It was not my intention to say anything about this subject, but with so much hagiography and historical revisionism taking place already, even by Christians, it seems a piece to help bring a bit of balance here might be in order. The impression we are getting from many is this: not only was Nelson Mandela messianic in nature, but he is now in the bosom of heaven.
It seems we have warrant for neither conviction however. I do not claim to be an authority on the man, but whether he was a genuine Christian who repented of his sins and was reconciled to God through Christ is not clear. I hope he was, and those who have proof of this are welcome to bring it forward.
If he were such a great Christian, plenty of Christians suffered under him, as South African missionary Dr Peter Hammond has said. As one article states, “Mandela was deeply involved in terrorist activity and is responsible for promoting wickedness in the land. ‘I wouldn’t generally want to celebrate somebody who made his position in life by blowing people up,’ he stated on a recent broadcast….
“Hammond outlined that Mandela was the head of the military wing of the African National Committee (ANC), which Hammond also referred to as ‘the abortion, necklacing and corruption party.’ He said that 1,000 Africans were killed by necklacing in the country through the ANC, an act where terrorists would ‘put an automobile tire over someone, pour petrol over them [and] set them alight.’
“Hammond also described numerous other acts of violence that he alleges were committed by the ANC under the order or oversight of Mandela. ‘Missionaries and their kids [were] murdered, bayonetted on the fields—whole families killed by landmines planted in the roads,’ he said. The South African missionary stated that Mandela’s wife Winnie also participated in violent acts. ‘Winnie Mandela actually was found guilty in court of the murder of a 12-year-old boy,’ he explained. ‘And it was upheld on appeal. She was sentenced to five years in prison, [but] she hasn’t served a day’.”
I hope that he was in fact a true believer. But it is just not clear it seems. However I wish here to mainly look at some more political and historical issues. The truth is, to say he was a great man is misleading in many respects. Sure, he was charming and gracious, and his moves for national reconciliation were to be applauded.
No one is denying that. But that is not all there is to the man. Simply put, he also was a Marxist and a terrorist who was imprisoned after being found guilty of committing 156 acts of violence and terrorism. Consider some more detail here.
Mandela was imprisoned for involvement in these terrorist attacks. The guerrilla force, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK, or ‘Spear of the Nation’), the terrorist wing of the ANC and South African Communist Party, was founded in 1961 by him and his advisor, the Lithuanian-born communist Joe Slovo, who was secretary general of the South African Communist Party in 1986.
Slovo planned many of the ANC terrorist attacks. In 1962, Mandela was arrested along with 19 others, many of whom were communists, in a police raid on ANC headquarters at a farm in Rivonia, a Johannesburg suburb. In the Rivonia Trial of 1963-1964 the defendants were ‘tried for 221 acts of sabotage designed to overthrow the government and conspiring to aid foreign military units’.
Does anyone remember the Pretoria Church Street bombing? As one write up puts it: “The Church Street attack on May 20, 1983 killed 19 and injured more than 200 people when a car with 40kg of explosives was detonated outside the SAAF headquarters. Two MK cadres, who were in the car at the time, were also killed because the bomb exploded two minutes early.
“A huge pall of smoke rose hundreds of feet into the air as debris and bodies were strewn around the scene of the explosion. It exploded at the height of the city’s rush-hour as hundreds of people were leaving work for the weekend. Glass and metal were catapulted into the air as shop-fronts and windows were blown out. Many passers-by had limbs amputated by the flying debris. Others bled to death.
“In his book Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela wrote that as a leading member of the ANC’s executive committee, he had ‘personally signed off’ in approving these acts of terrorism. This is the horror which Mandela had ‘signed off’ for while he was in prison – convicted for other acts of terrorism after the Rivonia trial. The late SA president PW Botha told Mandela in 1985 that he could be a free man as long as he did just one thing: ‘publicly renounce violence’. Mandela refused.”
And as Lee Jenkins also notes, “Tellingly, not only did Mandela refuse to renounce violence, Amnesty refused to take his case stating ‘[the] movement recorded that it could not give the name of “Prisoner of Conscience” to anyone associated with violence, even though as in “conventional warfare” a degree of restraint may be exercised’.”
He continues, “Despite being synonymous with freedom and democracy, Mandela was never afraid to glad hand the thugs and tyrants of the international arena. General Sani Abacha seized power in Nigeria in a military coup in November 1993. From the start of his presidency, in May 1994, Nelson Mandela refrained from publicly condemning Abacha’s actions. Up until the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in November 1995 the ANC government vigorously opposed the imposition of sanctions against Nigeria…
“Two of the ANC’s biggest donors, in the 1990s, were Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and President Suharto of Indonesia. Not only did Mandela refrain from criticising their lamentable human rights records but he interceded diplomatically on their behalf, and awarded them South Africa’s highest honour. Suharto was awarded a state visit, a 21-gun salute, and The Order of Good Hope (gold class).”
He also lists some of the other attacks ‘signed off’ by Mandela:
-Amanzimtoti Shopping complex KZN, 23 December 1985
-Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court, 17 March 1988
-Durban Pick ‘n Pay shopping complex, 1 September 1986
-Pretoria Sterland movie complex 16 April 1988 – limpet mine killed ANC terrorist M O Maponya instead
-Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court, 20 May 1987
-Roodepoort Standard Bank 3 June, 1988
Surprisingly both Christians and conservatives have been getting involved in the hagiographies and the rewriting of history – even at this early stage after his passing. But as Peter Hammond reminds us, there is no reason to canonise the man, since Mandela was hardly a conservative or Christian icon: “There’s a lot of Christians out there who idolize Nelson Mandela because they’ve been given false, misleading and incomplete information,” he said. “He has pushed for the legalization of abortion, pornography [and] homosexual relationships. … [He was] trying to legalize prostitution. He’s a radical liberal.”
While we again can praise his moves for reconciliation and his willingness to forgive and not remain embittered, as I say, we have far too many other areas that we must also assess, both in the man and in his fruit. David Horowitz offers a somewhat balanced account by way of summary:
“Mandela began as a terrorist and never turned his back on monsters like Arafat and Castro, whom he considered brothers in arms. When he was released from prison by deKlerk, he showed unexpected statesmanship, counseling reconciliation rather than revenge, no small achievement in a country in which the ‘liberation’ movement (led by Mandela’s wife and party) placed oil filled inner tubes around the necks of former comrades and set them on fire.
