Were the Greek Gods Real? | Doug Wilson

In this episode of Ask Doug, Pastor Doug Wilson answers the question, "Were the Greek gods real?"

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Ask Doug is presented by Canon Press.

[CanonPress]

Watch Doug's show, "Man Rampant" only on Canon+
Use promo code DOUG99 to get your first month for 99 cents

[dolly]

This is some Michael Heiser level stuff, glad Canon Press isn't scared to talk about it.

[caedmonnoeske]

I believe this is spot on. I personally think the ancient gods were a mix of demonic spirits and tales of ancient human heroes who eventually got raised to divine status by their descendants. For instance, I 'm sure that Odin was probably a real person in Proto-Germanic history. He probably was a great and wise warrior who fought giant wolves and bears and led his tribe. He then was raised to a divine status centuries after his death.

[tddamits]

A great spring board to talk to my family and friends about spiritual issues

[KMANelPADRINO]

And, interestingly enough, the word "demon" in Greek was just another word for "god" and perhaps even one of the older terms for it. It often is in the diminutive form which can refer to an evil spirit. But even Zeus and the Olympians were referred to as "demons/daemons" by Homer. The word seems to come from those who control destinies.

So in the context of Luke-Acts, the words "demon" and "god" were more differentiated by the differences between the beings being referenced rather than a stark literary separation on its own (though, certainly, the usage of terms can be relied upon as distinctions within the cultural context of Luke-Acts).

[theauthor]

A very wise perspective, Brother, thank you and God bless!

[kforcer]

I think Homer IS wonderful. But one of the many wonderful things about Homer is the way he illustrates the longing, the desperate yearning for Jesus that existed in the hearts and minds of pre-Christian man. Homer isn't "sweetness and light", but he brilliantly and subtly illustrates the tragic nature of the world he lived in and leaves readers hoping for a God who, in contrast to the Olympians, will, as Psalms 82 states, "defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked." Indeed, I think Psalms 82 is almost like a perfect epilogue to the works of Homer and Vergil.

[blakekerr]

Pastor Wilson! Praise Jesus for your wisdom. I figured this would be your answer especially after following your critiques on Dr. Heiser's thoughts on the supernatural. This is all very inline with that train of thought. Again, I appreciate you speaking about this.

[geoffrobinson]

This was really good. I took the time given to me due to Covid to study paranormal stuff and I think a lot of what the ancients saw, stories, etc just weren't completely made up if that makes sense.

[the.mr.nobody]

Answer is yes and no.

Yes. Fallen angels bred hybrids with great power.

No, they weren’t Gods. They were powerful and large beings.

[johnwurfel]

Also, Noah's progeny would have carried the history of the powerful Nephilim, as well as seen the mighty bones of these twisted and demonic beings that YAH annihilated. These would become "gods" to those that reject YHWH.

[tannerschmidt]

couldn't have more respect for Doug but i would like to see more "reformed" pastors talk about genesis 6 and the seed war between the serpent and messiah. Doug doesn't mention the word "nephilim" once here which makes me think he goes with the Sethite theory concerning the "sons of god". Demon's are the disembodied spirits of the nephilim and all of these greek gods were real, living entities dating back to the tower of babbel and prior (names change over time and between different cultures). Seminary schools from what ive heard dont teach this, let alone touch it whatsoever. My point being this subject could be much more elaborated on and i'd love to hear Doug's deeper thoughts on the matter.

[davidkunze]

Pastor Doug, I have heard heard it said that Jesus spent more time casting out demons than healing the sick. Thanks.

[AdrienneJung.M]

As a classical Christian educator, who loves the humanities, I have always cringed when fellow Christian educators identify more with Western classicism than with biblical Christianity. The classic pagans inform us of the world Christ existed in, but they are by nature anti Christian in their world view. Classical does not automatically mean good. Thank you for clarifying thism

[favorite]

Didn't the Jewish God of the old testament accept sacrifices? And tell people to sacrifice things? And isn't the God of the old testament the God of the new testament? And didn't"God" say not to worship any other Gods before Him? That in itself to me seems as if "God" is admitting the existence of other Gods, or else the wording would have or should have been different. And when He says "false Gods" in other passages, it is still admitting that they are Gods, just not the peoples true God. Correct me if I'm wrong, please, on any of this, but this is how I understand it. But I see things from both sides, not just from a Christian or "pagan" stance. The issue I have with many people who believe that they know a thing or two about things such as this, they tend to be a little to extremely biased because of their beliefs. This guy does seem a bit biased, but still grounded on the subject.

[WeedTacos]

The Bible says Zeus was a real god worshipped often.

[aquila]

I still wonder about the origin of the specific idols. Were the false ideas about the gods that humans believed brought about by the direct influence of demons, or did people imagine idols in their own heads and then demons stepped in to accept that false worship?

[Jozek]

Insightful and broadening, thank you!

[Hupernike]

Another great resource is Michael Heiser. He says that the gods of the nations (Greek, Norse, Roman. any ancient culture)are these other gods.See Deuteronomy 4:19. Someone correct me if I'm wrong about what Heiser taught, but he said God took Israel as His own, but in the dispersion at the tower of Babel, God put all of these other, lesser gods, elohim, to rule over the other 70 nations. These, I believe are the gods of the Greek, Roman, Norse, and any other nations talked about in history. God chose Israel, dispersed everyone else at the tower of Babel, but then sent Jesus to gather the people from those 70 nations back into His family. These gods mated with human women, see Genesis 6, and their offspring were the nephilim. When the nephilim died, their spirits are the demons that are talked about, who are looking to possess humans.

[matthewwozniak]

Python is a computer language used for algorithms. That's why you get pop up ads on your phone.