The gods are real.
That sounds like a strange thing for a Christian to say. But it is closer to the
Bible’s own picture than most of us assume. Scripture does not treat the gods of
Israel’s neighbours as nothing — it treats them as real created spiritual beings
who were never equal to Yahweh and never rival creators.
This episode walks through where that reading comes from: the vocabulary of
elohim, the divine council, what actually happened at Babel, and why one verse in
Deuteronomy 32 reads differently depending on which manuscript tradition you are
holding.
CHAPTERS
0:00 “The gods are real” — and what that doesn’t mean
0:57 What is a “god”?
2:15 The divine council
3:57 The truth about Babel
7:40 Cosmic geography
9:03 The New Testament
11:20 Why this matters
12:14 About Rightly
ABOUT RIGHTLY
This show is made by the same small team building Rightly, a Scripture-first
Bible study app for exactly this kind of question — the passage open, the
translations side by side, and the sources within reach, so you can weigh the
argument yourself. Rightly is in private beta.
Request private beta access: https://rightlyapp.com
SOURCES AND CREDITS
Map reconstructions use Natural Earth public-domain vector data.
Photography credited on screen where used, under Creative Commons licences.
Stock footage licensed through Artgrid.
My Strange Bible looks at strange and overlooked passages of Scripture with
clear sourcing and no sensationalism.