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Statement of Faith
I can do no better than the 20-point statement by James M. Tour, Ph.D., who is:
- Chao Professor of Chemistry
- Professor of Computer Science
- Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
- Rice University
- Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology
Please read his statement at: http://www.jmtour.com/?page_id=17.
I also encourage all to read the following books:
Some of My Favorite Websites
Wise Decision-Making
One of my interests is the study of what methods the ancient Israelites used to make important decisions. Here is a sampling of the results of my studies:
- Prov 1:5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
- Prov 11:14 Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
- Prov 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.
- Prov 13:10 By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom.
- Prov 13:20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.
- Prov 15:22 Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established.
- Prov 19:20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction, That you may be wise in your latter days.
- Prov 20:18 Plans are established by counsel; By wise counsel wage war.
- Prov 24:5-6 A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.
- Prov 27:9 Ointment and perfume delight the heart, And the sweetness of a man's friend gives delight by hearty counsel.
A great article about making life’s most important decisions appeared in the April 2007 issue of “Spirit”, the Southwest Airlines magazine. Melinda Mahaffey, the assistant managing editor of the magazine, wrote the article, and she ended it with this question: “When the choice comes to you, what are you going to do?” I encourage you to read her article. Unfortunately, I have only incomplete reprints of her article; I offer them to you here: Text-only (longer) |
Magazine copy (shorter)
Consider her opening and closing paragraphs:
Forget about all the Oscars that were lavished on Peter Jackson’s Rings movies—a work’s message can get lost among so much glitter. The trilogy focuses heavily on the unraveling of the plot and epic battle scenes, but deeper than that lies a story about what it takes to be good in an upside-down world — today’s world, as it turns out.
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So at the end, the real question is: If there is no guaranteed reward for doing good, if helping strangers can lead to your own downfall, then why bother? Because in the best of people, there’s a yearning to do what’s right; the unselfish act is its own reward. We are each like Frodo, presented at various times with unasked-for burdens — as the hobbit received the Ring and WWI claimed Tolkien — by the world at large. It may be fate or coincidence that we’ve ended up with such a burden, but there it is. No one said it would be easy. It’s up to us to decide what to do with it, for good or ill.
That’s the message that Tolkien wants to get across. Today, what path are you going to choose? It’s a decision you make not once, but over and over again. Anyone can choose to do their best, any day. If you were cruel or spiteful yesterday, today you can choose differently — you can choose to do better.
When the choice comes to you, what are you going to do?
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