“But if a leader should be judged by his works, the country Mandela left behind is an indictment of his political career, not an achievement worthy of praise – let alone the unhinged adoration he is currently receiving across the political spectrum. South Africa today is the murder capital of the world, a nation where a woman is raped every 30 seconds, often by AIDs carriers who go unpunished, and where whites are anything but the citizens of a democratic country, which honors the principles of equality and freedom. Liberated South Africa is one of those epic messes the left created and promptly forgot about.”
Much more can be said about the man and his legacy. And as I said, it was not my intention to even weigh into all this – at least not so early, but when I saw the flood of hero-worship, iconography, hagiography, and historical revisionism, I felt moved to at least offer a few inconvenient truths to help set the record straight.
Mandela was a great man in some respects, but he was also an evil man in some respects. Whether he died a genuine Christian or not seems a moot point. But given how our secular left MSM and elites have a tendency to worship and turn into messiahs people like this, it is vital that a few more facts are thrown into the overall assessment.
And BTW, please do not denounce me and what I have written by foolishly claiming I am somehow just an apartheid proponent. Jenkins answered this best this way: “The apartheid regime was a crime against humanity; as illogical as it was cruel. It is tempting, therefore, to simplify the subject by declaring that all who opposed it were wholly and unswervingly good. It’s important to remember, however, that Mandela has been the first to hold his hands up to his shortcomings and mistakes. In books and speeches, he goes to great length to admit his errors. The real tragedy is that too many in the West can’t bring themselves to see what the great man himself has said all along; that he’s just as flawed as the rest of us, and should not be put on a pedestal.”
And that basically is all I have been trying to do here.
Finally, I strongly urge all of you to watch these two very important videos which only total 11 minutes all up:
Well done, Bill. I was wondering if you’d say anything.
I’ve also been irritated that none of the adoring media have mentioned the violence and murder committed under Mandela’s watch. It’s fine to laud his achievements in the reconciliation movement, but there’s no doubt that South Africa is a far more dangerous and murderous country today than it ever was during the apartheid era.
Antonia Feitz
Nelson Mandela first married in 1944. He and his wife Evelyn had 2 children and divorced in 1957.
A year later, he married Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Their marriage survived his 27 years in prison, but ended in divorce in 1996.
Shortly after his release from prison, Mandela met Graca Machel, the widow of former Mozambican president, Samora Machel. The couple decided to tie the knot on Nelson Mandela’s 80th birthday. Their marriage was announced at his birthday celebration, which was attended by 2,000 international guests.
The Word of God:
“And this is the second thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and crying; so He does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant. But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks Godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth”.
“For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with VIOLENCE,” says the Lord of hosts. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.” (Malachi Ch. 2: 13-16 – please see full context in Malachi)
“But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’, so then they are no longer two but one flesh. “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” (Mark Ch. 10: 6-12 – please see full context in Mark’s Gospel)
Shalom and the Father’s love,
Ron and Barbara Pirie.
Great, informative article, Bill. You can pretty much say that if the world loves a person as much as they love Mandela, that person can’t have been a sold out follower of Jesus. Because sold out followers of Jesus will never be loved by this world. I do think the evils of Apartheid set the stage for bloodthirsty killers like the ANC however. If the West had brought real Christianity with them when they colonized Africa, the world may have been a far different place today and so much pain and bloodshed could have been avoided. Real Christianity would never have tolerated a system like Apartheid but would have revolutionized and brought the Christian worldview to the continent, which, in turn would have taught equality, compassion and one new man where there is no black or white. Nelson Mandela may have been just another face in the crowd.
Dee Graf
Yes Dee it is a good rule of thumb that if the secular left MSM and our elites gush over someone in this fashion, we may need to be a bit suspicious.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
G’day Bill,
It is worth noting that when the ABC has no less than 14 articles and photos of Nelson Mandela on it’s website, that it is likely that something is Not Quite Right. I’m not a betting man but I doubt that the ABC won’t present the facts as you have, Bill. Thanks.
Andrew Campbell
I have got a golden rule and up till now it has not let me down – “When the World gets excited about something or somebody – be suspicious… very suspicious”.
Malcom Witney
I agree with Malcom!
There is always an esoteric agenda. The occupy movement for example was always planned to be hijacked by the far left.
Luke McKee
What I really hate is when the marxist’s present such a far left view of things, that we have to then counterbalance with some real world facts and then get branded extreme right wing. If only the real story could be presented without the propaganda then the conversation could be more balanced and productive rather than divisive, but then… that’s the intent isn’t it. We could recognise some of the good decisions he made whilst understanding the violence that marked his earlier life, gaining inspiration from a change of heart and direction. Perhaps the hero worship might inspire others to greater good but there is certainly lots of legacy to overcome. Where to now for SA can only be observed over time to come. They have a lot to overcome!
Nathan Ellery
Hi Bill,
I had the misfortune of having my regular Friday Mass today presided over by a highly placed cleric.
His homily concerned Mandela. It was very concerning as it ignored much of the troubling historical truth about Mandela’s violent history and his personal values.
At one stage the congregation were even told that Mandela should be made a saint of the Church!
Evidently the values advocated by Mandela in respect to apartheid give him a free pass to sainthood not withstanding his views on abortion, gay marriage, state theft, political murder, terrorism,etc. etc.)
It is more evidence that, for most Christians, leftist values almost always trump traditional Christian values.
Paul Connelly
Thank you for this article, Bill. It’s about time SOMEBODY stopped singing his praises! I’m glad YOU are among the (few) voices of reason when it comes to telling the REAL story of Nelson Mandela!
Pamela Bartlett
This article was not only excellent in its even-handed treatment, but it provided me with reinforcement; that I wasn’t imagining things in my memory about his terrorism.
It opened many eyes as I shared it with friends who regarded him as an iconic hero.
Joe Ruisi
Thanks Bill for a great article. I too had wondered about all the adulation being given to him. I couldn’t help compare Nelson Mandela’s passing to the time (a few years ago now) when David Wilkerson died. Hardly a word about it.
