'The man upstairs'

A week ago tonight, the Super Bowl was played. (Quick: try to remember the two teams that played.) Pro football's most celebrated game has the aftertaste of Chinese food: It tastes good going down, but not long after it's over, it's hard to remember even having eaten it.

Refreshing our collective memories, Denver won, beating Carolina. Peyton Manning, the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, gave several interviews following the contest. He was asked in each whether or not he was planning to retire. In his amicable t'te-à-t'tes with reporters, Manning dodged the question by lauding his teammates and coaching staff.

Manning also was careful to give credit to someone not in uniform: "the man upstairs." I have to confess, I winced a little.

On the one hand, it is pleasing to hear a major celebrity give God credit for an accomplishment. It doesn't always happen. And Manning seems in every way to be a genuinely stand-up fellow. Admirable on the field and off.

"The man upstairs" is a colloquialism of uncertain -- but not completely unknown -- origin. In antiquity, Greek and Roman religious liturgy used the logical consequence of "the man upstairs" mindset and attributed to their gods' personalities, traits and character flaws found in ordinary men. Pagan deities were capable of all sorts of mischief: lying, stealing, murdering, et al.

In America, we live in a culture in which Roman and Greek mythology is basically forgotten, so Peyton's postgame utterance seems harmless. Further, it is meant to curry no offense to any religious tradition.

When I am asked to pray in various secular settings these days, such as Rotary Club meetings, Realtor meetings, et al, the temptation to use "the man upstairs" (or a similarly generalized salutation) is powerful. There can be people of different faiths or no faith at all in the audience. Using terms such as "Lord," "Jesus" or "Allah" can throw up mental boundaries for those who listen. Peyton's simple allusion to a man whose vantage point on earthly matters is somewhat loftier than that of humankind seems the most innocuous way imaginable to refer to a higher power. What's not to like?

Yet, hearing "the man upstairs" makes me a tad queasy. I've asked myself why. The Old Testament, the subject I am privileged to teach at Southeast Missouri State University, insists repeatedly that God is not a man. Case in point: Numbers 23:19 says, "God is not a man, that he should lie." The true God is nothing like the ancient pagan deities, cannot be tempted to be less than perfect.

Of course, it is true that Jesus of Nazareth referred to himself almost exclusively as the "son of man" (a reference first seen in the Old Testament book of Daniel). If that's what No. 18 of the Denver Broncos meant in his postgame comments, then, well, I'm more than willing to let those remarks pass.

But I'm still going to wince every time I hear the reference. Can't help it.