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Skepticism of "Prophets"
I'll admit it. I'm a cynic. Probably to unhealthy levels. I try daily to overcome this tendency and not allow it to hinder my faith. But especially when it comes to faith in PEOPLE...I have a hard time getting past my own mind, my history of men and women not being trustworthy, or being ignorant, etc.
Have you ever been in one of those services with a man who evangelizes as a "prophet"? And he goes about during the service saying things like any worldly "medium" might say.
Medium/Prophet: "Someone here...has children...in California? A name...that starts with a "D"..."
Woman in audience of 300 tentatively raises her hand.
Medium/Prophet: "God is going to restore your relationships."
Woman cries because she has children in California she gave up for adoption.
Now - I know this woman, and God DID reunite her and give her a relationship with all her children. But the whole "Is there...a woman...in here...who's name starts with "L"..." thing really, really sounds like any weird "medium" talk show you might see on TV.
There's a big name "prophet" in the UPC who we once saw...At one service, he called out a man who was visiting the US from Liberia. The prophet started talking about how he knew someone from Guyana...and started describing the country of Guyana...and how God was calling this man to go to Guyana...and how Guyana is near Liberia, correct?
Well, the problem is, Guyana is a country in South America.
The man awkwardly tried to correct the "prophet" that Liberia wasn't too far from Ghana, Africa...but Guyana was quite far away.
The prophet then tried to gloss over it that...well, God still needed him in Guyana...and that God would make a way.
I have to admit it - I and the person next to me could not keep a straight fact. It was very amusing to think that "God" messed up his geography when speaking through this prophet. Not long after that the prophet announced how there were two people in the whole service who were not on board with what he was speaking...and that he didn't care if we dressed in suits and looked the part...etc. etc. Pretty sure he was talking about us. But you didn't need a "word from God" to notice we could barely hold back snickering at the whole geographic snafu.
What's your threshold of trust for self-proclaimed prophets? If they get one thing wrong, are they considered a false prophet forever thereafter?
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