Power

Power is the ability or authority to take effective action or exercise control. Thus in a deliberative body such as Congress, the faction able to assemble a majority bloc of votes is the faction in power. Putting three aircraft carriers into the North Arabian Sea is an example of the projection of military power.

In physics, power is the rate of work done per unit time. Power can be expressed in Watts

In electricity, power is the product of voltage and current. This is also expressed in Watts.

In mathematics, a power of a number is the result of exponentiation - multiplying a number by itself a specified number of times.

In human society, power is often seen as "bad", i.e., a source of corruption:

• Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely

Yet God has all power and is mostly seen as the perfect source of everything good. He restrains Himself from any exercise of that power that would not benefit His children.

In Postmodernism, "power relations" eliminate objective knowledge and the autonomous self, leaving behind only a subjective truth that is infinitely changeable.

Because human beings having power have generally abused it, with a typical leader being a tyrant who manipulates others for his own benefit, some thinkers have despaired of any proper use of power. Indeed, the Founding Fathers sought to limit and regulate power, while recognizing that our Creator endowed us with certain inalienable rights.

If we think about God's purpose of creation, we can readily determine when and how to use power.