recent image
November 2024 Writer's Contest Winners:...
thinkspot
 December 19 2024 at 02:22 am
more_horiz
post image
Thinkspot is pleased to announce the winners for the ‘Thoughts on the Impact of Global Migration’ writing contest! The winners will be contacted by email to arrange the distribution of their prizes. Thank you everyone who submitted an entry! Congratulations to Demiinferno, neoplatonist2, and Ayaba!First Place Winner VISIONS FOR WESTERN VALUES: A Three Way Dialogue by Demiinferno The essay provides a clear and engaging thesis: democracy is an ongoing dialogue that balances opposing principles such as freedom and responsibility, individuality and community, and rights and duties. This essay frames democracy as a dynamic dialogue balancing freedom with responsibility, rights with duties, and individuality with community. It advocates for a "renewal" of democracy, adaptable to societal changes while preserving its foundational principles, celebrating democracy's ability to balance competing values through continuous dialogue. The central theme of balance is consistently reinforced throughout the essay.Second Place Winner Visions for Western Values: The Balm of Gilead by neoplatonist2 The essay offers a robust and well-structured thesis: humanity’s survival is the ultimate value, supported by secondary values (knowledge, population growth, and care) and safeguarded by tertiary values (Constitution, Word, and Militia). The argument is clear and consistently upheld throughout the essay. This essay offers a deeply thoughtful and creative framework for preserving and advancing Western values, effectively blending philosophical, theological, and political reasoning. Third Place Winner VISIONS FOR WESTERN VALUES: Beyond The Political Divide by Ayaba The essay presents a clear and compelling thesis: that Western democracies must transcend political divides by protecting foundational values such as peaceful power transitions, minority rights, gender equality, and judicial independence. The essay’s focus remains consistent throughout, and each section effectively reinforces the central theme. This essay presents a thoughtful and compelling exploration of democracy’s core values, offering a hopeful and inclusive vision for transcending political divides.November 2024 Contest: Visions for Western Values We have enjoyed hosting this writing competition and appreciated the opportunity to hear your thoughts on this important topic. We received 12 thoughtful entries on our prompt and our team enjoyed judging them. Thank you to all the thinkers who participated in the November Writer’s contest, and we hope everyone will take the time to re-read the winning entries and congratulate the winners. If you want to discover all of the entries, please click on the category "Contest November 2024" at the top of the Discover page. Not only were the submissions beautiful and well thought out, but our community of thinkers chimed in with their thoughts and ideas on many of the provocative entries. As a result, the submitting writers received valuable feedback and encouragement on their efforts. We hope you enjoyed the November writing competition as much as we did! Again, Congratulations to everyone! The entire team at thinkspot is wishing the thinkspot community of thinkers a very happy holiday season, and a safe and prosperous New Year. We plan to be back in January with a new writers contest.
recent image
Visions for Western Values - Universal Values
Celeste
 December 16 2024 at 11:15 pm
more_horiz
We don't need to look far to come up with not only western, but universal values. The best book of values I have found is the Bible. The derivative works of this ancient text cannot be counted. We have access to it as a result of increased literacy, translation, the invention of the printing press and world-wide distribution. Translation of the original Greek and Hebrew into Latin began around 200 A.D. with the resulting Latin Vulgate completed by Jerome approximately two hundred years later. Around the same time the Roman Catholic Church was established under the rule of Constantinople. The Latin Vulgate text remained within the church and was primarily inaccessible to the public. About a thousand years later attempts to translate the text into the language of the people in England and Germany met with severe resistance from the church. New translations were banned and destroyed. One prominent translator, William Tyndale (1494—1536), was burned at the stake. Tyndall declared his intent: “I defy the Pope and all his laws. If God spare my life ere many years, I will cause the boy that drives the plow to know more of the scriptures than you!” According to this source, "Tyndale’s dying prayer was answered. By 1539 every parish in England was required to have a copy of the Bible in English and to make it available to every parishioner. Over the next seventy years, two million copies of the Bible were sold in England. And when the translators of the King James Version produced their Bible in 1611, they relied heavily on Tyndale’s wording. In fact, about 90 percent of the phrasing of the KJV matches Tyndale’s." The Bible was translated into German around the same time by Martin Luther (1483-1586) who is known as the founder of the Protestant movement. The Bible is a book about God's interactions with human beings. In the first story, God created the world, a belief which, in itself, has enormous ramifications. God breathed life into humans who were to have dominion over the earth and be stewards of creation. The God who shaped humans from the dust and communed with them in the Garden of Eden continues to interact with his creation today. Stories in the Bible reveal that persistent violation of God's laws will incur wrath and judgement of God. God delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses, leader of the Israelite nation whom he rescued from slavery in Egypt. The first command was "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." KJV In the Bible it becomes evident that, "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom." Proverbs 4:7 reads, "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." Psalm 110:10 states explicitly, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments.... " Ecclesiastes 12:13 reads, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." The values laid out in the commandments are summed up years later by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of a virgin. In the New Testament writings we read in Matthew 22 that Jesus was asked which is the greatest commandment. He replied, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." From beginning to end, the Scriptures instruct us on how to live. The prophet Micah lays out God's plan for living in Micah 6:8: "He hath shown thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." This is what God values. We are to worship God and humbly follow his decrees. Christ himself taught us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We are to emulate our Maker and "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness." Matthew 6:33

Trending Topics

Recently Active Rooms

Recently Active Thinkers