Alison Stanley
Bill,
Thanks for setting the record straight as the FAIR blog (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) has also done by calling out CNN and the NYT for glossing over Mandela’s past. I’m not sure, however, that is is fair to criticize him for not agreeing to Botha’s offer of freedom in exchange for allowing apartheid to continue unabated.
Fairness requires pointing out that grievous acts were committed by all sides. Ronald Reagan vetoed sanctions against Botha’s white supremacist government, the South African government killed thousands of blacks and other ‘lesser’ people in the name of racial segregation, and violence was widespread all around. In the effort to point out Mandela’s flaws it is only accurate to point out what he was fighting against. That is not to justify violence or his actions, only to understand them.
Our own nation was born of a violent uprising against an oppressive government and many of our patriotic heroes engaged in what would today be called acts of terrorism. The modern state of Israel, which most of us Christians support, was born as a result of terrorist acts by former leaders such as Ariel Sharon. We should demand full accounting for all immoral and ungodly acts.
Thanks again for bringing up what others have glossed over.
Rob Mellen
I understand what you are saying Bill and in many respects I agree with you. Something worth mentioning also is that many of the missionaries in SA at that time either condoned or did nothing to support the blatant racism and violence towards black South Africans. This of course in no way condones the violence that was sanctioned by Mandela. I think the point though is that this is a complex part of our history and we need to face the reality of what happened in our history not gloss over it.
Katrina Yassi
Thanks guys. Well, my first piece on Mandela stirred up a hornet’s nest, and the hate is already pouring in big time. So I might as well stick my neck out again and receive even more blows. That is because truth really does matter, and the hagiography needs to be balanced out:
Time might prove Shakespeare correct: “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones”.
With the Media as it is, I would not bet on it.
Arthur Hartwig
Thanks Bill, I was deceived but I love the truth and want to learn that! Thank you so much for daring to put this out there.
Liz Gee
This was probably one of the most offensive, one-sided and illiterate articles I had the displeasure of having shared on my time line. The only thing that you say that actually makes sense is a quote from someone else.
Nice ‘Christian’ view and opinion.
Did you bother checking why the ANC had been labelled as ‘radical’ and ‘terrorists’ ? Probably not, just as you probably won’t allow this comment to be put it to allow it to look like everyone just agrees with the nonsense you spout. Try coming to South Africa before you use a thinly veiled excuse of not being a rascist bigot to cover up the fact that it’s exactly what you are.
Pity I’m less a person than Madiba. He would at least have brushed off your insult.
Alicia
Thanks Alicia. But given that you have broken every one of my commenting rules, of course your comment deserves to go straight into the bin. But object lessons are important, so I have let you through. I state perfectly clearly that I require a full name here, and those coming as trolls to rant and rave and not deal with the discussion politely and in an intelligent manner are simply not welcome.
I write an article crammed full of facts, data, truths and evidence, and you don’t deal with one iota of it. In fact you offer not one argument, not one bit of evidence – nothing. Instead, in true fashion as your side so often does, you come here attacking me. Your comment is only about name-calling, mud-slinging and ad hominem attack. That speaks volumes about how your side operates.
But better to let folks like you offer up real live examples of this than for me to seek to persuade people this is how you guys usually operate.
And BTW, I have plenty of black friends, so they would all be laughing now at your claim that I am just a “rascist [sic] bigot”.
Oh, and I have noticed that most of the folks praising Mandela are non-South Africans, while so many of the folks criticising him are South Africans. Hmm…
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
An important correction. I had no idea about his terrorist stuff – before my time, and the liberal press is never going to mentoin that. Equally troubling were the issues around his recent promotion of a left wing liberal Christianity.
A mixed man – well worth noting his passing – but the glorification by everybody is a little to much.
Andrew Stagg
Biae dankie, Bill!
As a resident of South Africa during the Communist backed terriorism in South Africa, Angola and Mozambique, I can well understand how someone like Mandela can authorize violent terrorism, then after rising to power, transform into sainthood – like a chameleon changing from asphalt grey to bright green. It has happened before. Jomo Kenyatta, the beloved leader of Kenya, was a terrorist leader of Mau Mau – a terrorist organisation which was responsible for the slaughter of white farmers and African non-sympathisizers .
Interesting that Mandela re-married the wife of the Frelimo terrorist leader, Samora Machel. As they say, birds of a feather flock together.
As usual, the ABC have sterilized the history and only voiced glowing remarks about Nelson Mandela and his life of achievements. Sadly, only those who understand the workings of Marxist-Leninism can really discern the moral from the immoral.
Michael Treacy
Many thanks for that Michael.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
It was my intention to mark the passing of significant person in world history, not to lionize him or make a saint of him. Christianity is religion of love and forgiveness, and it seems to me, that, for all his sins, he paid 27 years of his life away, and came out of it a more gracious and forgiving man. Certainly, some of the words attributed to him hold infinite wisdom. I do not trust the Western Press or Media, who make no secret out of their communist leanings and their adherence to marxist/leninist cant, therefore, I do not trust what they are saying now. As I said in my subsequent post – I have my own feelings about the subject of Nelson Mandela’s legacy to his country and the world. I have to ask, with regard to Mandela being cast aside by Christians, what Jesus will do when Mandela is cast before Him, for Judgement? I could NEVER hold on to my Christian Faith, if I thought for a moment that Jesus would turn His back on the man, and withhold forgiveness and redemption.
Kenya Lowther
Thanks Kenya. But did you actually read this post? And my follow-up post to it? I address your concerns in my articles. That he became a bit more gracious and admitted to mistakes later in life means little – most people do as they grow older. We are talking about publicly acknowledging and repenting of many acts of crime, violence and terror where many innocent men, women and children were killed – all by his express orders. And he continued to hang around with his terrorist buddies from around the globe like Arafat and Castro and Qaddafi, calling them all heroes and freedom fighters, etc, after his release from prison.
As to his standing with God, of course only God knows. Your talk about forgiveness etc has nothing really to do with these posts. Of course God forgives when people repent, acknowledge their sin, and turn from it. We don’t know if he ever did this however. So I don’t really know what you are talking about when you speak of ‘turning their backs on him’ and ‘withholding redemption’ etc. His choices have been made and it is of course too late to change any of that now. God is always gracious and willing to forgive, but there are of course biblical conditions for this.
