Founders of Religion

[Nathan G]

I have a theory that the founders of religions tend to be Artists, not Prophets, making the name a bit of a misnomer.
We're used to the 20th century when the Baby Boomers (Prophets) made an enormous impact on society at a comparatively young age. However, in the past philosophy and theology had always been controlled by the elderly, not the young. What would normally happen is that a great generational divide would ensue during an awakening (between Prophets and Civics), and the Artists would capitalize on this to organize and propagate a new philosophy. The Prophets would then grow up and attempt to enforce these ideals in their elderly years, but by this time there is a crisis and the last thing people need to hear is a divisive philosophy. That's why there were so many martyrdoms before the modern day; they were all Prophets attempting to proselytize their idealism during a crisis.
(Remember an Artist is defined as being a child during a crisis, and a Prophet is defined as being born after a crisis)

Greek philosophy was developed by the seven sages of Greece, who were mostly children when the tyrants fell, and therefore they were Artists. They're students included the Prophet Pythagoras, who went on to become the first official philosopher. He was eventually killed by an angry mob during the Persian Wars. Pre-Socratic philosophy was developed by people like Hereclitus, who was a child during the Persian Wars, and was therefore an Artist. This was adopted by the Prophet Socrates, who preached his ideals later in life. He was arrested and executed during the Peloponnesian War. Jesus was a child during the terrors of Herod's reign (according to Matthew 2), and there he was an Artist. His young Apostles were mostly Prophets, and thus they were all martyred during the Jewish-Roman War. The next great persecution of the Church occurred under Trajan, during the Parthian War crisis. Muhammad was a child during the pre-Islamic pagan wars, and therefore he was an Artist. Many of his followers were Prophets, such as Uthman and Ali, and thus many of them were "martyred" during the Muslim Civil War. Even Moses was a child during the overthrow of the Hykos (as implied in the Book of Exodus).

This pattern even extends into the 20th century. When the Civil Rights movement began in the 1950s, it was mostly lead by the Silent (Artist) generation in their younger years. When the 1960s came, these Artists like MLK became the central figures guiding the Baby Boomer awakening. Perhaps Jesus' ministry in the 30s AD can be considered parallel to the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s, with the formation of the Christian Church in 54 AD corresponding to the Civil Rights act of 1964.

I have yet to apply this theory to many other religion founder, but most of them live in obscure cultures yet to be traced by generational dynamics.

Food for thought,
Nathan.