Year: 1990
Type: article
Abstract: The problem of discerning true from false prophecy arises in the Old and New Testaments, for example in the warning of Moses (Deut.18,21-22) and Jeremiah and in the admonition to « test the spirits, to see if they come from God» in the first letter of John (1 John 4, 1).The perennial problem for those in the Judeo-Christian tradition claiming divine inspiration as their source for prophecy was to prove that they were not victims of self-deceit or an evil power.A new challenge to the discernment of true from false inspiration arose with the outpouring of prophetic messages by lay persons in the Dauphine and Languedoc in 1688.In October 1685 the Revocation of guarantees extended by the Edict of Nantes to members of the Reformed Church in France put its formal seal on a process of deterioration of these rights.The most devastating blow intended by the Edict of Revocation was the expUlsion of all Protestant ministers from France.It was assumed that the faithful, deprived of their pastoral care and spiritual support, would succumb to conversion, a road thousands under exasperating pressure had previously chosen.The expectations of the Crown, however, were disappointed and instead of mass conversion a mass exodus of over 200 000 Huguenots occurred, despite the decree of 1699 that forbade Protestants to leave the country.Among those, approximately 150000, who chose to remain and defY Catholicization, a willingness was nurtured to suffer and bear martyrdom for their cause I. Accustomed to worship in their homes, they continued in secret the familiar forms of service.In Languedoc and Dauphine lay preachers, the Predicants, arose to meet the pastoral needs of the Huguenots.They assembled in remote and wild
Source: Revue de Synthèse
DOI: 10.1007/bf03181056
Author: Walter Grossmann
Language: French
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2075839905