But these spiritual considerations have nothing to do with the main point of these articles: which was to stop the deifying and worshipping of a terrorist and Marxist, who later as leader pushed every lousy anti-Christian agenda, from homosexuality to abortion to prostitution to pornography, and helped turn the nation into a worse place than it once was. The articles are simply attempting to bring some truth to bear on the topic, since the MSM sure is not going to do that.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I don’t know that Madiba ever repented of his violent terrorism… He was offered an opportunity in 1985 by the then president of South Africa to renounce violence and terrorism at which point he’d be freed from prison, but Madiba refused… And at no time has he publicly repented of his bloodthirsty past, nor the extreme culture of violence that his ANC has left in post-Apartheid South Africa.
Joel van der Horst
Thanks Bill for these enlightening articles about the real Nelson Mandela. Some of my Christian friends have written comments on FB praising the man as if he was a true saint.
I always look forward to reading your posts, and truly believe you would not write anything that is not thoroughly researched – as in these current posts about Mandela. Like so many, I have tended to gain my perception of him from the MSM, and have tended to believing he was a truly great man worthy of the adulation he has received. After reading your posts, and those of Rev Peter Hammond on his own website, I realise my respect for Mandela may need to be tempered by the truth. You are a brave man, Bill! Thanks for your boldness, at great cost to you personally. Be encouraged.
Interesting the article Peter Hammond wrote about Martin Luther King, also. Like Mandela, perhaps he also has been whitewashed to appear more than he deserved, in life and death. God Bless.
Peter Harvey
Finally, honest reporting. This excess of pseudo adoration needs balance. You correctly point out that South Africa is the crime capital of the world. Women cannot drive with their bags next to them, cars are hijacked with babies in them, women are raped, corruption is high and reverse racism is in place. I abhor racism of any type but having had a father stabbed and been violently attacked twice, I too was part of the brain drain. It has taken over 10 years to stop living in fear and being constantly on alert. I met and worked with Mandela-he has many attributes, but as with all of us, flaws too. Ordering killings and murders in the name of whatever cause is unacceptable. Violence is reprehensible.
Saskia Constantinou
After listening to the YouTube clips by Peter Hammond, it appears that his graciousness was more a tool for his own ends than grace in the true sense.
Thank you Bill, I had no idea and am so glad you have soundly knocked him off the pedestal in my estimation.
I pray that God answered Peter Hammond’s prayer for him, that He would not let him alone until he bowed the knee to Jesus, maybe that is why he was granted such a long life. I wonder if there is something in the saying “only the good die young”, because they may be the ones made fit for heaven earlier because they were more determined to submit to Jesus than those of us more stubborn. I have to count myself into the last category.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Thanks Bill,
I decline to watch as much as possible the Mandela tributes.
I well recall the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne saying of Winnie Mandela when she visited Victoria that she radiated the ‘Glory of Christ’ and the terse response when I suggested he was mistaken… what he saw was ‘a reflection of her necklace victims burning’. Mandela was a terrorist believing ‘the end justifies the means’. Is that any different to many of the political representatives today?
May Mandela rest in peace but many of his victims and their families will not. God Bless your courage Bill.
Louis Cook
Shame on you Bill – this is not the time for that! People are grieving and as God’s ambassadors we are called to love NOT judge! Who are we to say who is a Christian and who isn’t!
Diyanne
Thanks Diyanne. There is of course no shame on me whatsoever. There is however much on you. First of all, comments like this usually go straight into the rubbish. Why is it that you folks are unable to read and follow simple instructions? My commenting rules clearly state that I require a full name here.
But since plenty of other angry critics have made similar empty accusations, let me briefly speak to your emotive rant. There is no shame whatsoever in telling the truth. Indeed, Christians are commanded to speak the truth. And if you had actually taken the time to read my article instead of running with an emotional knee-jerk reaction, you would have seen that I was not even intending on writing about this. But since the whole world was already writing and speaking about this, I had as much right as anyone else to share a few thoughts. This may come as a surprise to you, but I actually do not need your permission to write on my own website.
And your biblical understanding seems limited to bumper sticker clichés. Of course we are to judge. We are commanded to judge time and time again in Scripture. Biblical love is always a discerning, judging love, judging between right and wrong, good and evil, and so on. You can learn about what the Bible says on this here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2008/10/08/thou-shalt-judge/
And again, since you did not read my article, you missed what I said several times. No one but God knows what the condition of his soul is. I nowhere said that he either was or was not a Christian. But I realise emotional reactions are always much easier to spew out then considered, well-thought through commentary, dealing with the evidence and the arguments.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Bill, I don’t deify any human being or any earthly object. All I originally wrote was that he had died, and that I hoped he would rest in peace. I took the lead from another of my FB Friends, Bernie Finn. I was aware of his sordid reputation prior to his imprisonment, and I stopped reading his autobiography when he started praising Robert Mugabe and his criminal, genocidal regime. I later went back and finished the book, but I never regarded him in the same way that I did before I read it. Many members of the church congregation to which I used to belong were very left-wing in their leanings, putting their ‘social justice’ politics before Jesus Christ, and, what is worse, attributing their opinions to Him. They in fact used often to mention the political situation in Africa and Mandela in their general prayers.
Why didn’t all of this information about his shortcomings make the press? Why is it only with his death, that people have brought what they know about the real man out into the open? As I stated, I am not fooled by the leftist agenda of the mainstream media – he was not a particular hero of mine, and is not a hero to me now, but some of the wisdom which is claimed to be his, has impressed me from time to time -which is why I mentioned redemption and forgiveness in association with his name. Like Mark Antony, in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, I merely came to bury Mandela, not to praise him, literally.
I did read both of your articles – I read all of your articles which come to my attention and find that they guide my spiritual development in so many positive ways. I would never unfriend you, and regard it as a real blessing that you remain my FB Friend. I have often accepted rebuke on a personal level from what you have written, even though it was intended for a much wider audience. I hope that you now realise that I had not intended any hagiography of the man, nor that I had just fallen into error by believing the extravagant eulogizing of the man by MSM.
