitter account promoting the Gospel, one tweet at a time, at
On respect for hometown prophets, see This Advent season, listen to your hometown prophets at .https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2019/12/02/advent-season-listen-your-hometown-prophets?utm_source=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&utm_campaign=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&utm_medium=PANTHEON_STRIPPED&utm_term=PANTHEON_STRIPPED.
Related commentary:
On the greatest commandment and love over law:
(1/11/15): The Greatest Commandment: A Common Word of Faith
(1/18/15): Love over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy
(1/23/16): Who Is My Neighbor?
(1/30/16): The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves
(3/31/18): Altruism: The Missing Ingredient in American Christianity and Democracy
(10/13/18): Musings on a Common Word of Faith and Politics for Christians and Muslims
(2/23/19): Musings on Loving Your Enemy, Including the Enemy Within
(7/20/19): Musings on Diversity in Democracy: Who Are Our Neighbors?
(7/27/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Love Over Law and Social Justice
(8/31/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Politics of Christian Zionism
(9/21/19): An Afterword on Religion, Legitimacy and Politics from 2014-2019
(10/5/19): Musings on the Moral Relevance of Jesus to Democracy
(10/12/19): Musings on Impeachment and Elections as Measures of Political Legitimacy
(10/26/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Discipleship in a Democracy
(11/9/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on a Virtual Alternative to a Failing Church
(11/16/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Irrelevance of Morality in Politics
(11/23/19): Musings on Jesus and Christ as Conflicting Concepts in Christianity
On the future of a church that has lost its moral compass and the end times:
(2/8/15): Promoting Religion Through Evangelism: Bringing Light or Darkness?
(2/15/15): Is Religion Good or Evil?
(4/5/15): Seeing the Resurrection in a New Light
(4/19/15): Jesus: A Prophet, God’s Only Son, or the Logos? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/04/jesus-prophet-god-only-son-or-logos.html
(10/4/15): Faith and Religion: The Same but Different
(7/9/16): Back to the Future: Race, Religion, Rights and a Politics of Reconciliation
(8/5/16): How Religion Can Bridge Our Political and Cultural Divide http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/08/how-religion-can-bridge-our-political.html
(9/17/16): A Moral Revival to Restore Legitimacy to Our Politics
(9/24/16): The Evolution of Religion and Politics from Oppression to Freedom
(11/5/16): Religion, Liberty and Justice at Home and Abroad
(12/31/16): E Pluribus Unum, Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation
(1/7/17): Religion and Reason as Sources of Political Legitimacy, and Why They Matter
(1/21/17): Religion and Reason Redux: Religion Is Ridiculous
(1/28/17): Saving America from the Church
(3/18/17): Moral Ambiguity in Religion and Politics
(4/15/17): Easter and the Christian Paradox
(4/22/17): The Relevance of Jesus and the Irrelevance of the Church in Today’s World
(4/29/17): A Wesleyan Alternative for an Irrelevant Church
(6/24/17): The Evolution of Religion, Politics and Law: Back to the Future?
(7/1/17): Religion, Moral Authority and Conflicting Concepts of Legitimacy
(7/15/17): Religion and Progressive Politics
(7/22/17): Hell No!
(8/12/17): The Universalist Teachings of Jesus as a Remedy for Religious Exclusivism
(10/7/17): A 21st Century Reformation to Restore Reason to American Civil Religion http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/10/a-21st-century-reformation-to-restore.html.
(12/23/17): If Democracy Survives the Trump Era, Can the Church Survive Democracy? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/12/if-democracy-survives-trump-era-can.html.
(3/3/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on America’s Holy War
(3/17/18): Jefferson’s Jesus and Moral Standards in Religion and Politics
(3/31/18): Altruism: The Missing Ingredient in American Christianity and Democracy
(4/7/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Need for a Moral Reformation
(4/28/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Virtues and Vices of Christian Morality
(5/5/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Nostalgia as an Obstacle to Progress
(5/12/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Christianity and Making America Great Again
(7/14/18): Musings on Why Christians Should Put Moral Standards Over Mystical Beliefs
(8/4/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Religious Problems and Solutions in Politics
(8/11/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Changing Morality in Religion and Politics
(9/1/18): Musings on the American Civil Religion and Christianity at a Crossroads
(9/29/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Resurrection of Christian Universalism
(10/6/18): Musings on Moral Universalism in Religion and Politics http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/10/musings-on-moral-universalism-in.html.
(11/3/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist: Has God Blessed Us or Damned Us?
(11/10/18): Musings on the End Times: God’s Rapture or Satan’s Rupture?
(12/1/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Mystical Logos
(12/15/18): Musings on the Great Commission and Religious and Political Tribalism
(12/22/18): Musings on Faith and Works: The Unity of All Believers and The Last Judgment
(2/9/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Hypocrisy of American Christianity
(3/2/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on a Post-Christian America
(3/9/19): Musings on the Degradation of Democracy in a Post-Christian America
(3/16/19): Musings on the Evolution of Christian Exclusivism to Universalism
(3/23/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Thinking Outside the Box
(5/4/19): Musings on the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
(5/11/19): Musings on the Relevance of Jefferson’s Jesus in the 21st Century
(5/18/19): Outsiders Versus Insiders in Religion, Legitimacy and Politics
(5/25/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Divinity and Moral Teachings of Jesus
(6/8/19): The Moral Failure of the Church to Promote Altruism in Politics
(6/15/19): Back to the Future: A 21st Century Pentecost for the Church
(6/22/19): The Universal Family of God: Where Inclusivity Trumps Exclusivity
(7/6/19): Musings on Democrats, Busing and Racism: It’s Deja Vu All Over Again
(7/13/19): Musings on Sovereignty and Conflicting Loyalties to God and Country
(8/3/19): Musings on the Dismal Future of the Church and Democracy in America
(8/10/19): Musings on Christian Nationalism: A Plague on the Church and Democracy
(8/31/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Politics of Christian Zionism
(9/7/19): Musings on the Self-Destruction of Christianity and American Democracy
(9/14/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Chaos as a Prelude to a New Creation
(9/21/19): An Afterword on Religion, Legitimacy and Politics from 2014-2019
(10/5/19): Musings on the Moral Relevance of Jesus to Democracy
(11/9/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on a Virtual Alternative to a Failing Church
(11/16/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Irrelevance of Morality in Politics
(11/23/19): Musings on Jesus and Christ as Conflicting Concepts in Christianity
(12/7/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Religious Triumphalism and Politics
No comments:
Post a Comment