Mar 8, 2016

Teamwork

Came across this advice.  From a systems perspective it makes sense.  The most team is not the one where everyone tries to be the best, but the one where everyone works well together.  The surest way to destroy a team is to rank the members.

team work (1)

To make the best team, make sure everyone is trying to be the best for the team, not the best on the team.

Except, people’s competitive nature will show up:

A: “I’m the best for the team!”

B: No, you’re not. I am!”

Mar 7, 2016

Two Corinthians and Trump

Some online commentators are sniggering at Trump for reading “2 Corinthians 3:17” as “Two Corinthians three seventeen”, instead of the more formal and conventional way of saying it as “Second Corinthians three seventeen”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EIgHsGZAmk

Krauthammer says of Trump: “ …thereby betraying a risible lack of familiarity with biblical language and usage.

Except that “2 Corinthians”, whether you read it as “Two” or “Second” is not biblical language. Not one person in the Bible refers to this book by the name it’s now known. The title “2 Corinthians” was given outside of the Bible; we probably don’t even know who first coined it and when. 

It’s genuinely easy for people to refer to it as “Two Corinthians” because it is written as “2 Corinthians” rather than “2nd Corinthians”  But it’s such a minor gaffe, I don’t even think it merits criticism. Certainly it’s not ‘wrong’. (Although it’s very clear from the video Trump was not at all, or no longer is, familiar with reading scripture)

I bet many people refer to those books that have numbers in front of their names as “Two Chronicles”, or “Two Kings”, especially in informal settings.  I know I do, even though I am familiar enough and interested enough to have learned to read Koine Greek at some point.

Feb 27, 2016

Two Lions (Humour)

Two aging, hungry lions spot a zebra.  One of them starts putting on his Nikes.  The other asked, “What are you doing?  Even with running shoes on, you can’t outrun that zebra!”  The other replied, “I don’t have to outrun the zebra, I just have to outrun you!”