O, My God- The police

I always thought of this tune as an ardent prayer... particularly in my days of really seeking God and thirsting for answers. Now that I have worked out many of the answers I always desired- I find that the thirst for God is still there- and I still pray for the space between us to be filled.

I dedicate this one to my friend David.

Lyrics:

Everyone I know is lonely
And God is so far away,
And my heart belongs to no one,
So now sometimes I pray
Please take the space between us
And fill it up some way.
Take the space between us
And fill it up some way.

Oh my God you take the biscuit
Treating me this way
Expecting me to treat you well
No matter what you say.
How can I turn the other cheek
It's black and bruised and torn
I've been waiting
Since the day that I was born.


Take the space between us
And fill it up some way.
Take the space between us
And fill it up some way.

The fat man in his garden
The thin man at his gate
My God you must be sleeping
Wake up, it's much too late.

Take the space between us
And fill it up some way.
Take the space between us
And fill it up some way.

Do I have to tell the story
Of a thousand rainy days?
Since we first met,
It's a big enough umbrella
But it's always me that ends up getting wet.

William Orbit - Gringatcho Demento

Sun Tzu; The Art of War, Chapter 4 "Tactical Advantages; Defense & Offense"

Thermopylae is a good example for Sun Tzu's chapter on tactical advantages, both offensive and defensive.

One's defeat is his own to give.

But, one's victory is his opponent's to give.

The Creator has granted each individual the power of self defeat (our free will), but not the power of self elevation (glorification). These are essentially the same terms for us as they were for Jesus.

This is a brief quote about Leonidas and the Battle of Thermopylae from another blogger. It appears to be accurate from the sources that I checked. Also, I watched the History Channel special, which was a run-up to the theatrical release of a Hollywood movie named "300", from early 2007. The quote is hyperlinked if you want to read the full post.

The Persians continued via a land march to the Pass of
Thermopylae, where they were faced by 300 Spartans and 8700 Greek soldiers from
allied cities. These were an advance force representing the Greek cities,
because troops from the other cities were occupied and could not assemble in
time. Xerxes demanded the surrender of the Greek force, proclaiming that
the Persian arrows would fill the sky. The king of the Spartans replied
"Good, then we'll fight in the shade."

The Sun Tzu chapter on tactical disposition, which is under consideration in my latest styled presentation, really addresses how 300 Spartans could effectively hold 1.7 million Persians for three days.

Leonidas' force, of about 1300 strong, killed 20,000 of Xerxes' Persian warriors.

Leonidas was prepared in mind and deed, for the epic battle. Leonidas was defeated only by Leonidas' own forces, whom he had sent to guard a little known pass called the "path of Anopaea".

Consider this inscription from the banner for the Greek 15th Infantry Brigade, with the words of Leonidas inscribed upon it. "This number is good enough" These are the words of Leonidas, when he was asked how he could hope to defeat the vast Persian forces.

Yet, Leonidas had one caveat "...the entire Greece does not have so many soldiers [as Xerxes Persian force], but depending on how we fight this number is enough."

The caveat defeated him.

I wonder about the power that God has granted humans. I believe that Sun Tzu has accurately given the boundaries for our failure or success.

Mr. Tzu makes a good case for an objective standard of who will be victorious and who will go down to defeat.

Nevertheless, Leonidas eventually won the war over Xerxes, even if he fell at Thermopylae, because Greece would not allow themselves to be conquered and the King from the east, left the islands with much less Persian blood and much less Persian treasure.

Sun Tzu The Art of War Chapter 3; War by Stratagem

This requires some analysis. War by stratagem is seen in many biblical battles, e.g. Gideon's 300 fighting men with only torches and shofars.



Also, the David and Goliath story meets the criteria for War By Stratagem. The opposing army's general had a very wise stratagem. If he had succeeded, the battle would've been over without a fight.

However, Israel's general baulked this plan, & trumping the Philistine general with a "wild card", i.e. an adolescent boy with a wrist rocket.

How far is too far in life's spiritual war?
When does cunning become deceit?
Where is the line? And, should we look for such a distinction?

Sun Tzu The Art of War Chapter 2

Theme: Count the cost of war.

Also, Mr. Tzu gives important advice on protecting the resources of the state, the people & augmenting your strengths with the resources of your opponent's.

All of this is given in the context of; 'How one is to effectively wage his war.'

The question of, whether or not war should be waged has already been answered, in Sun Tzu's philosophy.


Again, I beleive that Sun Tzu's world sees Life and War as distinct, yet coeval.

Ergo, war is ever present to all who exist.
Humans are not given a choice of war, we only have free-will of how to pursue our battles in the war and conduct our affairs in war.

Please note that I am giving my opinions & interpretation of Sun Tzu's philosophy. If you disagree please comment to these posts.

There is a great deal of information in this chapter, which puts Bush & Rumsfeld's war making skill in question. Obviously, most who read this blog already believe the current administration to be unskilled in matters of state.