The phenomenon of people confessing to be God’s messengers will prove itself through the mission they carry. If the mission only elevates matters that are already high and degrades matters already low, these are not to be appreciated. If they can transcend profanities and find the sacred from daily life, this calls for respect.
“As long as noone considers somebody who claims that he is a prophet to be above his humane limit, this should not be a problem. But it is a problem if somebody has emerged as someone that is deemed as higher beyond reason,” said philosophy lecturer of UGM, Agus Himmawan Utomo, during his doctoral promotion. He presented his dissertation titled the Concept of Prophetic Being Perennialism Perspective of Frithjof Schuon:Relevance with Diversity Lives in Indonesia at Faculty of Philosophy UGM on Friday (12/8).
In his opinion, the prophetic claim will cause a problem among society because the logic of prophetic claim demands everyone to accept, justify, and believe that person. As a matter of fact, between prophets they complement and strengthen each other to carry the message that is essentially the same as it has come from God. “This is the substance of a prophet that is perpetual in nature,” he said.
So, when there is someone confessing to be a prophet in Indonesia that spreads a message inconsistent with those of the previous messengers, said Agus, it is therefore undoubtful and ought to be rejected. “The same is true for religious practices that are taught by the prophets, these have to be in line with the Divine noble value,” he added.
Agus said prophetical state is a form of mission and the character of a deity in the world. The prophetic form or shape is varied, but the substance in principle is the same one. “What is required in each age and community are highly possible to be different in terms of problem and main attention,” he said.
Even so, he added, through rationale, empirical experience and uses as well as every humane standard of truths, we can see the presence of the authentic or fake prophets.