I want to continue for a bit on the theme of prophecy's, and more specifically, those of the self-fulfilling kind. Let's take a step back and actually define what a self-fulfilling prophecy is:
"A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior."
-as defined on Wikipedia
The problem that arises in society is that many people, while understanding the above definition, don't actually see it occurring in their own lives, or realize that they are actually involved in this circle of reasoning. These self fulfilling prophecies have been around for centuries, but the term was a creation of social scientist Robert K. Morton. He published a book called Social Theory and Social Structure in 1949, which introduced the term for the first time.
Despite the term only appearing at such a late time in history, these types of prophecies have been a part of history, religion, and literature for centuries. One of the best known examples is of Oedipus.
Laius, Oedipus' father was warned that his child would one day kill him. Laius abandoned Oedipus as a newborn, but the baby was found and raised by others. Oedipus had no knowledge of his true origins. When he had grown up, Oedipus was also warned that he would one day kill his father and marry his mother. Having grown up in ignorance of who his parents really were, Oedipus believed that his foster parents were his real parents and left home in an effort to avoid such a heinous act. Eventually he reached Greece and the city that his biological parents lived in, met a stranger (his bio dad), got in a fight with this stranger and killed him. After killing his bio-dad, he married the widow, his bio-mom, thus fulfilling the prophecy.
Laius' actions were influenced by another's belief, thus setting the prophecy in motion. Oedipus, like his biological father, also believed someone's words enough to make a decision based solely on that prediction.
Another example is Shakespeare's Macbeth.
The three witch's give Macbeth a prophecy that he will eventually become king, but that the offspring of his friend will rule instead of own. Macbeth tries to make the first half of the prophecy true by killing the king and in an effort to keep the second half of the prophecy from coming true, he also kills his own friend, something he would not have done had he not been given the prophecy. He's later killed by Macduff, who the witches also prophesied was a man that Macbeth needed to be wary of. Macbeth kills Macduff's family first, thinking that this act of violence will keep Macduff at bay. (Who does he think he's kidding?) The three witches told Macbeth that he will be killed by a man not born of a woman. Sounds crazy right? EVERYONE is born of a woman, which is the same conclusion that Macbeth comes to. However, Macduff was "untimely ripped" from his mother's womb, and fulfills this second prophesy by killing Macbeth. If the witches had not told Macbeth to "beware Macduff", Macbeth might not have regarded Macduff as a threat and killed his family, which would mean that Macduff would never have sought revenge and killed Macbeth.
How about some more contemporary examples? Let's talk about Star Wars, which is a subject very dear to my heart. (No joke.)
After discovering that his wife is pregnant, Anakin begins to have visions of Padme dying in childbirth. He becomes obsessed with the possibility of losing her and is overcome by a desire to prevent his visions from becoming reality. Chancellor Palpatine uses Anakin's deep feelings for Padme and his intense desire to save her to his own advantage and manipulates Anakin to join him and use the Dark Side of the Force. Palpatine claims that this is the only way to save Padme, and Anakin is willing to believe it. Palpatine manipulates Anakin's love for Padme into an anger against the Jedi Order, sending him on a killing spree in an effort to eliminate those who would serve the light side of the force. Anakin becomes so consumed by his anger, that he becomes convinced that Padme has betrayed him and eventually lashes out at Padme and injures her. Later, Padme gives birth to Luke and Leia and then dies, thus fulfilling Anakin's vision. Before she dies, Padme tells Anakin that he is breaking her heart. As cheesy as it is, Padme ultimately dies from this "broken heart" (and the injuries sustained by his spousal abuse). Had Anakin not been consumed by his vision of Padme dying, he would not have turned to alternate means to save her, thus avoiding the dark side and all the anger that came with that choice.
The Jedi believed that a child would be born, would become a Jedi, and then bring balance to the Force. Qui-Gon believed that Anakin was that child, and because of his great love for his master, Obi-Wan believed the same thing. Once it becomes clear that Anakin has joined the Dark Side, Yoda and Obi-Wan turn their attention to Anakin's children, Luke and Leia, with the hope that one of them will fulfill the prophecy.
Some people speculate (and I'm talking about real Star Wars fans, not people in the Star Wars universe) that Luke was really the Chosen One. However, in the scene where Emperor Palpatine uses his force lightning against Luke and is clearly winning, Darth Vader makes the choice to save his son's life by ending the Emperor's. This act of selflessness brings Vader back to the light side while destroying the greatest supporter of the Dark Side (at the time), thus (temporarily) bringing balance to the force and fulfilling the prophecy.
