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Christian Divination in the 21st Century: Prophets, prompters and the Spirit Speaking to the Church

© Arthur C. Ruger

Recently, I had occasion to call a local businessman who had started a Health Club and was offering a discount to members of all local churches regardless of denomination. His procedural approach was for our congregation to pay the member's full rate from which he would "rebate" the discount amount back. When I asked why he was doing this he declared firmly "The Lord told me to set up this business in this way."

Another person I know declared that the Lord had prompted here to take a specific teenage female into her home and to act as a surrogate parent on her behalf.

In the context of my social work I've met more than one Christian adult who faces adversity with a faith that [paraphrased] "the Lord must want me to go through this for a reason. I trust in Him and do my best."

Guidance, prompting, faith and trust ... all expressing the living mystical aspect to Christianity that touches far more accurately on living spiritually than all the preaching, doctrine and conformity to some orthodoxy combined.

All of these above examples and the countless millions who have such a spiritual connection with a higher power - be it the Christian version of God or something above and beyond human perception - compose a spiritual approach to life that includes taking scripture beyond the literal and letter-of-the-law adherence formula for an afterlife reward.

This is what I refer to as Christian divination and ought not to be confused with the assumed prophetic activity of contemporary evangelical celebrity leaders who declare directly or strongly imply that God has spoken to them personally - perhaps in the manner of the health club operator mentioned above - but in a non-sharing way.

Mr. Robertson has taken the most publicly open role of prophet of our times in declaring all the things God has told him regarding national politics and American elections.

He and Mr. Falwell again are remembered for declaring the events of 9/11 as being a direct statement of God's repudiation of America for its sinfulness regarding abortion and homosexuality.

Exercising their right to free speech, these public persons - because of their influence - perhaps encourage Christians who support them to make that leap of faith to accepting such "prophetic uttering" as today's "thus sayeth the Lord" pronouncements of the will of God.

Claiming to speak the will of God can be a risky business. To do so runs the risk of being perceived in the same vein as David Koresh,Jim Jones, or those Mormon Fundamentalist/Polygamist Dissenters who broke-away from the LDS and who become prophets, as well as other cult leaders.

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