Prophets, False or Otherwise

So we’re reading about prophecy and Christians who want to rid our society of evil. What strikes me is how much I am reminded of something Crowley has mentioned several times throughout this book – in American history, Christian activists have had a significant, and arguably positive influence. Abolitionism, women’s suffrage, and civil rights are just a few movements that were encouraged through Christian efforts. If so many Americans identify as Christian, I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that Biblical arguments crafted by Christian rhetors have been successful.

There’s a lot more to it though. James Darsey wrote a book called The Prophetic Tradition and Radical Rhetoric in America that talks about the logos, pathos and ethos characteristic of this type of discourse. As the title implies, he views this sort of activism as radical. He counts Wendell Phillips’ abolitionism and Eugene Debs’ socialist efforts to attain better conditions for American workers among the best examples of this radical/prophetic tradition. Joe McCarthy also gets a mention for embodying the characteristics of prophetic rhetoric that Darsey outlines.

I really don’t care for the religious right we see today. But Darsey’s book makes me wonder if only time will tell whether today’s prophetic rhetors are as crazy as I tend to believe they are. History will probably have to have its' say in all this. The agitators described above can each be credited with stirring things up in society, but I think that history views them each very differently. It’s hard to say whether Falwell, LaHaye, Robertson, etc. ought to be considered part of the prophetic tradition. It’s even harder to decide what it means if they are.