Thread by @ThyConsigliori

John Minford, #SunTzu 1:17 "Victory belongs to the side that scores most in temple calculations before battle."

"Temple calculations"? What is that? Picture a beautiful cathedral. Picture all the various rooms and tables, etc. And, remember, we go to a cathedral in order to draw closer to God, yes? So, there you are in a spectacular room, as close to God as you're going to get.

But why are you there? Because God, the Will of Heaven, is what gives victory to the victor. I don't care if you're an atheist or a born again evangelical Christian. If you look at history, you'll certainly see that God favors the victor, or at least that all victors claim so.

Let go of your modern mind, here, now. Reach back - do you need a mental time machine? - over the 2,500 years from now back to #SunTzu. The temple was where they went to ascertain the Will of Heaven. More, the temple was the place where God's blessing for victory was won.

Let's take this very seriously, very literally. Do you believe in God? Do you have a church you attend? If so, when you're about to create a serious plan, you're going to want to go to church, pray, and present your plan to God.

What about atheists? No problem! Just turn to laws of the universe, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and such. Does your plan accord with such laws? And yes, you too can go to any church you wish and simply feel the power of the building, honestly.

Truth is, you have to try to feel it. You have to imagine Yahweh believers fighting Baal believers, and 100% certain that the strong God is the one that gives victory. I know how virtually impossible this is for modern minds. Yet, if you wish to hear #SunTzu's voice, you must.

As to proof of my point, I only offer this. Look up Constantine. Check out his life story. Find his relationship to Apollo, and to Christ. Victory on the battlefield is, and there can be no questioning this, a religious outcome. Let your modern ego's guard down. It's real.

Now, how do we interpret the term "score"? Have you ever played the game Battleship? I LOVE that game! Or, how about the game "Risk"? I once discussed the game Risk with @GenFlynn, and, as you might have guessed, he loved it as a boy. Scores. Got it?

Now let's go Eastern. Can you hear the drone of Buddhist monks? #SunTzu predated them by many centuries. But, their drone? I strongly suspect that in 500 BC, they had their own, very similar droning sounds. And incense! They must have had that!

So there you are in the temple, the priests are droning, the sweet scent of incense is in the air, and you're both playing Battleship and presenting the scores of your planning scenarios to whatever dirty you prefer, Mars, or Odin, or whomever.

Now let's let go of religion and turn to psychology. What does it mean to decide? What does it mean to put your all into a plan? Okay, right back to religion, or perhaps philosophy, is your head, heart, and soul completely all in? Have you chosen to risk yourself on the plan?

And note the time frame. BEFORE battle. Do NOT show up on the field of fight without having completed your calculations in the temple. Plan. Plan. Plan. And plan some more. Do you know the Abe Lincoln doctrine of planning? Here's what he said...

If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend four hours sharpening my axe.

Count the math. Four hours sharpening. Two hours chopping.

4/6 = 2/3

Time in the temple should be 2/3 of the time a general spends.

Can you feel how huge a number that really is?

Victory is a decision. It requires planning and calculation. It requires assessment of the situation at hand. But ultimately, it is an act of will. In the temple, it presents will to God. On the field of fight, will shows itself as winning or losing.

What is your choice?