How about another example? Take Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series. A prophecy is made that says, in essence, that a person will soon be born from parents who have defied Voldemort multiple times and that this person will have power unknown to Voldemort, who will eventually destroy him. Voldemort had a thirst to be the greatest wizard to ever live and could not abide the possibility of someone being able to use a power that he could not and kill him through it. He marks Harry as the wizard who the prophecy spoke of, based solely on the fact that Harry's parents had defied Voldemort and that Harry would be born at the end of July. By believing that there could be a particular person to be the one that could kill him, Voldemort ultimately creates that very person. Because Voldemort kills Harry's parents, Harry progresses through Hogwarts harboring a great desire for revenge. Dumbledore describes it best:
“But Harry, never forget that what the prophecy says is only significant because Voldemort made it so. I told you this at the end of last year. Voldemort singled you out as the person who would be most dangerous to him –and in doing so, he made you the person who would be most dangerous to him!”
“But it comes to the same— ”
“No, it doesn’t!” said Dumbledore, sounding impatient now. (…) “If Voldemort had never heard of the prophecy, would it have been fulfilled? Would it have meant anything? Of course not! Do you think every prophecy in the Hall of Prophecy has been fulfilled?”
“But,” said Harry, bewildered, “but last year, you said one of us would have to kill the other –”
“Harry, Harry, only because Voldemort made a grave error, and acted on Professor Trelawney’s words [i.e., the prophecy]! If Voldemort had never murdered your father, would he have imparted in you a furious desire for revenge? Of course not! (…) Voldemort himself created his worst enemy… (…) He heard the prophecy and he leapt into action, with the result that he (…) handpicked the man most likely to finish him…” (…)
“But, sir,” said Harry, making valiant efforts not to sound argumentative, “it all comes to the same thing, doesn’t it? I’ve got to try and kill him, or—”
“Got to?” said Dumbledore. “Of course you’ve got to! But not because of the prophecy! Because you, yourself, will never rest until you’ve tried! We both know it! Imagine, please, just for a moment, that you had never heard that prophecy! How would you feel about Voldemort now? Think!” (…)
“I’d want him finished,” said Harry quietly. “And I’d want to do it.”
“Of course you would!” cried Dumbledore. “You see, the prophecy does not mean you have to do anything! (…) In other words, you are free to choose your way, quite free to turn your back on the prophecy! But Voldemort continues to set store by the prophecy. He will continue to hunt you… which makes it certain, really, that –”
“That one of us is going to end up killing the other,” said Harry. “Yes.”
But he understood at last what Dumbledore had been trying to tell him. It was, he thought, the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high. Some people, perhaps, would say that there was little to choose between the two ways, but Dumbledore knew –and so do I, thought Harry, with a rush of fierce pride, and so did my parents –that there was all the difference in the world.
(My emphasis)
The biggest difference between Harry and Voldemort is that one is ruled by the prophecy, while the other, despite what the prophecy declares will happen, would still desire the same outcome had he never known of the prophecy's existence.
You might be asking yourself what the point of these examples are. The point is just to show that throughout human existence, in reality, in myth, in literature, etc., self fulfilling prophecies have existed. The idea of prophets and prophecies is an ancient belief.
So often we base our actions on what other's perceive we are capable of, or what they think should happen, that we inevitably make that belief a reality, thus fueling that image and our own belief that prophecies are real.
Believing in prophecies, in essence, is believing in a more powerful being (a god, if you will), that has declared one person to be more worthy than the rest to receive his direct counsel. God is supposed to be merciful, to be just, to be kind and loving and all knowing. Why would he raise one individual above the rest? This creates inequality. It's like a parent saying that they love one child more than another. It creates disharmony, guilt in one, a sense of superiority in the other. So God favors particular people because he "knows" (being all knowing and all), that that particular individual is better than all the rest, based on rules that make it impossible for an individual to perfect. It all seems so arbitrary.
Also, why are all the prophets in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon men? Does this mean that women are less perfect than men? I know that there is a large population that does actually believe this, but that would also imply that God believes the same thing. Why is God creating beings that can't be perfect, and not only that, why is he creating one to be even less perfect than the other?
Also, why are all the prophets in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon men? Does this mean that women are less perfect than men? I know that there is a large population that does actually believe this, but that would also imply that God believes the same thing. Why is God creating beings that can't be perfect, and not only that, why is he creating one to be even less perfect than the other?
We have been conditioned, through centuries of examples and teachings, that prophecies are a real thing, but we need to see these "prophecies" for what they really are. They are either coincidences or consequences of preconceived notions that WE decide to follow through on, whether we're conscious of the decision or not, we are still deciding what becomes reality.
I said above, while discussing the prophecies in Star Wars, that Obi-Wan believe Anakin to be the Chosen One because his former master believed him to be. I believe that this principle, believing in something because someone close to you does, is one of the biggest reasons why people claim to be religious and why so many are afraid to discard that belief, despite doubts. We come to love and admire people and have great desires to not be a disappointment and to not be the cause of pain to them. We hold desperately to illogical reasoning and look for reasons that do not actually exist that not only justify why we should believe, but why someone else believes. By accepting a rule, an order, a "suggestion", a new principle, etc. at face value, we're eliminating the possibility that these things could be wrong and completely made up to further someone else's own agenda.
Let's not become limbless beings ravaged by fire that require machinery to keep us alive (Darth Vader) because we believe that someone else has the power to tell us what our lives should or will be.
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