Mandate from Heaven

Study history of early civilizations and one of the things that they have in common is how the rulers sought mandate from heaven to validate their rule. Of Chinese origin, this concept nevertheless can be found in most if not all the early civilizations....it comes under different names; Amaterasu, divine rights, God's chosen, etc, etc. In order to wield a strong political power, leaders discovered the need for a tool to legitimize their rule. And the most effective tool....faith. How to argue when the king says his edict is from God????

To put it simply, there is this built-in thingy in each of us that somehow causes us to call out to a higher power, especially in times of urgency and need. And those in power caught on. Hence, legitimizing their rule with a mandate from heaven or claiming that they are the descendants of the Creator.

Using faith was and still is an effective way to put fear into the populace. It's an effective tool to create a subservient populace. It unifies the people. It creates loyalty....and it's also used as a call to arms... to defend their faith.

So, our brand of politics here.... is there this same use of this mandate of heaven to ensure that their grip on power remains???

Politics and faith...they are a potent mix.