DB> Now, how do I tell whether an ancient prophet was just another of these
 DB> nut cases who happened to be lucky?  I am still confused.
   Those poor old Semitic kings were often confused, too, Day.  As I
understand it, that is what led to the distinction (grin) between "true" and
"false" prophets.  About all they had to go by was whether or not what the
prophet PREDICTED came true.  That is probably the origin of the mistaken
notion that prophets like Jeremiah and Isaiah were preoccupied with
"foretelling the future."  After all, they DID have competition among a
multitude of prophets.  But the central messages of the prophets that one can
plainly read today if one cares to do so is NOT SOME DANIEL APOCALYPSE
pretending to know what modern Russia or the United States was going to do in
the 19th or 20th century (apologies to Pat Robertson (chuckle)).  Their
concern was quite obviously with calling their contemporaries to what they
conceived to be "righteousness" in the here and now under an unseen and
gradually universal "father."  One of them said, "He has shown you Oh man 
hat
you should do; do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God."  That
wasn't a message to be read in some distant future.   It's the really HARD
stuff that both the ancient and modern fundamentalists intend to distort.  
he
HARD stuff is always quite simple and needs no magic or mumbo jumbo.  The
ancient fundamentalist could and DID take that phrase and make it into a
command to ritually accompany the body to the grave or the bride to the
marriage chamber.  A concrete "word" of a "concrete" god that would perform
the same functions as the beloved "Baals and Ashtarts" (the household gods). 
Sincerely, 
                                     Frank
                                                                              
                                                       
--- PPoint 2.05
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