Prophetic visions in 1988: A critical reappraisal

This paper reviews the research into a specific aspect of neardeath experiences (NDEs): the prophetic vision (PV). PVs are subjectively compelling flashforwards of planetary-wide cataclysms and eventual regeneration that sometimes occur during or in the immediate aftermath of an NDE. Previous research has shown that the most frequently mentioned year for the culmination of the geophysical calamities foreseen in PVs was 1988. I argue that PVs should be understood as manifestations of a collective prophetic impulse that historically tends to arise during periods of cultural crisis. PVs are thus expressions of the felt need for cultural renewal and therefore should not be taken literally as prognostic of drastic physical changes on Earth.     

A Prophetic Seer Potentiating Us in the Present

In his book Radical Evolution Joel Garreau functions as a prophet and a seer. In presenting a narrative of the future that includes an optimistic view of human nature, he warns that because of the GRIN technologies (genetics, robotics, information technology, and nanotechnology) the quickening evolution of “The Curve” is upon us and could well soon culminate in the mind-boggling social change of “The Singularity.” Garreau considers three scenarios of the technological future: the Heaven Scenario, the Hell Scenario, and the Prevail Scenario. The third wins favor because the heavenly envisionment with its evolution of a superintelligent human who could engineer a species with a greatly extended lifespan is too blissful and the hellish prognostication with its destruction of the human species within the next quarter century is too pernicious. Just right is the middle-of-the-road perspective of the Prevail-Transcend depiction of the future. This third view is indeed more appropriate than the first two scenarios, but a more nuanced form of the third perspective—emphasizing similarly the role of human freedom and responsibility in continuing to reshape human nature but drinking less deeply of the transhumanist elixir and more deeply of a pantransentheistic potion—would constitute a more suitable vision of the future.     

Prophetic Words for Psychologists: Particularity,Ethics and Peace

This essay seeks to consider the implications of the prophetic voice of Abraham Joshua Heschel. We argue that Heschel’s work offers important correctives to some of modern psychologies’ universalizing and reductive assumptions and activities. Specifically, we show that Heschel argues for an anthropology characterized by particularity, with a unique emphasis on the person’s standing in relation to God. Relatedly, we show how Heschel’s understanding challenges us to recognize that ethics is to precede ontology. Lastly, this primacy of ethics leads to a prophetic challenge toward becoming people of peace, systemically as well as individually. We conclude by applying Heschel’s admonishment to recent, specific activities of injustice and violence within the field of psychology. Heschel’s arguments are reviewed in a spirit of ecumenism, to pursue the ends of peace as a profession and as a society.

Three Orthodox Models of Christian Unity: Traditionalist,Mainstream, Prophetic

The assumption is often made that the Orthodox Church has a unified approach to ecumenical engagement with other churches. This paper argues that while there is a ‘mainstream’ model (reflected especially in the thought of Georges Florovsky), there is also a minority ‘traditionalist’ model. While having radically different attitudes towards the modern ecumenical movement (traditionalists are vehemently opposed), both of these accept the premise that the historical Orthodox Church alone is the fullness of the Christian Church and that doctrinal agreement and incorporation into the Orthodox Church must precede sacramental communion. A more open alternative model (‘prophetic’) reflects proposals made in the twentieth century by theologians such as Sergius Bulgakov, Nicholas Afanasiev, Anton Kartashev and Nicholas Zernov. These were not taken up at the time but it is argued that they deserve to be studied again by Orthodox bishops and ecumenical leaders as possibilities for bold prophetic action toward Christian unity.     

Prophetic Voices: Simone Weil and Flannery O'Connor

This study juxtaposes Simone Weil's exposition of God's invitation to know and love the good through the divine signature of beauty stamped on the order of the world and Flannery O'Connor's depiction of a society whose oppressive order allows some characters to oppose outright a divine order or to live under the illusion that the divine invitation is irrelevant because they, in their egoism and materialist values, are the centre of the universe. An examination of O'Connor's and Weil's ideas on order and beauty, grace and decreation, within the disorders of their contexts, reveals both writers' skills in pointing prophetically through disorder to divine order, thus, disclosing bridges of revelation.     

