“Why, anybody can have a brain. That's a very mediocre commodity. Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on the Earth or slinks through slimy seas has a brain. Back where I come from, we have universities, seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers. And when they come out, they think deep thoughts and with no more brains than you have. But they have one thing you haven't got: a diploma.”

--The Wizard of Oz to the Scarecrow


"I know I chatter on far too much...but if you only knew how many things I want to say and don't. Give me SOME credit." --Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables, PBS, 1985

Monday, August 23, 2010

A Quiz For You...

Who penned each of the following, and under what circumstances?  What is your reaction to each statement without knowing the authors and the situations? What are the similarities and differences of the statements out of context, but knowing the context and the authors, is your reaction to each statement the same?

Statement 1
“Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.”

Statement 2
“From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.”

5 comments:

  1. Both statements ostensibly seek the same end though they are addressed to different audiences and seek to attain the end by different means.

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  2. Are you deliberately not helping the audience by not answering the quiz questions in their entirety? :-)

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  3. I was disappointed to read on wikipedia that the origin of the second phrase is The New Testament.
    So much for wikipedia.

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  4. I've been thinking about Wikipedia, and there may be a shred of truth to that. Remember when Jesus was in the wilderness, Satan twisted the words of Psalm 91 to his own ends.

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