PARADIGM

definition: par•a•digm (pār'ə-dīm', -dĭm')

3. A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.


The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/paradigm

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this blog is four-fold:
(1)
to recognize that every person functions within a basic paradigm, which affects how all information is processed;
(2) to understand the paradigms of others;
(3) to discuss, in particular, paradigms which are related to science, religion, and philosophy.

(4) to reveal the paradigm shifts in my own life, a process that has completely changed the direction and purpose of my existence.

The purpose of this blog is NOT to convince anyone that their paradigms or beliefs are correct or incorrect. I am hoping for an honest dialog, but the discussions must remain respectful of others, even if there is profound disagreement. If any comments are not respectful, they will be removed.
(Revised 1/13/09)

Sunday, January 18, 2009

As Inauguration Day Approaches, Thoughts About War and God

"...In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present ... war it is quite possible that God's purpose is something different from the purpose of either party -- and yet the ...[people involved], working just as they do, are ... best ...[suited] to effect His purpose. I am almost ready to say that ... God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet. By his mere great power, on the minds of the now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the ...[enemy] without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And, having begun, He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds."

Hmmmm..... The man who wrote this is someone who Barack Obama admires very much. The "people" and "the enemy" have been changed, in order to show how the author's words are timeless. Do you know who the author is?

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~SEE THE 1st COMMENT FOR ANSWER ~
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2 comments:

LucyS said...

ANSWER:

Abraham Lincoln
"Meditations on the Divine Will", September, 1862
http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/meditat.htm

Unknown said...

So, what say you?