I just hope that they don’t try and do the same thing to Mugabe, when he eventually dies, although that might seriously dent the credibility of the MSM. I hope this clears the air between us and creates a better understanding of my very innnocently meant intentions.
Your sister in Christ
Kenya Lowther
Thanks Kenya. But sadly you are unnecessarily confusing things here. This is CultureWatch. I reply here to comments on CW of course, and not to discussions taking place elsewhere. No one would have a clue what you or anyone else said elsewhere, whether on FB or other sites. Having discussions going across multiple sites is just plain confusing and unhelpful. So stick to this site please, or make your new comments where you originally made them elsewhere. OK? Aside from that, there is no air to clear. As I said far too often now, this post was simply to give some facts that the MSM are not sharing with us.
As to the MSM silence, do you really need an answer? I and others of course have been reporting on this for decades, but the MSM refuses to cover it. Since his death, millions of media outlets and others have been pouring out their idol worship and deification, so I obviously felt the need to respond. Comprendo?
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Thanks again guys. Everyone needs to watch and share this very important 7 minute video:
Well written Bill. My memories of Nelson Mandela (when I was growing up during the SA apartheid period) was as a terrorist, not to mention his monstrous and murderous wife!
I’m amazed at how the ignorant jump on the accolade band-wagon concerning Mandela, especially ill-informed Christians.
Jason Hamilton
Hi, so are you saying that the cross of Christ isn’t powerful enough to change and use a man such as Mandela?
Kay Tom, UK
Thanks Kay
But please tell us all where I said that? Putting words in someone’s mouth and then knocking down the straw man is neither how one debates properly, nor how one exemplifies biblical Christianity. Of course God can save and transform anyone. Whoever said otherwise? But that of course is not the point at all here.
Saul was also a terrorist and murderer. But he would be the first one to admit it, and he came to Christ, repented of his gross evil, and turned his life around for Jesus, publically proclaiming him the rest of his life. We have no evidence at all that this was the case with Mandela. As I said plenty of times already, God knows his heart – we don’t. But we can also looks at a person’s fruit, as Jesus clearly told us.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
What I understood Bill to be saying, Kay, was that the cross of Christ is powerful enough to change and use a man such as Mandela, but Mandela didn’t allow the cross of Christ to change and use him. Mandela’s political philosophy on gaining the Presidency was the complete anti-thesis of biblical ethics and morality. In this case, the cross of Our Saviour wasn’t the problem, the mendacity of that unrepentant reprobate, Mandela, was the problem.
Joel van der Horst
Thanks Joel. I have had others throw that line at me: ‘Well, maybe he was not perfect, but God could still use him’. That also is beside the point. Of course God can use anyone he likes. He used the barbaric Assyrians and Babylonians for example. That does not mean they were somehow let off the hook for their great evil. Indeed, God can even use Satan for his own purposes, as so clearly evidenced at Calvary. But that says nothing good about Satan – only God.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Well done Bill,
thanks for putting that into writing… I’ve felt that the way the MSM has been portraying Mandela as a “saint” is about as valid as doing the same to Ned Kelly- both were violent criminals, and just because one of hem became president and had a good PR machine helping him, does not a saint make.
The truth is what matters. To wipe away the historical facts just to make any man look good is no more than trying to preach people into heaven. Like you shared. If anyone knows with credibility that Mandela repented and gave his heart to Jesus, by all means, come forward. Otherwise, as the Scriptures says, “No murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
Fred Rochester
Breaking news from the twilight zone – you couldn’t make this up…
Thanks, most enlightening! I had no idea.
Jo Deller
Well done, Bill. I was wondering if you’d say anything.
I’ve also been irritated that none of the adoring media have mentioned the violence and murder committed under Mandela’s watch. It’s fine to laud his achievements in the reconciliation movement, but there’s no doubt that South Africa is a far more dangerous and murderous country today than it ever was during the apartheid era.
Antonia Feitz
Nelson Mandela first married in 1944. He and his wife Evelyn had 2 children and divorced in 1957.
A year later, he married Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Their marriage survived his 27 years in prison, but ended in divorce in 1996.
Shortly after his release from prison, Mandela met Graca Machel, the widow of former Mozambican president, Samora Machel. The couple decided to tie the knot on Nelson Mandela’s 80th birthday. Their marriage was announced at his birthday celebration, which was attended by 2,000 international guests.
The Word of God:
“And this is the second thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and crying; so He does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant. But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks Godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth”.
“For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with VIOLENCE,” says the Lord of hosts. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.” (Malachi Ch. 2: 13-16 – please see full context in Malachi)
“But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’, so then they are no longer two but one flesh. “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” (Mark Ch. 10: 6-12 – please see full context in Mark’s Gospel)
Shalom and the Father’s love,
Ron and Barbara Pirie.
Great, informative article, Bill. You can pretty much say that if the world loves a person as much as they love Mandela, that person can’t have been a sold out follower of Jesus. Because sold out followers of Jesus will never be loved by this world. I do think the evils of Apartheid set the stage for bloodthirsty killers like the ANC however. If the West had brought real Christianity with them when they colonized Africa, the world may have been a far different place today and so much pain and bloodshed could have been avoided. Real Christianity would never have tolerated a system like Apartheid but would have revolutionized and brought the Christian worldview to the continent, which, in turn would have taught equality, compassion and one new man where there is no black or white. Nelson Mandela may have been just another face in the crowd.
Dee Graf
Yes Dee it is a good rule of thumb that if the secular left MSM and our elites gush over someone in this fashion, we may need to be a bit suspicious.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
G’day Bill,
It is worth noting that when the ABC has no less than 14 articles and photos of Nelson Mandela on it’s website, that it is likely that something is Not Quite Right. I’m not a betting man but I doubt that the ABC won’t present the facts as you have, Bill. Thanks.
Andrew Campbell
I have got a golden rule and up till now it has not let me down – “When the World gets excited about something or somebody – be suspicious… very suspicious”.
Malcom Witney
I agree with Malcom!
There is always an esoteric agenda. The occupy movement for example was always planned to be hijacked by the far left.