Prophetic criticism,incarnational optimism: On recovering the late Kierkegaard

Actually the revolution is much closer than we think. The last band of free thinkers (Feuerbach and all related to him) has attacked or tackled the matter far more clearly than formerly, for if you look more closely, you will see that they actually have taken upon themselves the task of defending Christianity against contemporary Christians. The point is that established Christendom is demoralized, in the profoundest sense all respect for Christianity's existential commitments has been lost … Now Feuerbach is saying: No, wait a minute—if you are going to be allowed to go on living as you are living, then you also have to admit that you are not Christians … it is wrong of established Christendom to say that Feuerbach is attacking Christianity; it is not true, he is attacking the Christians by demonstrating that their lives do not correspond to the teachings of Christianity … What Christianity needs for certain is traitors … (JP 6523)     

Prompt Density,Rate of Reinforcement,and the Persistence of Manding

The Psychological Record - Previous research has documented the effects of prompting mands at a relatively high rate (i.e., rich schedule) or low rate (i.e., lean schedule). These previous studies...     

Prophecy Channels and Prophetic Modalities: A Comparison of Revelation in The Family International and the LDS Church

The underlying assumption of this article is that prophetic statements composed for publication in religious organizations as the word of God are, in some form and to some degree, socially constructed. We expand on this assumption by comparing and contrasting The Family International and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‐day Saints—both of which are organized around belief in ongoing prophecy and revelation. Derived from our comparative analysis of these two religious groups, we formulate a prophecy typology that specifies (1) the channels through which revelations are proclaimed (a designated individual or group of collaborators) and (2) the modality of prophetic statements attributed to a divine source (inspirational or oracular). Based on this typology we conclude by proposing a set of hypotheses for guiding further studies in the social construction of prophecy.     

The Normative, the Proper, and the Sublime: Notes on the Use of Figure and Emotion in Prophetic Argument

Too often in argumentation studies, an emphasis on argumentative norms fails to give adequate weight to elements of emotion and style that are essential to public speech at its best, not only in ordinary practice but especially in those rare moments where public speech arrives at the sublime. In this paper we examine the coordination of argument with figurative and emotive language whose combination yields sublime effects in the poetry of the Hebrew prophets as well as in examples of modern discourse. It is shown that poetic figures, while not fully reducible to argumentative norms, nor rational in the sense commonly applied to argumentation, do in fact contribute in propriety in public discourse; moreover, they surpass mere propriety to generate moments of the sublime.     

Parallels Between Near-Death Experience Prophetic Visions and Prophecies from the Bible and Mormon Holy Writ

In 1982, Kenneth Ring identified a phenomenon where some near-death experiencers were permitted to see a picture of the Earth's future as a prophetic vision or PV. In his study of the PV, Ring identified five elements of the PV for the future of the Earth as geophysical changes, meteorological changes, supply and economic breakdowns, nuclear war, and a new era of love and world peace. He also mentioned two other features, the death of many and a time frame for the elements. A comparison of the events of near-death experience prophetic visions of the Earth's future and prophecies from the Bible and the Mormons' Doctrine and Covenants shows nearly complete agreement. These catastrophic events are prophesied to occur on the Earth into the 21^st century and to culminate with a new world of peace that is constituted of good people.     

Do Time Press,Stimulus, and Creative Prompt Influence the Divergent Production of Undergraduate Students? Yes,Yes, and No,Not Very Much

This study examined the influence of time press, specific stimulus, and type of creativity prompt on fluency and flexibility scores of 75 undergraduates randomly assigned to condition. Three stimuli were administered, in three time allotments (2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 min), counterbalanced with three types of prompt intended to elicit higher fluency, flexibility, or originality scores. Dependent variables were fluency and flexibility scores. The results suggest that time press has a strong, and typically linear influence on both fluency and flexibility scores. When scores were adjusted by time allowed, a significant difference across stimuli was observed for flexibility, but not for fluency scores. Prompts had very small and nonsignificant effects. Performance did not differ for groups exposed to longer/shorter vs. shorter/longer time patterns on successive tasks.     

Development of E-Info Geneca: A Website Providing Computer-Tailored Information and Question Prompt Prior to Breast Cancer Genetic Counseling

This article describes the stepwise development of the website ‘E-info gene^ca’. The website provides counselees in breast cancer genetic counseling with computer-tailored information and a question prompt prior to their first consultation. Counselees generally do not know what to expect from genetic counseling and they tend to have a passive role, receiving large amounts of relatively standard information. Using the “intervention mapping approach,” we developed E-info gene^ca aiming to enhance counselees’ realistic expectations and participation during genetic counseling. The information on this website is tailored to counselees’ individual situation (e.g., the counselee’s age and cancer history). The website covers the topics of the genetic counseling process, breast cancer risk, meaning of being a carrier of a cancer gene mutation, emotional consequences and hereditary breast cancer. Finally, a question prompt encourages counselees to prepare questions for their genetic counseling visit.