One man’s idol
In my childhood, I read history books that referred to the fact that Christian missionaries went to various African communities and waged campaigns (or wars of attrition) against followers of other faiths, who were described as “idol worshippers”
At the heart of what my peers and I were being taught, was the notion that effigies and symbols from non Abrahamic faiths were somehow sinister and were to be avoided at all costs.
In more recent times, I have learnt that even images presented and seen on television are regarded as profane in some quarters.
Then I visited Westminster Abbey and saw all the busts, symbols and images of people and beings other than Christ or the Madonna and was left confused.
Is it only me that finds it tricky, sorting out the wheat from the chaff with regard to belief systems, narratives and conditioning?
