Why do people still look to Nostradamus when other prophets have a higher track record and are easier to understand?
And why are we so quick to discount the abilities of someone less known even if they are right more?
Does being vague and impossible to understand/interpret guarantee immunity from ridicule?
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M$6 Answers
My opinion:
Everything is left up to interpretation....and I certainly do not understand Nostradamus and his predictions. Perhaps some people look back in time because they do not have a belief in modern day prophets. That leads to the question of are there modern day prophets?..(also left up to belief)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prophecies_of_Joseph_Smith,_Jr. Joseph Smith Jr. (the founder of the Mormon church) was considered a prophet and each of his successors are considered the same. He claimed of many things that never happened.
Charles Russell (founder of the Jehovah Witness religion was considered a prophet...He co-wrote a book called 'The Three Worlds' in which the prophecy was the second coming of Christ happened in 1874 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah's_Witnesses
Elizabeth Clare Prophet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Clare_Prophet she predicted a Russian Nuclear attack in 1986....
I guess people will always find a believe in something.....whether right or wrong...
Does being vague and impossible guarantee immunity from ridicule? No... but, even "prophets" whos prophecies have proven false still have followers.
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M$Compare:
http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&tag=mozilla-20&index=blended&link_code=qs&field-keywords=nostradamus&sourceid=Mozilla-search
with
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/will-my-predictions-beat-those-of-nostradamus-again-this-year
Amazon is way bigger than Mahalo.
Also, Nostradamus and his mystical predictions date back a long time, so he has an advantage in range. I am thinking of countering this advantage by also building up some past predictions. So, here is one of my latest predictions for 1911. That will give me a range of predictions spanning 100 years!
I predict, here and now, that in May of 1911, Otto Becker, a German immigrant, will establish an Ostrich farm in Canada. One hundred years later, I might note, this is completely forgotten by everybody until this notice, and on its website the Canadian Ostrich Association will refer to its industry as being in its infant stages.
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M$
He was sure ahead of his time! They must of thought Otto was a bit bonkers!
Actually, Otto was at the tail end of a huge fad. Ostrich raising started and became a big business in South Africa, mainly after 1869 when the ostrich egg incubator was invented. But later it spread to the USA, especially California. The whole industry went bust in 1913 when fashions changed. There has been a recent revival but nothing like the late 19th century feather boom.
There you have it.
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M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
But Nostradamus isn't credible, he's just quoted. No one agrees on the interpretations and every generation assumes the cryptic words apply to them. There's no one way to interpret him, the symbols used in one don't help with another. Kudo's to the people that assign meaning to nonsense, but that doesn't make him credible. Does it?
I asked a nonsense question recently and people tried to interpret it. I just made it up but that didn't stop people from "figuring out" what I meant by it. Does that make me a genius because I can spew madness?
We have more documented information about people today than we did from his day. I'd say it was a lack of information about his peers that makes him stand out - not him alone. Do you know of any modern seers? Does my feedback inspire you to look again?
I don't mean for my reaction to shut down your response. Only to shape the conversation more. If you're inclined to cogitate further and share I'd appreciate it.
while the excess of the prophets only reportedly by religious leaders.
And there are very many people who are unfamiliar with religious knowledge.
In general,Europeans are geniuses use scripture to explore science and forecast future
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M$
I can't let that pass, @silverhammer. You've listed 10 specific ways to tell a true prophet and said that makes it easy and clear for you to tell (a highly reliable standard). But they are not testable, observable things! You have no way to know if any of the 10 are true of a potential prophet. This is especially true because # 3 conflicts with the others - if other people are doing the interpreting there is no way to know if the prophecies are right, conflicting, etc. You are pretending everything is black and white when your words mean it's all guessing!
Is a magic 8 ball considered prophetic? Mine nails 8 out of 10 on a consistent basis. I think it might be due some credit.
To some people it might be, that's what is funny about it. But there's still the problem with accuracy in my opinion.
Using the scriptural (Biblical) definition of a Prophet of God (since information gained elsewhere I'd have to consider the source and purpose of the information and is by nature unreliable), I have a standard I can use to determine if what I am hearing (seeing, reading, etc.) is consistent with the sort of prophecies I have relied upon from the past (namely with God as the source, not any other source).
What does the Bible say about how to identify a True Prophet of God? For those who are interested here is the list:
1. S/he does not report inaccurate predictions - this requires a 100% success rate, not the 80% or so a creative person can attribute to someone like the Nos. (Jer. 28:9)
2. S/he prophecies in the Lord's name, not their own. (2 Pet. 1:21)
3. S/he doesn't try to interpret their own prophecies. (2 Pet. 1:20)
4. S/he points out people's sins against God. (Isa. 58:1)
5. S/he warns people against God's impending judgement. (Isa. 24:20, 21; Rev. 14:6, 7)
6. S/he helps the church figure things out, giving worthy advice and counsel. (1 Cor 14:3, 4)
7. Her/his words in no way contradict the Bible or any of God's prophets before her/him. Think about it. God doesn't change so why would His warnings contradict anything said before? (Isa. 8:20)
8. S/he recognizes Jesus is the Son of God who lived on Earth for a time, etc. (1 John 4:1-3)
9. And the proof is in the pudding, as they say or more specifically "... by their fruits ye shall know them". (Matt. 7:16-20) You won't find a true prophet of God sleeping around or getting drunk, for example.
10. And finally s/he acts in accordance with and the approval of God. Specifically a true prophet would never consult the dead, the stars, tell fortunes, and the list goes on (keep in mind modern interpretations of the words in the texts found in Deut. 18:9-12). Or to put it in my words (meaning I'm no prophet), the prophetic information is given to the person, they don't have to figure it out or look for it on their own. Bam, vision! Wow, write it down. That sort of thing.
So to me there is a high and reliable standard by which I can compare those who claim God (or the "divine", etc) is the source of their data to. If the person claims another source for their information I don't even need to test it, but the proof will still be in how reliable their information is. 99% isn't good enough for me to trust. It's either 100% or the road.
Otherwise I may as well use the 8-ball, right?
Does anyone you've heard of even fit the Biblical definition of a prophet of God?
According to the Bible there have been and will be more. I know of one past that few recognize but there are at least two more coming. (Rev. 11:3-12) For those who have read the Bible and know about it will be amazed and further convinced the Bible is true. Those who decry the Bible as a credible source of anything will still be amazed but not understand what just happened.
We live in interesting times either way. Thanks for your input. :)
You make a good point. I find it odd that people give credit where credit isn't due. To me a prophet should always be correct. Otherwise it's not prophecy, just guessing. But I get my definition of a prophet from the Bible too, not just a generic term I use to define my question.
I read the same Bible as most people and some claim the prophecies shown there to be unfulfilled (the ones that should be by now anyway) even though when I read them they clearly have been. Not sure how the same thing studied in context could be taken more than one way, but there you have it.
Since my question is not intended to start a heated debate I won't list the modern day prophet that I had in mind when I asked the question but they have a perfect track record so far and more clearly stated than the old Nos.
But even if one could debate it, having more than Nostradamus is easy. Hell, I've predicted more things correctly than he did. You should see me predicting the outcomes of movies I've never seen before. I'm pretty spot on. :)
I acknowledge your views but I have a different experience. Refer to my source material instead of my interpretation of it. :)