Post by Stormrider on Jan 20, 2009 19:56:45 GMT -6
From: DaleAnn (Original Message) Sent: 10/21/2002 11:49 AM
Megn1 would like to track Prophecy through TTT. She is responsible to post, however, anyone may comment or add to it. Here are some definitions she posted to the Tracking Prophesy thread of FotR.
From: megn1
Prediction: To make a prediction is to declare in advance what will occur.
Prophecy: A prophecy is an inspired utterance. It may be about future events, or about the present reality. It's source is usually something other than observation, experience, or scientific reasoning. The "inspiration" might be intuition, a dream, a "hunch," or divine revelation.
Some prophecies are predictions, but not all, and not all predictions are prophecies.
Predictions that are prophecies: A prophecy which speaks of the future is a prediction. An example is the dream that Faramir and Boromir have which tells them that if they find Imladris "There shall be counsels taken stronger than Morgul-spells." It's source is inspired, and it tells of something that will happen.
Predictions that are not prophecies: A prediction based on experience is not a prophecy. An example is the statement by the hobbits that Bilbo's perpetual youth and inexhaustible wealth "will have to be paid for. It isn't natural, and trouble will come from it."
Prophecies that are not predictions: A prophecy which speaks an inspired truth about the present reality is not a prediction. An example is the first half of Bilbo's poem "All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost." Also, Lobelia's statement about Frodo -- that he is not a Baggins, but a Brandybuck, and doesn't belong in Hobbiton -- might also fit in this category (if you consider her "inspired" at that moment).
In everyday language the two words have become largely synonymous, and the distinction will be blurry for many of the prophetic predictions that we uncover in FOTR. But we can use these working definitions to sharpen our conversation here.
Megn1 would like to track Prophecy through TTT. She is responsible to post, however, anyone may comment or add to it. Here are some definitions she posted to the Tracking Prophesy thread of FotR.
From: megn1
Prediction: To make a prediction is to declare in advance what will occur.
Prophecy: A prophecy is an inspired utterance. It may be about future events, or about the present reality. It's source is usually something other than observation, experience, or scientific reasoning. The "inspiration" might be intuition, a dream, a "hunch," or divine revelation.
Some prophecies are predictions, but not all, and not all predictions are prophecies.
Predictions that are prophecies: A prophecy which speaks of the future is a prediction. An example is the dream that Faramir and Boromir have which tells them that if they find Imladris "There shall be counsels taken stronger than Morgul-spells." It's source is inspired, and it tells of something that will happen.
Predictions that are not prophecies: A prediction based on experience is not a prophecy. An example is the statement by the hobbits that Bilbo's perpetual youth and inexhaustible wealth "will have to be paid for. It isn't natural, and trouble will come from it."
Prophecies that are not predictions: A prophecy which speaks an inspired truth about the present reality is not a prediction. An example is the first half of Bilbo's poem "All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost." Also, Lobelia's statement about Frodo -- that he is not a Baggins, but a Brandybuck, and doesn't belong in Hobbiton -- might also fit in this category (if you consider her "inspired" at that moment).
In everyday language the two words have become largely synonymous, and the distinction will be blurry for many of the prophetic predictions that we uncover in FOTR. But we can use these working definitions to sharpen our conversation here.