Why You Shouldn’t Worship Idols

Normally, I don’t speak on the personal doings of authors unless there is some relevance to the post I’m writing but I thought it important to bring out why it’s important for people to put adoration and veneration in their proper places. I’m speaking about Neil Gaiman.

Adoration, respect and admiration are all appropriate for human beings, when deserved, but veneration is for gods, or God. When we forget this, we create needless disappointment for ourselves. It’s one thing to admire, respect, and even adore another human being. There is nothing wrong with that. But when such feelings step over into veneration, that’s godlike territory - and humans are famously flawed, all of us. One day, we will fall.

All of us are imperfect, sinful ( and that is what sin actually means - imperfection) but some people sail past Go and collect $200 right into Bad Character territory. Some people that we idolize are simply awful people (R. Kelly, anyone?) and there is nothing more depressing and soul-crushing than to find out that a person whom we venerated and adored is terrible, or even evil.

This is not to say that Neil Gaiman is evil. I’m not saying that at all and I don’t believe that. But from what I’ve read when it comes to this current sex abuse scandal he’s in the middle of, he does seem to be, at the least, used to indulging in unsavory behaviors, and feeling entitled to do so. I would need to see more facts come out about these events with the two young women in question. I’m not sure if he really did assault these women or if these were cases of flings that went sour but it doesn’t make him look like an upstanding individual in any case.

Now that we are on the subject of Gaiman, I do like his writing, sometimes. Some of his books I truly enjoyed, like Neverwhere, some of his Sandman stories and Coraline. But some of his works fall flat for me. Like American Gods. I’ve always wondered why I felt this way about his work. His stories start off well enough but they lose purpose and steam for me and I lose interest. I’ve always found them somewhat unsatisfying and now that this other issue around him has come up I happened upon a video on a channel I watch occasionally from Jonathan Pageau and he explains EXACTLY why this is. He articulates what I couldn’t about Gaiman’s stories. Now, mind you, this is just personal opinion, so if you love Gaiman’s works and revere him as your dark god, well, have at it and ignore me.

By the way, Jonathan Pageau’s channel is rich in philosophy, religion, folklore, myth and intellectual conversations about story, symbolism and culture and why these are so important today. Check out his channel. If you like thought-provoking conversations, you won’t be disappointed.