The perspective of history can be sobering, even humbling. Not
so recently, two men from the same faith tradition but different
perspectives joined in a debate about whether and how a man whom
they both acknowledged as a prophet could have seen what he said
he saw and be who he claimed to be. As it unfolded, their
discussion touched upon many aspects of what it means to have
faith in such a person and in his revelations. The role of
reason in relation to revelation, the relevance of history to
faith, and the connection of language to perception were all
explored. The power of poetry and other idioms of popular
culture in establishing the credibility of one's chosen
narrative were on display. Their debate was not an isolated
event; it was just one of many in an ongoing phenomenon of
cultural and spiritual contestation and negotiation. And
although the two men in this case lived eleven hundred years
ago, that same process of debate that they engaged in is still
under way in our own times and is very much a part