by jwfacts 45 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Probably a mixture of megalomania and seeking to exercise power over others, or as in the case of the witnesses and others like them, being manipulated by somebody that suffers from megalomania and that seeks to exercise power over others.
Ultimately all of us are inspired by whoever or whatever we make our god.
One thing I learned in psychology is that we humans like to fool ourselves, the same goes with conspiracy theorists they look for patterns to suit their understandings.
Binadub said:
I think it all depends on one's perception of "inspired". I tend to consider all of what we call "creative" to be inspired. I'm often amazed--even myself--when some kind of a good idea just seems to pop into my head for something good. I think good art, music and writing are inspired, and I tend to think it is something from an inner spirituality.
The words you used (inspired and spirituality) are related, in that both contain the element 'spire'. Interesting, as someone says they were "inspired by Holy Spirit" is actually using a circular reference, and not even realizing it....
But yeah, good point. There is a difference between claiming to be "inspired" vs "Divinely-inspired". Someone sees art and is inspired to create something else in the same style is correct to claim to be inspired; someone thinks they hear the voice of YHWH claims to be "Divinely-inspired".
However, some play fast and loose with that definition, saying their being "inspired by God" refers to something more akin to the former usage, rather than the latter.
Joey Jo-Jo said:
One thing I learned in psychology is that we humans like to fool ourselves, the same goes with conspiracy theorists they look for patterns to suit their understandings.
Yup, people have an incredibly strong need to FEEL like they understand things, even if they don't, or it can't be understood. Therefore, they will imagine all kinds of illogical mechanisms at work, just in order to feel they have some measure of control of their own fate, and to explain whatever phenomena it is that keeps them up at night.
Many great comments.
King Solomon - The words you used (inspired and spirituality) are related, in that both contain the element 'spire'. Interesting, as someone says they were "inspired by Holy Spirit" is actually using a circular reference, and not even realizing it... There is a difference between claiming to be "inspired" vs "Divinely-inspired".
Well explained.
Joey Jo-Jo's comment reminded me of a very good TED talk I heard by Michael Shermer . . .
If you're at all interested how patterns influence perception and delusion . . . you'll find it very informative.
The question becomes, are we to assume that everyone who claims inspiration is not? And if an out of the body, or near death experiences, can be replicated by bombarding part of the brain with bioelectric stimuli, does this mean that all near death experiences are false? Whether we are believers or skeptics, the way we’re raised determines how we react to these things.
Many people accepted Jesus’ teachings in his day and in the first century. Others saw it as a means of making money and others dismissed him out of hand. And not only him, but his apostles. Were we living in the days of Isaiah, would we accept him as a prophet of God? What would be our basis of acceptance or rejection? For believers, we’d like to think we’d accept these prophets and not stone them; however, how much would our own political or social views play a part? Jeremiah told the Jews to go with Babylon over Egypt. I suspect that those who thought Jerusalem should stay with Egypt might be angered by Jeremiah’s message. It was a politically charged issue at the time, and here’s this man who probably could have used a bath telling the population to do something that many people were against. So we think we would have chosen rightly, but there’s no way to tell unless you’re there and can judge the matter in context.
Jesus also appeared to be only a man. And Isaiah wrote of him saying “when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” He added that he would be “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” So how would we have recognized him? He had many followers, but also many enemies; and many thought he was a false messiah and a false prophet. Yes, he fulfilled scripture, but that wasn’t fully known until after the fact. And if there came to us a prophet today, would we recognize him or reject him, citing Matthew 24’s warning against false prophets? Did Jesus say all prophets would be false? How about the two witnesses of Revelation 11. “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. … And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies … These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.”
These prophets will be raised up to the Jewish nation. They are not symbolic because they were allegorically referred to by Zechariah as two candlesticks (Zechariah 4:11, 14), but they will be actual people. Some think these will be Elijah and Enoch, or Elijah and Moses (who may not have died); but they could be anyone. They will perform very real miracles, but so will the “false prophet” who defers to the beast. So you can’t judge prophets solely by miracles.
