Atheists!!! Why do you ignore all the millions of fulfilled prophecies

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Eric

Active member
as witnessed by history and archaeology? There is no way around this one.
The prophets predicted the downfall of entire cities and civilizations...sure, it was a war-torn region, anyway, but I don't care! Hit me with your best shot, unbelievers!
 
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evirustheslaye

New member
because there are more ways to explain the fulfillment of a prophecy than simply through divine knowledge...

the simplest ways without resorting to supernatural claims are:

1 high probability prediction (where either the even is likely to happen any way, or the time frame is left vague enough that it will happen eventually) (like certain weather events, or the destruction of a land mark)

2 vague prediction, where what is being predicted is made in such vague terms that a number of things can be considered a hit (look at the Nostradamus prophecies for example)

3 history confused for prophecy, where the person claiming that something is a prophecy doesn't realize that what is actually written is a historical account rather than a PREdiction of something that has yet to happen

4 self-fulfilling prophecy, if you holy book says that you will eventually found a nation for your people, that's quite a big motivator wouldn't you say?
 
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AlooflyGoofy

New member
1. Find some historical figure who made some vague statements about things.
2. Claim that they were accurately predicting future events.
3. ?????????????
4. Prophet!
 
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mackey

Member
Please give me a list of just 500,000 of those prophecies. Otherwise, you leave me no choice but to conclude that you are delusional, a liar, or a bad Poe.
 
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Atticus

New member
why is it that we can only begin to fully understand these prophecies when we think that they've happened. it's like astrology and fortune cookies
 
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MelissaS

Member
Sources, please? I can't respond without some examples

Responses:
"The prophets predicted the downfall of entire cities and civilizations...sure, it was a war-torn region, anyway, but I don't care! Hit me with your best shot, unbelievers!"
Who predicted it? When? Which cities? Still not impressed.... Anyone can predict downfall of cities and civilizations and have a damn good chance of being right eventually.... that's human nature, wars happen, things change....

Here... I'll predict right now that a mighty ruler will fall.....

Look at me, I'm a prophet!!!
 
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harpertara

Member
Site your Credible historic and archeological sources and maybe we will talk. Oh, and you shouldn't just assume it's atheists who don't believe your claims. I am not atheist, but I see the bible as I do any other culture's myths...they have their uses and they tell their history in a special way, but they are Not the end all and be all of The Truth.
 
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Witch

New member
I ignore them now because I have looked into them in the past and found them unconvincing

Here is a previous answer to a similar question that I find quite good (the original answerer was Dreamstuff Entity)

There are several mundane ways in which a prediction of the future can be fulfilled:
Retrodiction. The "prophecy" can be written or modified after the events fulfilling it have already occurred.
Vagueness. The prophecy can be worded in such a way that people can interpret any outcome as a fulfillment. Nostradomus's prophecies are all of this type. Vagueness works particularly well when people are religiously motivated to believe the prophecies.
Inevitability. The prophecy can predict something that is almost sure to happen, such as the collapse of a city. Since nothing lasts forever, the city is sure to fall someday. If it has not, it can be said that according to prophecy, it will.
Denial. One can claim that the fulfilling events occurred even if they have not. Or, more commonly, one can forget that the prophecy was ever made.
Self-fulfillment. A person can act deliberately to satisfy a known prophecy.

There are no prophecies in the Bible that cannot easily fit into one or more of those categories.

In biblical times, prophecies were not simply predictions. They were warnings of what could or would happen if things did not change. They were meant to influence people's behavior. If the people heeded the prophecy, the events would not come to pass; Jonah 3 gives an example. A fulfilled prophecy was a failed prophecy, because it meant people did not heed the warning.

The Bible also contains failed prophecies, in the sense that things God said would happen did not (Skeptic's Annotated Bible n.d.). For example:
Joshua said that God would, without fail, drive out the Jebusites and Canaanites, among others (Josh. 3:9-10). But those tribes were not driven out (Josh. 15:63, 17:12-13).
Ezekiel said Egypt would be made an uninhabited wasteland for forty years (29:10-14), and Nebuchadrezzar would plunder it (29:19-20). Neither happened.
 
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