Luke McKee
What I really hate is when the marxist’s present such a far left view of things, that we have to then counterbalance with some real world facts and then get branded extreme right wing. If only the real story could be presented without the propaganda then the conversation could be more balanced and productive rather than divisive, but then… that’s the intent isn’t it. We could recognise some of the good decisions he made whilst understanding the violence that marked his earlier life, gaining inspiration from a change of heart and direction. Perhaps the hero worship might inspire others to greater good but there is certainly lots of legacy to overcome. Where to now for SA can only be observed over time to come. They have a lot to overcome!
Nathan Ellery
Hi Bill,
I had the misfortune of having my regular Friday Mass today presided over by a highly placed cleric.
His homily concerned Mandela. It was very concerning as it ignored much of the troubling historical truth about Mandela’s violent history and his personal values.
At one stage the congregation were even told that Mandela should be made a saint of the Church!
Evidently the values advocated by Mandela in respect to apartheid give him a free pass to sainthood not withstanding his views on abortion, gay marriage, state theft, political murder, terrorism,etc. etc.)
It is more evidence that, for most Christians, leftist values almost always trump traditional Christian values.
Paul Connelly
Thank you for this article, Bill. It’s about time SOMEBODY stopped singing his praises! I’m glad YOU are among the (few) voices of reason when it comes to telling the REAL story of Nelson Mandela!
Pamela Bartlett
This article was not only excellent in its even-handed treatment, but it provided me with reinforcement; that I wasn’t imagining things in my memory about his terrorism.
It opened many eyes as I shared it with friends who regarded him as an iconic hero.
Joe Ruisi
Thanks Bill for a great article. I too had wondered about all the adulation being given to him. I couldn’t help compare Nelson Mandela’s passing to the time (a few years ago now) when David Wilkerson died. Hardly a word about it.
Alison Stanley
Bill,
Thanks for setting the record straight as the FAIR blog (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) has also done by calling out CNN and the NYT for glossing over Mandela’s past. I’m not sure, however, that is is fair to criticize him for not agreeing to Botha’s offer of freedom in exchange for allowing apartheid to continue unabated.
Fairness requires pointing out that grievous acts were committed by all sides. Ronald Reagan vetoed sanctions against Botha’s white supremacist government, the South African government killed thousands of blacks and other ‘lesser’ people in the name of racial segregation, and violence was widespread all around. In the effort to point out Mandela’s flaws it is only accurate to point out what he was fighting against. That is not to justify violence or his actions, only to understand them.
Our own nation was born of a violent uprising against an oppressive government and many of our patriotic heroes engaged in what would today be called acts of terrorism. The modern state of Israel, which most of us Christians support, was born as a result of terrorist acts by former leaders such as Ariel Sharon. We should demand full accounting for all immoral and ungodly acts.
Thanks again for bringing up what others have glossed over.
Rob Mellen
I understand what you are saying Bill and in many respects I agree with you. Something worth mentioning also is that many of the missionaries in SA at that time either condoned or did nothing to support the blatant racism and violence towards black South Africans. This of course in no way condones the violence that was sanctioned by Mandela. I think the point though is that this is a complex part of our history and we need to face the reality of what happened in our history not gloss over it.
Katrina Yassi
Thanks guys. Well, my first piece on Mandela stirred up a hornet’s nest, and the hate is already pouring in big time. So I might as well stick my neck out again and receive even more blows. That is because truth really does matter, and the hagiography needs to be balanced out:
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2013/12/07/nelson-mandela-more-inconvenient-truths/
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Time might prove Shakespeare correct: “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones”.
With the Media as it is, I would not bet on it.
Arthur Hartwig
Thanks Bill, I was deceived but I love the truth and want to learn that! Thank you so much for daring to put this out there.
Liz Gee
This was probably one of the most offensive, one-sided and illiterate articles I had the displeasure of having shared on my time line. The only thing that you say that actually makes sense is a quote from someone else.
Nice ‘Christian’ view and opinion.
Did you bother checking why the ANC had been labelled as ‘radical’ and ‘terrorists’ ? Probably not, just as you probably won’t allow this comment to be put it to allow it to look like everyone just agrees with the nonsense you spout. Try coming to South Africa before you use a thinly veiled excuse of not being a rascist bigot to cover up the fact that it’s exactly what you are.
Pity I’m less a person than Madiba. He would at least have brushed off your insult.
Alicia
Thanks Alicia. But given that you have broken every one of my commenting rules, of course your comment deserves to go straight into the bin. But object lessons are important, so I have let you through. I state perfectly clearly that I require a full name here, and those coming as trolls to rant and rave and not deal with the discussion politely and in an intelligent manner are simply not welcome.
I write an article crammed full of facts, data, truths and evidence, and you don’t deal with one iota of it. In fact you offer not one argument, not one bit of evidence – nothing. Instead, in true fashion as your side so often does, you come here attacking me. Your comment is only about name-calling, mud-slinging and ad hominem attack. That speaks volumes about how your side operates.
But better to let folks like you offer up real live examples of this than for me to seek to persuade people this is how you guys usually operate.
And BTW, I have plenty of black friends, so they would all be laughing now at your claim that I am just a “rascist [sic] bigot”.
Oh, and I have noticed that most of the folks praising Mandela are non-South Africans, while so many of the folks criticising him are South Africans. Hmm…
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
An important correction. I had no idea about his terrorist stuff – before my time, and the liberal press is never going to mentoin that. Equally troubling were the issues around his recent promotion of a left wing liberal Christianity.
A mixed man – well worth noting his passing – but the glorification by everybody is a little to much.
Andrew Stagg
Biae dankie, Bill!
As a resident of South Africa during the Communist backed terriorism in South Africa, Angola and Mozambique, I can well understand how someone like Mandela can authorize violent terrorism, then after rising to power, transform into sainthood – like a chameleon changing from asphalt grey to bright green. It has happened before. Jomo Kenyatta, the beloved leader of Kenya, was a terrorist leader of Mau Mau – a terrorist organisation which was responsible for the slaughter of white farmers and African non-sympathisizers .
Interesting that Mandela re-married the wife of the Frelimo terrorist leader, Samora Machel. As they say, birds of a feather flock together.
