Why do monotheistic religions always think of theirs as "the last prophet"

[catbert836]

A serious question. I've noticed that Christians think Jesus was the last prophet, Muslims think Muhammad was the last prophet, Zoroastrians think Zarathusa was the last prophet, and all down the line. Me, I think god(s) have sent many very talented and good individuals to guide us through life, and that these include Moses, Zarathusa, Muhammad, Jesus, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Buddha, and later, Shakespeare, Karl Marx, Thoreau, and many, many others.
Why is it that certain religions find it so hard to believe that god might have sent us other prophets, before and after their particular favorite?

[Az]

1. Islam claims there have been multiple prophets

Buddhism claims that anyone showing a clear enough understanding of the world may be the Buddha.

Personally I wonder why people need to think that humans can't come up with good ideas on their own. Instead of giving credit to extremely wise and intelligent people they need them to be special individuals sent to guide the world. I prefer to give credit where it seems due.

[catbert836]

2. Yes, but

I wasn't talking about Buddhism so much as I was talking about the monothiestic religions who claim to follow the last of the prophets, such as Christianity and Islam. Islam does acknowledge many prophets, and, I may be wrong, but I have heard that they call Muhammad the "seal of the prophets" or the last one.
I certainly agree with you that people should be their own prophets, but I also believe that some people have a better talent for giving the lessons of life than others (that much is obvious).
edited for spelling and grammar

[onager]

3. I've had Muslims try to convert me...

And they didn't use the "last prophet" idea.

What they said was that because Islam was the last "revelation," it was the most perfected religion. Specifically, they said that part of the TRUTH (tm) was revealed to the Jews first, then to the Xians. But the ultimate truth was revealed to Islam because it was...of course...The Bestest Monotheistic Religion Of All.

These were Saudis trying to convert me, while I was working in their country, BTW. To their credit, they don't go on and on about it like Xian Fundies. Once they see you're not interested, they don't push the matter.

In Egypt earlier this year, I sat in one of the oldest mosques in the country and heard a very well-educated Egyptian give a sort of "Islam For Dummies" presentation.

He also used the "most perfected revelation" propaganda.

[catbert836]

6. That sounds pretty much the same to me.

But what I saw (this was on a TV special) was the Mufti of Jerusalem saying that Jews accept all of the prophets except Jesus and Muhammad, Christians accept all the prophets except Muhammad, and Muslims accept all the prophets. That would probably mean they consider Muhammad the last one, which goes right along with your last revelation concept.

[Old Mouse]

7. if you meet the Buddha on the road...

there is only supposed to be one at a time.

[Az]

8. The last monk stood up, kicked the vase over

and walked out of the room. :evilgrin:

[Old Mouse]

10. Cult of celebrity

it used to take hundreds of years, and involved the obscuring and canonization and misinterpretation of intent that only centuries could allow... but now we can achieve the same effect in only a few weeks!

Now THAT'S progress.

But honestly, I do believe in democracy. The mass of population gets what it wants. it always has, and always will. You cannot rule without consent. Martyr is a term applied by survivors.

[CarbonDate]

4. My brother is either....

...a Christian who believes that Muhammad was a prophet, or a Muslim who believes that Jesus was the son of God. I'm not sure which.

I do know that I'm the only atheist in my family. I like to keep things simple.

[catbert836]

5. Well, good for your brother.

I wish more people were like him, willing to accept that their religion does not have an exclusive copyright on the truth.
Not to say there isn't truth in atheism, of course.

[Old Mouse]

9. "the seven incarnations of christ"

I don't remember where that idea came from, some book from the 60's or 70's...

Oh, there is controversy on Shakespeare. Turns out the only actual painting of hm is not authentic. Now there is only a carved plate for printmaking that is based off of a painting, but that painting did not survive. So we can't be sure if the plate is in fact Shakespeare. Some claim he was actually a group of people over the years. I have a russian friend who still insists he was russian.

[jcldragon]

11. Perhaps Francis Bacon was

a very busy man...

[catbert836]

17. Dave Barry said something funny about that

he said if we can't decide what's true on the most obvious of historical details, like whether Napoleon was short or not, and whether Shakespeare actually wrote his own plays, we have no hope as a people. Wait a minute. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? That's right, Napoleon wrote Shakespeare's plays.
I seriously doubt the Shakespeae conspiracy theories, however. The writing style is of one person's it doesn't have weird gaps or anything like that in it. And while its possible that his portait was forged, we should remember that unlike Jesus, we have birth and death certificates for Shakespeare, plus about 50 plays he wrote himself to prove his existence.

[jcldragon]

12. Why do monotheistic religions always think of theirs as "the last prophet"

Because people get greedy, and think they can own the truth. When they think that, they try to make the truth small, like their own vision...

You cannot own the Truth. However, the Truth can own you. Now I'm NOT going to hold my breath on this, but I strongly suspect that humanity is about to outgrow its barbaric infancy. As that happens, more & more people are going to recognize that which is Divine within themselves, and within all of Life.

There was a scientist who said something like this : "If I have seen further, it is because I have stood upon the shoulders of giants". Does anybody have the exact quote, and know who said it?

[Old Mouse]

14. Here's the quote

"...A quote from Sir Isaac Newton - 'If I have seen further than others, it is only because I was standing on the shoulders of giants'.

The quote comes from a letter to Robert Hooke, and is often used to demonstrate humility - in fact in its original context it is the opposite. Hooke was ripped off by Newton and complained about it, and Hooke was also very short, and mildly hunchbacked, so Newton was in fact saying he was standing on the shoulders of giants - not of a hunchbacked midget... "

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=787876

BTW you are correct. There is a tremendous transformation of consciousness underway with the youth. A sudden maturity and intelligence in people 24 years and under... an amazing global phenomena. But its a race to see if they will have a chance to exert social control before the climate change has is effect.

[htuttle]

13. Isn't the very last prophet (of "The Book" people) Sun Myung Moon?

...and before that, Joseph Smith? And before that? I think it would be Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, founder of the Sikh religion.

Seems like the "prophets" (profits?) just keep showing up...

[Az]

15. The final word is the word of authority

The idea that a voice will come afterwards is a threat to clergy. If there is more to be said then the clergy cannot claim conclusive authority.

Its the same reason Christianity morphed over time. Originally many of the sects behind Christianity were about individual forms of communing with god. Various methods and means were used. Over time infrastructure formed up amongst the increasingly dominant sects. As structure formed the clergy claimed rites of communion over the practices of individuals communing with god. This continued until the diluted forms of communion were all that was left for the people and the clergy became the official conduit through which god was to be known.

See the problem is that god is the final word. If everyone can commune with him then whatever he tells them is literally the word of god. If that is the case then claims of organized moral authoratity have no basis upon which to found their claims. If everyone has the same conduit to god then everyone is a pope.

So the idea of a prophet yet to come is not a welcome notion in organized religions. You may see claims of individuals being prophets outside mainstream organized religions. But the more structured the claims become the more likely the claim to be the final word will be.

[catbert836]

18. True dat.

Thanks for the insightful comments, as always.

[CatholicEdHead]

16. Because that line of thinking works

and it distracts from religions really being about the top holy guy in power who loves his postion and all the earthly perks that come with it.