Mythological gods

[Bobby_Jim]

So I just saw Richard Dawkins on TV with Bill O’Reilley. He’s not as obnoxious as I expected (Dawkins that is). But he repeated the common atheist line about how we believe in our God, but we don’t believe in Zeus, or Apollo, or Thor, as if to equate our God with all of these long-forgotten mythological deities.

I think it’s a poor comparison, but I don’t know how to articulate why.

I suppose you could make an argument from historicity, as in, the events of our faith are rooted in historical events that actually happened at a distinct place and time in history. The skeptics of course dismiss or deny much of the history, which is a different argument altogether.

I also don’t know that much about the actual worship of the classical gods, but I suspect it was different in character than our worship of God. I know there were lots of different cults of all of these gods and goddesses, but the way they are portrayed in mythology doesn’t really present them as all-knowing, all-loving deities worthy of worship. They’re more like a bunch of characters in a soap opera with all their dalliances and petty rivalries. So with that, I really wonder how seriously the Greeks and Romans actually took these deities.

Anyway, I’m eager to hear other thoughts on how to respond to this common atheist jab.

 

[blessedtoo]

I saw this too and was actually quite suprised at how subdued Dawkins was. In fact, considering Bill didn’t really offer any “new” or creative defense for faith, I though Dawkins seemed almost cowed. Perhpas it was Bill’s absolute certainty and his unwillingness to engage in the typical atheist debate. I though O’Reilly did a fine job deconstructing the “mythological god’s” argument. The historicity of Jesus is fact, accepted almost unanimously. The Scriptural and extra-Biblical proof of His claim to divinity is accepted by most theologians. The missing link for Dawson, as I see it, is faith in the proofs that are available.

 

[blessedtoo]

Oh, and his absolute contempt for believers!

 

[PhilVaz]

I’ve got a detailed reply to the pagan gods vs. Jesus claims. Someday I’ll finish…both parts when complete will respond to much of “The God Who Wasn’t There” DVD

I find Dawkins more strident in his writings than in interviews. I’ll check out the O’Reilly interview, thanks.

Phil P

 

[Petergee]

Also an even more basic flaw in Dawkins’ argument is that the concept of “God” is really nothing like the concept of “a god”. If you believe in 2 or more “gods”, then obviously none of them is omniscient, all-powerful, all-good, the Creator of the universe, or anything else that Christians, Jews, Moslems and Sikhs believe about God.

“A god” is really just like the superheroes of comic strips, just like a man, only immortal and with certain special, but LIMITED, powers.