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“The problem with Nelson Mandela”, a guy I’d only just met told me conversationally as we ate boerewors and drank beer, “Is that he’s been elevated to the status of a god. Yes, he was a great man, but he wasn’t perfect. He had faults.”
Yes, Mandela was human, and his humanity should never be taken from him, but I don’t really have a problem with the fact that he’s become “a god”.
I don’t mean Mandela resembles the concept of God that we find in the monotheistic religions. The Pagan religions, on the other hand, have a very different type of deity.
Take Aphrodite. Aphrodite is not considered omnipotent. Aphrodite represents and governs love, and when a person wishes to bring love into his or her life for whatever reason, she will be appealed to, meditated upon and thought about, as she is the face that goes with the concept that is “love”.
Even though Aphrodite herself isn’t real in the sense that she’s not sitting on top of Mount Olympus, the concept of her is. Love is real, and putting a face on that love can make it easier to grasp and relate to.
Catholics have a similar practice of giving us a figurehead to represent qualities we may want to cultivate in ourselves and our lives. In the Catholic religion, they’re not called “gods”, they’re called Saints.
Mandela has been elevated in our minds to a godlike, Saint-like status, and why not? He represents more than the man he was: he represents equality, freedom, anti-racism, a love for all people and humanism. Yes, he was a man, but he was also an icon, a hero and a legend.
What’s more, Mandela is far more relatable and appropriate to modern culture than some of the Pagan gods and Catholic Saints. Give me Mandela over Mars the god of war or Saint George the dragon slayer any day.
While the man grew old and passed on, his legacy remains. He can still inspire us, teach us and guide us, because he has left enough of a mark on this world to be able to have that much effect on people. He has given us so much, and he deserves our gratitude, honour, and respect.
Generally speaking, I think we could have worse idols. (The name Justin Bieber springs to mind.) If anyone deserves to be raised to a godlike status these days, it’s Nelson Mandela. I see no problem here.
Yes, Mandela was human, and his humanity should never be taken from him, but I don’t really have a problem with the fact that he’s become “a god”.
I don’t mean Mandela resembles the concept of God that we find in the monotheistic religions. The Pagan religions, on the other hand, have a very different type of deity.
Take Aphrodite. Aphrodite is not considered omnipotent. Aphrodite represents and governs love, and when a person wishes to bring love into his or her life for whatever reason, she will be appealed to, meditated upon and thought about, as she is the face that goes with the concept that is “love”.
Even though Aphrodite herself isn’t real in the sense that she’s not sitting on top of Mount Olympus, the concept of her is. Love is real, and putting a face on that love can make it easier to grasp and relate to.
Catholics have a similar practice of giving us a figurehead to represent qualities we may want to cultivate in ourselves and our lives. In the Catholic religion, they’re not called “gods”, they’re called Saints.
Mandela has been elevated in our minds to a godlike, Saint-like status, and why not? He represents more than the man he was: he represents equality, freedom, anti-racism, a love for all people and humanism. Yes, he was a man, but he was also an icon, a hero and a legend.
What’s more, Mandela is far more relatable and appropriate to modern culture than some of the Pagan gods and Catholic Saints. Give me Mandela over Mars the god of war or Saint George the dragon slayer any day.
While the man grew old and passed on, his legacy remains. He can still inspire us, teach us and guide us, because he has left enough of a mark on this world to be able to have that much effect on people. He has given us so much, and he deserves our gratitude, honour, and respect.
Generally speaking, I think we could have worse idols. (The name Justin Bieber springs to mind.) If anyone deserves to be raised to a godlike status these days, it’s Nelson Mandela. I see no problem here.
