ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces some relatively well-known aspects of such change in terms of prophets, their charismatic attributes, and the sects they sometimes instigate. It also presents one innovative sketch of early Christian sectarianism that revisits the theme of reciprocity and identity. Weber categorised two main prophetic types: ethical and exemplary. Ethical prophets appear in many of the Hebrew Bible's leading figures, as well as in Islam's Muhammad, and Persia's Zoroaster. The ‘demand for reassurance' echoes the human drive for meaning at both emotional and intellectual levels. It is typical of how worldviews in general sustain human identity but is especially applicable in sects as a social microcosm. The chapter shows something of the variety of influence of people and groups upon the emergence of worldviews. The emotional dynamics of charisma centred on prophets and more distributed in sects may often fail with time, but some prosper.
