I promised myself that the least I can do these days is not
to give in to popular opinion any longer.
And this month, doing so would mean riding the tide that is sweeping the
globe on the matter of praise for Nelson Mandela’s accomplishments.
Let me state right off the top that Nelson Mandela was
indeed a great South African statesman.
He suffered and persevered for an honorable goal, and he succeeded where
many would have failed. As a result
immeasurable suffering by millions was prevented and he brought about a hope
for a better life for millions more.
Amazingly, he did all this through his principles of forgiveness and
reconciliation – something that all of us should pursue in ourselves and also respect
and be thankful for it, in others. I give
the man his full due -- respect and credit from those perspectives.
However, I must also ask, as many have actually asked and
done that we take some time to look into Nelson Mandela’s positions that at
least, for Christians, may be a little harder to swallow in a man that would
demand so much of our praise.
To start with I refer to his own position on violence and I
suggest you read Andrew Bolt’s article in the Herald Sun News of Melbourne,
Australia at http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/the-dark-side-of-nelson-mandela/story-fni0ffxg-1226778174719
. Mandela was no Christ, no Gandhi, not
even a Martin Luther King, says Bolt and explains why.
A balanced review entitled The 2 Sides of Nelson Mandela is provided by Dana Evan
Kaplan in the Jewish Daily Forward at http://forward.com/articles/179606/the--sides-of-nelson-mandela/?p=all
.
And of course, there is the issue
of Nelson Mandela’s views and positions on Marxism, abortion, pornography, homosexuality
and legalizing prostitution. WND gives
us more on that at http://www.wnd.com/2013/12/nelson-mandela-was-a-radical-marxist/
.
Now I know that whenever someone famous dies,
there are always those ready to stand up and tell us what awful people they
were. They did it with Mother Teresa,
Princess Diana, and so many others.
Well, the truth is that no one is perfect. In addition, there may be a lot of hearsay in
their claims. And that may be true of the
content of some or all of the links above. (Do use some 'grains of salt' when reading, but be careful not to dismiss it all out of hand.)
The point is few will ever know the whole truth about anyone else, let alone Mandela, and chances are, you and I are not among them. But we do know this: we know that most men
and women don’t suddenly lose their ‘dark side’ when they become leaders.
In the case of Nelson Mandela, we would do well
to celebrate his accomplishments that were for the good of mankind. But let us not idolize him or make him a
saint. For, as the good Book says, “And He (Jesus) said to him, ‘Why are you asking
Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter
into life, keep the commandments.”
[Matthew 19:17] The ‘One’
Jesus referred to was God His Father.
So there you have it. Render unto Mandela the credit that is due
him, but render unto God the things that are His. May the man rest in peace.
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