My sister posed the above question on Facebook and I am totally intrigued by this question. I wonder if there truly is one more powerful than another, because after having spent some time thinking about this, I have come to the conclusion that they are interdependent on each other.
I’ll start with water, because it is my element and the one I wanted to be the most powerful. Water seems to be the giver of life, or the beginning of most, if not all, life forms on Earth (e.g., mammals begin life in utero in water). Water can extinguish fire, but fire cannot eliminate water – only change its shape. And water can erode earth, but earth cannot be extinguished by water – it can only change its shape. Water is composed partly of oxygen (air – or for this debate wind), so without wind, water could not exist. So, in the beginning (and there are many examples) it would appear that water is the most powerful, but it cannot get rid of earth and it relies on wind to exist.
So, what about fire? Someone mentioned that it was “the beginning of everything.” Fire is a giver of life – without it everything would be frozen… Fire is also a destroyer of life – get too close and you (and everything else) will become a heaping mess of ash (earth) – earth again is not destroyed, but changes form. But fire cannot exist without earth or air (wind) – its fuel sources.
Earth has been mentioned a few times here, so let’s do that next. (I have a friend who simply said that earth contains all the others. Hmmm…I will have to think on that one a little more…) Earth is quite powerful in that it seemingly cannot be destroyed by water or fire – it can only change shape or form, but still exists as earth. I would presume that earth is responsible for gravity too. So, in effect, earth moves water (the moon on tides for example). Landslides and earthquakes can be quite devastating too (I cannot include volcanoes here, because that is fire). But, even though we have concluded earth cannot be destroyed by water or fire (or even wind), it can be changed to a smaller or weaker form/consistency. Getting a rock thrown at you vs. a handful of sand can make a difference on whether or not you get a bruise for example.
So, what about wind? Wind creates hurricanes and tornadoes, which are pretty devastating disasters when they strike. Wind can change the shape of earth, move water, and blow out fire. Wind can also carry water (rain, humidity). It fuels fire and is a necessary part of water. Wind does not seem to be destroyed by water, earth or fire, but wind (oxygen) can be consumed by fire. Wait! Can it? Wind is composed of many elements (helium, carbon dioxide), so again, it can only change form, but still exists as wind. But, wind is dependent on earth (gravity) and fire (heat) to move.
So, even though I can list many examples as to why one is stronger than another or why one is weaker than another, I think the bottom line in MY opinion, is that none are more powerful, because of the interrelationship these elements share with each other. (I could be wrong, of course…)
KatRubie's Thoughts on Life 
Comments on: "In your OPINION, what is the most powerful element: wind, fire, water or earth?" (4)
interesting post; many points. made… although all the elements are powerful and can be destructive, because of my religious inclination, my OPINION is that fire is most powerful because many Bible verses inform how GOD would use fire to treat all evil deeds
LikeLike
Possibly, but also according to the Bible God used water to destroy the world, with the exception of Noah’s family and the Ark inhabitants. Water is often thought of as a cleansing as well, so the destruction of the Earth was also a cleansing. When Christians think about salvation, water becomes primary: baptism with water and the blood of Christ. The most powerful does not always have to be in the form of death or destruction, but could also be in (re)birth, cleansing, and salvation. So, from your religious viewpoint, is fire more powerful or is water more powerful?
LikeLiked by 1 person
good point, but note that GOD used water to destroy all life, not the world; GOD didn’t destroy the world with water; He destroyed all forms of life except Noah and his family…however, the final destruction of evil will be by fire…on the other hand I agree that the most powerful doesn’t always have to be the most destructive…so that leaves your question hanging in the air for me because the answer would depend on how one interprets the question, and I interpreted it the way I did..what is the most powerful element? the answer would depend on what one thinks the element would be used for…
LikeLike
Ah! Yes! I stand corrected. You are right in saying the world was not destroyed, only its inhabintants.
I am glad I got you thinking about this though. In this world, we want to asign values to everything: what is better/worse, stronger/weaker, good/bad, healthy/unhealthy, and so on. Maybe this valuation of things is not really the right question to be asking. Because if water, wind, earth and fire can all be be used to give life or to take life away, then they all become neutral. Life and death are just as interconnected as each of these elements. To build something new eventually requires something old is razed. If there were only life without death, then would we even have quality of life? Would we not become so overpopulated that we would not have room to move about or may have to resort to a more economical source of food (limiting our choices). How much life could this planet sustain before death was a natural consequence?
So, coming back to your final thought: the power in something would be fully dependent on what it was used for. Creation or Destruction. Do we value creation over destruction? It is tempting to say yes to that question, but we must use careful thought in arriving at that conclusion. Both are necessary. We do not like to admit that death is just as important as life, but in fact it is. When someone, or something, dies, we of course miss that person or thing. We are grieved in knowing we will never get to have a conversation with, or to hug, a person we loved. When a forest burns down, we are grieved in knowing beautiful trees and animal lives were lost. But, when a forest burns, it makes way for new growth and life to emerge. When our loved ones pass away, they make room for new loved ones to be born.
I would further suggest that when we give more value to one thing we in turn must give another thing less value. If we apply this to people, we can quickly see how this serves to prop some people up as more important or valuable than other people. We like to give a lot of value to doctors and lawyers, but then we frown upon car mechanics and the people who pick up our garbage every week. Sure, doctors save lives and keep us healthy, but try going a month without any garbage service and you’ll quickly find the value in these folks carrying our waste away! To put varying degrees of value on people because of religious beliefs, cultural traditions, skin color, etc. has shown us that when we make it okay to devalue a group of people, it becomes easier to devalue another group of people, and so on until you have devalued everyone except a very small elite who get the priviledge of saying they are better than everyone else. But at what cost? And, history has shown time and time again that even the mightiest have fallen from their on high status. It is not sustainable to keep building up some while squashing others.
LikeLiked by 1 person