As we prepare to leave the realm of the prophets, I'll summarize what I beleive to be the most important points.
Concerning prophecy, I believe one would be right to be skeptical but wrong to be dismissive. The key disposition is humility.
Given the lamentable condition of the world, it's both fitting and proper to look to the fulfillment of prophecy as a means toward divine guidance. This is not to suggest we abandon science, reason, or common sense, but merely to recognize our human limitations to understand all of the mysteries of the universe. Again, the key disposition is humility.
Poetry can be used to render prophecy more serviceable by recognizing the symbols as manifestations of our human nature. For example, the dragon of our nature can represent the destructive and enslaving forces of greed for both wealth and power, and its use of fear towards those who might challenge it. Christ accepting the cross (a.k.a., the blood of the lamb) can represent the human capacity for love, faith, and sacrifice. The above examples are taken from the Biblical Book of Revelation.
What takes root and grows in the collective imagination matters, whether one believes in the prophecy or not. The use of myth, defined as the stories a society tells about itself, shapes how the individual sees his or her self in relation to the rest of the world body. While I've focused on Christian myth, this is not to exclude prophecy from other groups. As I advocated elsewhere for greater merging of the mainstream American culture with its indigenous culture, particular attention I believe should be paid to Native American prophecy.
The Native American prophecy of the Rainbow Warriors, for example, can be combined with that of Christian prophecy. The prophecy of the Rainbow Warriors foresees a time of environmental degradation when the earth would begin to die because of greed. At that time the Rainbow Warriors, a people regardless or color, race, or religion, would arise and save the people, animals, trees, and the earth. Using the symbols noted above, I'm suggesting the Rainbow Warriors should take up the cross and use it to slay the dragon.
While attempting to fulfill prophecy, the old adage applies: "Man proposes, God disposes." Once again humility is the key. But as the meek may well inherit the earth, my interpretation is that this is no call for passivity but a call for action, such as that reflected in the early Christians as they overtook the Roman Empire. Because the year 2012 looms in the collective imagination, an opportunity for action is at hand.
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It is all about action in an unforseen unwriten world whereby choices can be made on a clean slate so to speak. Wrongs may be corrected, teachings of living in balance can be embrassed and thus a continuation of the human exsistence can be sustained in the effort to become the true stewards of the Earth.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Carlin said it best,
ReplyDeleteAs a race of beings on the planet if the planet were a dog we would be the worse case of fleas. Eventually the dog would jump in water come out and shake us off to move down the road.
That is the state we are in. We can either embrace our nature and change or go by way of the dinos, eventually becoming fosils. We were never given dominion over all other things, we were given the creativity of the brain to take care of all that is here and all that walks the earth with us. Thus far we have done a marvelous job of messing it up.