Religion and Prophets
According to religion, prophets are regarded as supernatural. Their actions are considered to be divine and directly intricate to God’s plan. The idea of prophets is embraced in diverse cultures. Ranging from Christianity, Hindu to Islam, prophets were regarded as very significant individuals who had powers and character that superseded human thoughts and abilities (Moley, 2009).The word prophet originates from the Greek word, Profetes meaning a seer or an advocate of God. As it regards Abrahamic religions such as Judaism and Christianity, the position of prophets was regarded as follows; in Judaism, prophets originated from people. It followed that; the people that God had purposed to work for him would not proceed on living normal lives as anyone else did. It also stated that, some prophets were chosen even before they were born. In this regard, they were supported and orchestrated by divine calling from God. According to Judaism, the prophets did not exist in abstract; they were chosen by design to operate along specifically deliberated roles. In the Old Testament, for example, we had prophets who were designed to rule and guide people in specific times. What was relevant was the period when a specific event occurred (Hamon, 2010). For example, during drought or harsh environmental conditions, a prophet was selected by God himself. In such a case, the prophet acted as a link between the people and God. God’s message was passed to the people via the prophets. At the same time, people’s grievances were subjected to God through the prophets. It should be noted that, the role of the prophets in the Old Testament which dates back to Judaism was appreciated by the fact that, at that time, human beings did not commission and communicate to God on individual grounds. It was required that, the communication be through an intermediary who would act as a communicative channel between the two groups. Prophets were also significant in foretelling people of the events that were likely to occur. In such a case, they had the ability to discern and come to on what events were likely to occur. Taking Prophets in the Christian context for example, Prophet Elijah center staged the Old Testament. He warned his people of eminent danger. He also set standards that were rationally expected in the society. Social justice is among the many things that Prophets in his category taught. In essence, Prophets are the building blocks for all religions. Even if religion does not now embrace the idea about prophets, a detailed scrutiny of the history of any religion reveals the existence of prophets and seers at its developmental stage.
On the other hand, Christianity acknowledges the presence of prophets. Prophets in the New Testament represented God in the daily lives of the people. Taking John the Baptist, for example, it is stated that, his role on the surface of the earth then was to clear the way for the coming of Jesus Christ. In essence, he acted as a forerunner of Jesus Christ. In these aspects, it can be established that, prophets facilitated the advent and appraisals of other prophets. For John the Baptist as a prophet, it follows that, he taught people about social Justice and other aspects that touched along morality and the need of getting renewed as a result of getting baptized.
In Islam as a religion, the idea of prophets is best summed up by Mohammed. The Muslim faith states that, prophets are significant to the daily operations of people. Mohammed is considered to be a seer and intervener between God and ordinary people. They also believed that Mo hammed was sent by God hence was acting in the context of delegation. In the context of the Muslim faith, prophets were treated with due respect. Respect meant that, they were expected to make references to their prophet whenever they made their prayers. Muslim believed that, prophets and messengers were one and the same thing. The idea and details about prophets in the Islam are entailed in the Quran. In this context, it is recorded that, the Muslim community had to a total of twenty-five prophets. Unlike the Christian faith, Muslim believed that, prophets were not any different form the ordinary people. However, both religions acknowledge that, the idea about the existence and the relevance of Prophets is not along fallacious grounds. It is rather real and Cogentin all its manifestations.
Rishis is a concept applied by the Hindu in referring to Prophets. According to the Hindu, Prophets were the primary factors that guided the daily interactions of the people. In essence, their sense of direction and leadership was derived from the temple. As a matter of fact, all events that center staged intheir lives was directly proportional to what the temple dictated. African Traditional religion regards the idea about prophets. In this instance, prophets existed among the Traditional African communities (Hopkins, 2010). The prophets were believed to be sent from God (Argosah, 2012). However, the whole concept about prophets can be appreciated form the fact that, they were individuals who had power. The power was however beyond the scope of ordinary people. Unlike other religions, the concept of prophets in the traditional African communities was developed long certain families and groups of people. It was believed that, a certain class of people was chosen by God in design to administer on prophetic grounds. It is fundamental to note that, the idea about prophets existed in almost all cultures that existed millions of years ago. An attribute and embrace to and for God was at one point directed to Prophets. Prophets form a basis for all religions.
