Most would quickly backpedal at that point and say "Oh no, I'm not claiming that it's prophecy in the biblical sense, I'm just expressing my opinion pretending that all their previous subtext is in the fevered imagination of the listener.
I had an interesting lengthy conversation with a Trump supporter, who is a dear person and not stupid but is clearly in a Christian echo-chamber of a particular sort. She was telling me about Trump, and reading the times, and that there were things that had to happen before the end comes that she though Trump might bring about. But even as the words exited her mouth she began to hesitate and got vague about good becoming more good and evil more evil and "things" about the economy, and I think she realised that when it was right out there on the table, it was hard to make look convincing. I was wondering about giving a slight hint, an almost imperceptible pushback, but there was no need. She was doing the work herself. I gave her some cliched face-saving rescue that I hopd was also good doctrine: that these things are going to happen; we are told to be watchful, and that some signs we would understand and some not, and Trump might turn out to be a major player or might be entirely forgotten a century from now.
I expect the Dems will be castigating him for the next 100 years
Nah. If Trump wins, twelve or twenty years from now Democrats will have developed a Strange New Respect for Trump, comparing the then-Republican candidate unfavorably to him. They did it with Nixon, they did it with Reagan, they did it with the first Bush, they're starting to do it with his son, and they're even doing it with Romney.
Are these prophets willing to submit to the prescribed penalty in case they turn out wrong?
ReplyDeleteAh. Good point.
ReplyDeleteMost would quickly backpedal at that point and say "Oh no, I'm not claiming that it's prophecy in the biblical sense, I'm just expressing my opinion pretending that all their previous subtext is in the fevered imagination of the listener.
I had an interesting lengthy conversation with a Trump supporter, who is a dear person and not stupid but is clearly in a Christian echo-chamber of a particular sort. She was telling me about Trump, and reading the times, and that there were things that had to happen before the end comes that she though Trump might bring about. But even as the words exited her mouth she began to hesitate and got vague about good becoming more good and evil more evil and "things" about the economy, and I think she realised that when it was right out there on the table, it was hard to make look convincing. I was wondering about giving a slight hint, an almost imperceptible pushback, but there was no need. She was doing the work herself. I gave her some cliched face-saving rescue that I hopd was also good doctrine: that these things are going to happen; we are told to be watchful, and that some signs we would understand and some not, and Trump might turn out to be a major player or might be entirely forgotten a century from now.
If Trump wins, I expect the Dems will be castigating him for the next 100 years.
ReplyDeleteI expect the Dems will be castigating him for the next 100 years
ReplyDeleteNah. If Trump wins, twelve or twenty years from now Democrats will have developed a Strange New Respect for Trump, comparing the then-Republican candidate unfavorably to him. They did it with Nixon, they did it with Reagan, they did it with the first Bush, they're starting to do it with his son, and they're even doing it with Romney.