in the bible, if someone had a conversation with "god" it was considered holy and divine, and was considered to be THE word of god, and that person was thought to be, at the least, saintly.. BUT, now if someone claims to had a message from "on high" they are considered to be kooks??
how do we really know that alister crowley, david koresh and pat robertson were not in contact with their higher power..
why werent the people in the bible considered "kooks", crazy, or having psychotic delusions??
2007-11-16 10:37:19 · 11 answers · asked by lugar t axhandle 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
KEEE-RIST!! 11 zealots, and 11 different answers.. some of which were WAY out there.. all pretty lame, and in no way convincing to an open minded person.. every bible passage that was posted about this question, is just that, from the bible.. to keep all the "lambies" under control of the sheparding church..
god DID NOT write the bible, a bunch of those crazy, i talk with god all the time kinda people did, and 150 years after jesus was supposed to have lived.. the bible was scribed to by the church to keep the populus under theyre thumb..
2007-11-17 15:06:35 · update #1
back then there was certain criteria to be able to distinguish wether the person was a credible source from God
For instance...back then if you made a prophecy about something and it didn't come true, the jews would seize that man and kill him instantly. So for one, the prophecy must come true in order for it to actually be from God...another criteria was that the person had to come in the name of the Lord, not in the name of zeus or mercury or something. I believe there was 5 major criteria that went into the judging process before the person was actually accepted.
Another criteria was that it could not contradict the 613 civil, legal, and religeous commandments given to moses.
As for the new testament, it was evident who was speaking and living in truth because miracles followed them everywhere. In the book of acts it is recorded that peter's very shadow fell upon people and they were healed of diseases. They also came and went in the name of the Lord (and Jesus christ the messiah foretold in the old testament), also, thier doctrines, theology, and messages lined up with the old testament. Both the old testament and new testament rules for deeming somone a prophet from the Lord were essentially the same.
Comparing that with today's "prophets", not many people have anything to compare what they say with. They have no gurantees. Sadly, not many christians read their bibles on a regular basis to distinguish between what is real biblical doctrine and what is just a fancy or intriguing statement with a half-truth stuck in there for fun.
2007-11-16 10:40:32 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Try these biblical tests on each one of the people you listed to see if they truly were of GOD.
Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Matthew 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Jeremiah 28:9 The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
GOD bless
2007-11-16 10:43:39 · answer #2 · answered by Exodus 20:1-17 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
We do not really know if such persons actually spoke with God. At that time people believed that saintly living people talked with God. They may have. Secondly, we do not know if the three you mention were in contact with their higher power. A wise way to answer this is what Jesus said "by their fruits you shall know them." It depends on what is produced through these conversations, whether they are for the good of man or not. Today people have conversations with God, because they believe they do. Let's hope they produce good things and share them.
2007-11-16 10:44:43 · answer #3 · answered by mandy28227 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the people in the bible who spoke to god were a lot of the time considered crazy by their contemporaries. kings got away with this more often then ordinary people however perhaps because royalty may have been thought to be more divine.
you can tell by one's actions whether they were truly speaking to god. mother teresa was a remarkable soul, david koresh was not. do their actions go against your conscience? you can tell.
2007-11-16 11:19:35 · answer #4 · answered by satya 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They was considered crazy back in biblical times too, but God don't talk to people with a voice any more, he speaks to our minds and hearts. But be careful because Satan also speaks and can be mistaken as God.
2007-11-16 10:47:14 · answer #5 · answered by preacher 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because God does not speak to people anymore the way he used to in the old testament, and partially the new.
That's the simple of it. To get more, you need to do much study on your own.
2007-11-16 10:41:52 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Revelations said that nothing more would be added to the Bible.
2007-11-16 10:44:50 · answer #7 · answered by wannabeinthelight 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Gospel means "good news".
Very good Grasshopper!
Still you lack in something. Go and sell all that you have and follow Jesus.
2007-11-16 10:41:19 · answer #8 · answered by Gypsy Priest 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Same as Champagne's answer.
2007-11-16 11:52:32 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
they were kooks then and now
2007-11-16 10:45:49 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