Statues

Americans are getting really stirred up about statues. They are pulling down statues of people they no longer like.

I do not like any statutes, particularly those of politicians. They are usually made at the peak of their influence, so they are designed to make the politician look good. A statue cannot tell us what the person was like in real life. They cover up their flaws, foibles and mistakes.

If people want politicians to be remembered, they should record their history. That way the good and the bad can be recorded.

The problem with a statue is that two generations after it was made, people have forgotten the politician. They just attach their own myths to it. These often have nothing to do with who the politician really was. The myths connected to statues from the past are frequently used to support one side in current disputes.

The big issue that is not discussed in the United States is the second commandment.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them (Deut 5:8-9).

God does not want his people making carved images of people. He does not want us worshipping them.

I would say that if people are willing to fight over a carved statue of a politician or military leader, someone has slipped into worshipping it. Honouring statues of political and military is idolatry and an insult to our God.

I would be quite happy if all statues of political and military leaders were taken down. The place to remember the is I history books, where their full story can be told, and where we can ignore them if we do not like them.