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Biblical Keys for Discerning True and False Prophets/Rejecting true prophets
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Bible arguments made to justify rejecting true prophets
In practice the rejection arguments all boil down to people rejecting a prophet's claims on the basis of either fear or desire. That is, the prophets did not fit their preconceptions of what a prophet should be (that is, what they think or “fear” is so), or, the prophets say things that they did not want to hear (that is, contrary to their desire). There is a direct relationship between the failures to use appropriate tests, and the failure to inquire in the ways that lead to truth. Each failure leads to corresponding arguments against true prophets. Taken together, all of the arguments given against prophets show that rather than looking at what a prophet is, people judge them against false standards or false information. That is, those failing to recognize a prophet either apply inappropriate tests, or they misapply appropriate tests. What a person thinks or fears inevitably becomes barrier to discovering the real. Hence, the call for a sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit, a willingness to at least offer what a person wants and thinks as a necessary prerequisite to discover what is real.
Scholars of religion describe the process of religious conversion as one of reorientation and reconciliation. Reorientation is a change of thinking. And reconciliation is a change of feeling. So it fits that resistance to conversion derives from opposing fear and desire. And this is why “The Sacrifices of God are broken heart, and a contrite spirit” (Psalms 51:17).
Notes
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