As usual, the ABC have sterilized the history and only voiced glowing remarks about Nelson Mandela and his life of achievements. Sadly, only those who understand the workings of Marxist-Leninism can really discern the moral from the immoral.
Michael Treacy
Many thanks for that Michael.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
It was my intention to mark the passing of significant person in world history, not to lionize him or make a saint of him. Christianity is religion of love and forgiveness, and it seems to me, that, for all his sins, he paid 27 years of his life away, and came out of it a more gracious and forgiving man. Certainly, some of the words attributed to him hold infinite wisdom. I do not trust the Western Press or Media, who make no secret out of their communist leanings and their adherence to marxist/leninist cant, therefore, I do not trust what they are saying now. As I said in my subsequent post – I have my own feelings about the subject of Nelson Mandela’s legacy to his country and the world. I have to ask, with regard to Mandela being cast aside by Christians, what Jesus will do when Mandela is cast before Him, for Judgement? I could NEVER hold on to my Christian Faith, if I thought for a moment that Jesus would turn His back on the man, and withhold forgiveness and redemption.
Kenya Lowther
Thanks Kenya. But did you actually read this post? And my follow-up post to it? I address your concerns in my articles. That he became a bit more gracious and admitted to mistakes later in life means little – most people do as they grow older. We are talking about publicly acknowledging and repenting of many acts of crime, violence and terror where many innocent men, women and children were killed – all by his express orders. And he continued to hang around with his terrorist buddies from around the globe like Arafat and Castro and Qaddafi, calling them all heroes and freedom fighters, etc, after his release from prison.
As to his standing with God, of course only God knows. Your talk about forgiveness etc has nothing really to do with these posts. Of course God forgives when people repent, acknowledge their sin, and turn from it. We don’t know if he ever did this however. So I don’t really know what you are talking about when you speak of ‘turning their backs on him’ and ‘withholding redemption’ etc. His choices have been made and it is of course too late to change any of that now. God is always gracious and willing to forgive, but there are of course biblical conditions for this.
But these spiritual considerations have nothing to do with the main point of these articles: which was to stop the deifying and worshipping of a terrorist and Marxist, who later as leader pushed every lousy anti-Christian agenda, from homosexuality to abortion to prostitution to pornography, and helped turn the nation into a worse place than it once was. The articles are simply attempting to bring some truth to bear on the topic, since the MSM sure is not going to do that.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I don’t know that Madiba ever repented of his violent terrorism… He was offered an opportunity in 1985 by the then president of South Africa to renounce violence and terrorism at which point he’d be freed from prison, but Madiba refused… And at no time has he publicly repented of his bloodthirsty past, nor the extreme culture of violence that his ANC has left in post-Apartheid South Africa.
Joel van der Horst
Thanks Bill for these enlightening articles about the real Nelson Mandela. Some of my Christian friends have written comments on FB praising the man as if he was a true saint.
I always look forward to reading your posts, and truly believe you would not write anything that is not thoroughly researched – as in these current posts about Mandela. Like so many, I have tended to gain my perception of him from the MSM, and have tended to believing he was a truly great man worthy of the adulation he has received. After reading your posts, and those of Rev Peter Hammond on his own website, I realise my respect for Mandela may need to be tempered by the truth. You are a brave man, Bill! Thanks for your boldness, at great cost to you personally. Be encouraged.
Interesting the article Peter Hammond wrote about Martin Luther King, also. Like Mandela, perhaps he also has been whitewashed to appear more than he deserved, in life and death. God Bless.
Peter Harvey
Finally, honest reporting. This excess of pseudo adoration needs balance. You correctly point out that South Africa is the crime capital of the world. Women cannot drive with their bags next to them, cars are hijacked with babies in them, women are raped, corruption is high and reverse racism is in place. I abhor racism of any type but having had a father stabbed and been violently attacked twice, I too was part of the brain drain. It has taken over 10 years to stop living in fear and being constantly on alert. I met and worked with Mandela-he has many attributes, but as with all of us, flaws too. Ordering killings and murders in the name of whatever cause is unacceptable. Violence is reprehensible.
Saskia Constantinou
After listening to the YouTube clips by Peter Hammond, it appears that his graciousness was more a tool for his own ends than grace in the true sense.
Thank you Bill, I had no idea and am so glad you have soundly knocked him off the pedestal in my estimation.
I pray that God answered Peter Hammond’s prayer for him, that He would not let him alone until he bowed the knee to Jesus, maybe that is why he was granted such a long life. I wonder if there is something in the saying “only the good die young”, because they may be the ones made fit for heaven earlier because they were more determined to submit to Jesus than those of us more stubborn. I have to count myself into the last category.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Thanks Bill,
I decline to watch as much as possible the Mandela tributes.
I well recall the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne saying of Winnie Mandela when she visited Victoria that she radiated the ‘Glory of Christ’ and the terse response when I suggested he was mistaken… what he saw was ‘a reflection of her necklace victims burning’. Mandela was a terrorist believing ‘the end justifies the means’. Is that any different to many of the political representatives today?
May Mandela rest in peace but many of his victims and their families will not. God Bless your courage Bill.
Louis Cook
Shame on you Bill – this is not the time for that! People are grieving and as God’s ambassadors we are called to love NOT judge! Who are we to say who is a Christian and who isn’t!
Diyanne
Thanks Diyanne. There is of course no shame on me whatsoever. There is however much on you. First of all, comments like this usually go straight into the rubbish. Why is it that you folks are unable to read and follow simple instructions? My commenting rules clearly state that I require a full name here.
But since plenty of other angry critics have made similar empty accusations, let me briefly speak to your emotive rant. There is no shame whatsoever in telling the truth. Indeed, Christians are commanded to speak the truth. And if you had actually taken the time to read my article instead of running with an emotional knee-jerk reaction, you would have seen that I was not even intending on writing about this. But since the whole world was already writing and speaking about this, I had as much right as anyone else to share a few thoughts. This may come as a surprise to you, but I actually do not need your permission to write on my own website.