At it regards the whole concept about prophets, the following prophets will be regarded; Jeremiah is a prophet in the Christian context. He was born at a place called Anatoth from a priesthood family. It is significant to however note that, he was called and determined to be a prophet of God even before he was born. His existence can be aid to have been mysterious all the way from the time of his conception. As a result of this, he grew up living and upholding aspects of Christian lives as advocated by his folks. He started making prophecies about Judah at a young age. He was designed to help the Judah at a time when it was to go through sophisticated instances. Jeremiah prophesied about the invasion of the Northern Kingdom by the Babylonians. However, his call was not hided to by people in Judah. Just as people would regard a person like them, they contended that he was at no point in a position to speak of what he was deliberating upon. On the other hand, he was just a village boy that they had frequently been seeking. It is significant to appreciate that such events did not destroy his zeal to save Judah. As a way of making people believe in all that he was prophesying about, Jeremiah performed mighty deeds that focused on enlighten the people on possible instances that were to arise. He saw visions that dictated that Judah was in the course of being attacked by the people from the North. For these purposes, it is prudent to note that, his vision of the locusts illustrated the foreseen event that would engulf Judah.
In such a case, Jeremiah beseeched his people to stop and desist from the continuation of their vices and vile acts. He was against acts such as sexual immorality and other associated forms social injustices occasioned on people. His strongest point and angle of opposition was from other religious leaders and the administration that was in Judah. He was often dejected and referred to as a trouble maker in Israel. His significance in as far the Christian Religion is concerned, acquires its basis from the fact that, he was an object of God. His sole purpose was to administer on matters that God wanted to make known to his people. At the same time, be interceded on behalf of his people when God was angered by the unceasing wrong doing events of the Israelites. It is also vital to note that, Jeremiah lived a life that represented misery just to pass his God sent message to the people. Failure by the people to uphold what he represented led to the fall of Jerusalem. At the same time, he interceded on behalf of his people. He was able to convince God to reclaim the position of Jerusalem. Jerusalem which was the center point of Christian religion then, was refurbished within a short time and its relevance took to its pace again. On the other hand, Jesus Crist was regarded as prophet by some people due to his marvelous acts. He is, therefore, still relevant in matters that relate to prophets.
Mohammad was a great prophet in as far as the Muslim faith is concerned. He was born in Mecca. His early life was characterized by carpentry. He took carpentry as a profession until the age of twenty five when he got a wife and got married. He started praying alone. The practice was, however, not in respect with what the people in Mecca ascribed to. During one of his sessions as a loner while praying, an Angel of God appeared to him in a vision (Shalab, 2012). It is at this point he realized that he was a prophet, and Allah wanted to use him as a savior for His people. He formed the foundation of the Muslim faith hence his relevance as one of the prophets in that are with high regard. He taught people about the expectations of the Quran. At some point, he would occasion for warnings to his people whenever necessary. He also faced much opposition a society that was opposed to the Islam Religion. Mohammad is regarded as the greatest Prophet among Muslims that ever existed.
The concept about Prophets in Hindu as a religion is oriented along a triad platform. Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma were the three persons that amounted to God in a prophetic form. The actions of these persons were along prophetic lines. They did override on all aspects that pertain Indians. The matters range from religion to social and ideological perspectives. From the above in discussions, it has been established that, all religions have an origin that facilitates their daily operations. The development of prophets attributes to the current positions of the religions. Had due regard not been taken by these prophets, the religions that they incline to would not be at this level that they are.
References
Argosah, K. (2012). Religion, Ritual and African Tradition: African Foundations. Chicago: AuthorHouse Publishers.
Hamon, B. (2010). Apostles, Prophets and the Coming Moves of God: God's End-Time Plans for His Church and Planet Earth. New York: Destiny Image Publishers.
Hopkins, T. (2010). The Hindu Religious Tradition. New York: Duxbury Press.
Moley, N. (2009). Religion: The Basics. Nerw York: Psychology Press.
Shalab, A. (2012). Islam: Religion of Life. Chicago: Starlatch Press.
