In biblical times the prophet was a weird beast – someone who dined on locusts and wild honey, dressed in the skins of wild animals (if they dressed at all), someone whose peculiar actions made people stand up and take notice as they communicated God’s messages to His people. I believe God still speaks to us today through prophets, albeit in unlikely packages. Consider the drawings of Leunig and his remarkable insights into our culture and the struggles of humanity. Or listen a while to the sultry tones of introspect Nick Cave as he reflects on God in the house. And the modern day prophet may also wear sunglasses 24/7, singing about “when love comes to town”. Maybe calling musician and activist Bono a modern day prophet is going too far. However, love him or hate him (I am of the former since the release of the all time fave “Joshua Tree), Bono is standing up and saying a few timely words to the leaders of our nations, and the world is noticing. Check out his speech at the Presidential breakfast. Bono calls for justice not charity. A standout comment for me was his reflection on blessings. How often do we as Christians seek God to bless what we are doing? Bono brings an appropriate correction to this – lets seek to join in what God is doing – it is already blessed.
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Posted by scott on November 28, 2006 at 10:19 am
I think that Peter Garrett is also a modern day prophet though he may have lost the edge since joining politics.
Posted by will on November 28, 2006 at 4:27 pm
I, in particular, love Bono and the work he’s doing. His work with the (RED) project is amazing, and I’m thankful for him.
In the classification of a modern-day prophet, I can understand the idea. However, I’m loathe to call anyone prophet anymore, thanks to the connotations we all attach to the word. Instead, I prefer to see Bono as a leader, and an alternative to the mainstream. Perhaps it’s all a matter of semantics, but that seems more fitting, somehow, for Bono.
Good thoughts though, as usual!
Posted by Gareth Pye on November 29, 2006 at 8:35 am
My definition of Prophet has been coloured by the Forge Intensive this last weekend, so now it looks alot like:
1)Leader
2)Disagrees with the status quo
3)Whats to push us to the new land
Posted by scott on November 29, 2006 at 10:51 am
Agreed Gareth, it was a fairly one eyed look at the definition of prophet. Its a fairly biblical view. Yet there are other biblical prophets which are able to foresee the future and intimate details of peoples lives. These people were just as revolutionary. I wonder if we will get the balance at forge or maybe we need to go to the next ccc conference.
Posted by Christina on November 29, 2006 at 12:56 pm
I don’t think Forge presented a one-eyed perspective of what it is to be a prophet. For me it expanded the “job description” of a prophet. I have generally thought of the prophet as someone who speaks about future events, or ‘reads my mail’. The idea that a prophet speaks out against injustice etc and points a way forward is biblical, and not in conflict with the previous view. I think we see this flavour of “prophet” both inside and outside our faith.
Posted by Andrew on May 22, 2007 at 10:08 pm
Watching the inspirational and well spoken Bono talk to the American Prayer Breakfast made me want to mention to you that our radio stations Sunday night Show Open House has spoken to some amazing christian thinkers and leaders. This included Jeffrey Sachs, the economist that taught economics to Bono. If your interested in that and Andrew Denton talking about his doco God on my side you can listen or download the interviews from http://www.fm1032.com.au/MP3.asp?ChannelID=17.
Posted by Christina on May 22, 2007 at 10:53 pm
Hi Andrew, thanks for dropping by. I have checked out Open House and am downloading a few mp3s as I type! An impressive list of interviews.
Posted by Ranges Community Church » New Podcasts on May 27, 2007 at 4:28 pm
[...] to a comment on Christina’s blog I’ve got a source of new podcasts. I’ve listened to Alister McGrath talk about his book [...]