And your biblical understanding seems limited to bumper sticker clichés. Of course we are to judge. We are commanded to judge time and time again in Scripture. Biblical love is always a discerning, judging love, judging between right and wrong, good and evil, and so on. You can learn about what the Bible says on this here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2008/10/08/thou-shalt-judge/
And again, since you did not read my article, you missed what I said several times. No one but God knows what the condition of his soul is. I nowhere said that he either was or was not a Christian. But I realise emotional reactions are always much easier to spew out then considered, well-thought through commentary, dealing with the evidence and the arguments.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Bill, I don’t deify any human being or any earthly object. All I originally wrote was that he had died, and that I hoped he would rest in peace. I took the lead from another of my FB Friends, Bernie Finn. I was aware of his sordid reputation prior to his imprisonment, and I stopped reading his autobiography when he started praising Robert Mugabe and his criminal, genocidal regime. I later went back and finished the book, but I never regarded him in the same way that I did before I read it. Many members of the church congregation to which I used to belong were very left-wing in their leanings, putting their ‘social justice’ politics before Jesus Christ, and, what is worse, attributing their opinions to Him. They in fact used often to mention the political situation in Africa and Mandela in their general prayers.
Why didn’t all of this information about his shortcomings make the press? Why is it only with his death, that people have brought what they know about the real man out into the open? As I stated, I am not fooled by the leftist agenda of the mainstream media – he was not a particular hero of mine, and is not a hero to me now, but some of the wisdom which is claimed to be his, has impressed me from time to time -which is why I mentioned redemption and forgiveness in association with his name. Like Mark Antony, in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, I merely came to bury Mandela, not to praise him, literally.
I did read both of your articles – I read all of your articles which come to my attention and find that they guide my spiritual development in so many positive ways. I would never unfriend you, and regard it as a real blessing that you remain my FB Friend. I have often accepted rebuke on a personal level from what you have written, even though it was intended for a much wider audience. I hope that you now realise that I had not intended any hagiography of the man, nor that I had just fallen into error by believing the extravagant eulogizing of the man by MSM.
I just hope that they don’t try and do the same thing to Mugabe, when he eventually dies, although that might seriously dent the credibility of the MSM. I hope this clears the air between us and creates a better understanding of my very innnocently meant intentions.
Your sister in Christ
Kenya Lowther
Thanks Kenya. But sadly you are unnecessarily confusing things here. This is CultureWatch. I reply here to comments on CW of course, and not to discussions taking place elsewhere. No one would have a clue what you or anyone else said elsewhere, whether on FB or other sites. Having discussions going across multiple sites is just plain confusing and unhelpful. So stick to this site please, or make your new comments where you originally made them elsewhere. OK? Aside from that, there is no air to clear. As I said far too often now, this post was simply to give some facts that the MSM are not sharing with us.
As to the MSM silence, do you really need an answer? I and others of course have been reporting on this for decades, but the MSM refuses to cover it. Since his death, millions of media outlets and others have been pouring out their idol worship and deification, so I obviously felt the need to respond. Comprendo?
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Thanks again guys. Everyone needs to watch and share this very important 7 minute video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PDX3-Qkx6Y
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Well written Bill. My memories of Nelson Mandela (when I was growing up during the SA apartheid period) was as a terrorist, not to mention his monstrous and murderous wife!
I’m amazed at how the ignorant jump on the accolade band-wagon concerning Mandela, especially ill-informed Christians.
Jason Hamilton
Hi, so are you saying that the cross of Christ isn’t powerful enough to change and use a man such as Mandela?
Kay Tom, UK
Thanks Kay
But please tell us all where I said that? Putting words in someone’s mouth and then knocking down the straw man is neither how one debates properly, nor how one exemplifies biblical Christianity. Of course God can save and transform anyone. Whoever said otherwise? But that of course is not the point at all here.
Saul was also a terrorist and murderer. But he would be the first one to admit it, and he came to Christ, repented of his gross evil, and turned his life around for Jesus, publically proclaiming him the rest of his life. We have no evidence at all that this was the case with Mandela. As I said plenty of times already, God knows his heart – we don’t. But we can also looks at a person’s fruit, as Jesus clearly told us.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
What I understood Bill to be saying, Kay, was that the cross of Christ is powerful enough to change and use a man such as Mandela, but Mandela didn’t allow the cross of Christ to change and use him. Mandela’s political philosophy on gaining the Presidency was the complete anti-thesis of biblical ethics and morality. In this case, the cross of Our Saviour wasn’t the problem, the mendacity of that unrepentant reprobate, Mandela, was the problem.
Joel van der Horst
Thanks Joel. I have had others throw that line at me: ‘Well, maybe he was not perfect, but God could still use him’. That also is beside the point. Of course God can use anyone he likes. He used the barbaric Assyrians and Babylonians for example. That does not mean they were somehow let off the hook for their great evil. Indeed, God can even use Satan for his own purposes, as so clearly evidenced at Calvary. But that says nothing good about Satan – only God.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Well done Bill,
thanks for putting that into writing… I’ve felt that the way the MSM has been portraying Mandela as a “saint” is about as valid as doing the same to Ned Kelly- both were violent criminals, and just because one of hem became president and had a good PR machine helping him, does not a saint make.
Andrew Munden
Now a parenting columnist is going to use Mandela as her children’s role model…
http://blogs.kidspot.com.au/villagevoices/what-im-going-to-tell-my-kids-about-nelson-mandela/?id=newsletter?id=newsletter
Jo Deller
Thanks Jo – yes a great role model: married three times; pro-abortion; pro-homosexuality; a convicted terrorist; a life-long Communist.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
I commented on the post, hope they publish it!
Jo Deller
Well done Jo.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Is Mandela heading for sainthood by the left?
http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/uk-sandwich-shop-owner-arrested-for-mandela-joke/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=uk-sandwich-shop-owner-arrested-for-mandela-joke
Keith Lewis
The truth is what matters. To wipe away the historical facts just to make any man look good is no more than trying to preach people into heaven. Like you shared. If anyone knows with credibility that Mandela repented and gave his heart to Jesus, by all means, come forward. Otherwise, as the Scriptures says, “No murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
Fred Rochester
Breaking news from the twilight zone – you couldn’t make this up…
http://www.smh.com.au/world/mandela-event-interpreter-was-sick-but-still-a-champion-of-sign-language-20131212-hv5h3.html
Jason Porter