Pagan gods in the bible (my son's class is studying Greek gods)

[moonglow]

Each child in my son's class had to pick a Greek god to study so I thought I would use this chance to let him know how the bible talks about all sorts of pagan gods in it. The pagan gods were actually a pretty major thing because it was the pagans in the OT that lead the Jews to worshiping them and doing awful things that then caused God to punish them because they refused to turn away from these practices. While there is a verse in the bible saying God is a jealous God...its not defined in the worldly sense of being a bad thing. In this case God was trying to protect the Jews from the horrors that came with worshiping these pagan gods. If you read through Kings in the OT you see one king after another sacrificing their children to these pagan gods...'making them walk through fire'...which is a nice way of saying they burned their own children alive to these pagan gods. :(

So anyway on the way to school I was telling him how Paul had gone into a Greek city full of pagan temples, pagan prostitutes, where people got rich off of making statues of these pagan gods to sell to everyone. And how everyone had these little idols all over the place. So when he spoke of the one true God he nearly got killed for it because it would ruin their business.

Now I gotta find that passage...:lol:

Anyway Nate asked me to name some of the pagan gods in the bible and all I could think of was Baal at that moment...:rolleyes: So I have been trying to find a site that list them. So far I only have this:http://www.biblepicturegallery.com/Pictures/Pagang.htm

But that covers more then just the Greek gods.

Anyway what I want to do is 'add' to his studies on this through showing him how these pagan gods affected people in the bible (so any ideas, suggestions would be helpful). Oh and I did explain (again) how in Jesus time the Jews were being ruled over by the Romans who also worshiped pagan gods and this is why they allowed the Jews to practice their faith because to them, it was just another god. (Not realizing this was the living God..until later anyway).

I haven't been feeling very well the last couple of days...my neck is out and this results in my just not being real with it which is why I am posting for help on this. Any links, information (bible passages) would be appericated. Thanks.

(Oh this year they have been doing world history in social studies and I have had so much fun because I can continually show him how lacking other religious and cultures were that didn't worship our God) lol.

God bless

[tango]

There's Tammuz mentioned in Ezekiel 8:14. Then there's sun worship described in Ezekiel 8:16.

You can also see in Ezekiel 8 that God took a pretty dim view of his temples being used for worshipping other gods.

[teddyv]

The Greek god Artemis is mentioned in Acts 19:23-39 and the source of a riot.

[Emanate]

There's Tammuz mentioned in Ezekiel 8:14.


This is the one that came to my mind. Or by its more common name today - Lenten

[moonglow]

The Greek god Artemis is mentioned in Acts 19:23-39 and the source of a riot.

Yea...I think that was the passage I was trying to remember...though I was thinking they had tried to kill Paul...but in this one he wasn't allowed to go in. The poor guy had so many attempts on his life its hard to keep track of them all. :rolleyes: So thanks for posting that.

And thanks to tango and Emanate too for your input. I tried finding a site that just listed Greek gods in the bible but am not having alot of luck. One Christian site in fact claimed no greek gods were mentioned because God didn't want us to get distracted by them...like it would tempt us to worship them if they were named...:hmm: They used the passage where Paul vaguely refers to the gods (idols) all of the place in Rome and the unknown god. Yet this one is mentioned and many are in the OT. If that really was a concern they wouldn't be named at all. But it would be pretty difficult in our studies to know what was going on if they weren't mentioned since they are apart of history. In studying them (or rather how the people worshiped them) its becomes clear how terrible it was. Alot of them involved human sacrifices. :( At any rate I wanted to contact that website and tell them they have inaccurate information about this on their site but I would had to fill out a bunch of information on myself and I really didn't want to do that. :cool:

Anyway thanks for the help.

God bless

[teddyv]

Oh, another one:
Acts 14:8-20

Paul and Barnabus are assumed by the crowd to be the Greek gods Hermes and Zeus after they heal a man.

[moonglow]

Oh, another one:
Acts 14:8-20

Paul and Barnabus are assumed by the crowd to be the Greek gods Hermes and Zeus after they heal a man.

Ok thanks...(first I am going to put the other one on here...the full passage so I have everything in one place)

Acts 19:23-39 (New Living Translation)

The Riot in Ephesus
23 About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way. 24 It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis.[a] He kept many craftsmen busy. 25 He called them together, along with others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows:

“Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business. 26 But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province! 27 Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!”

28 At this their anger boiled, and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 Soon the whole city was filled with confusion. Everyone rushed to the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, who were Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. 30 Paul wanted to go in, too, but the believers wouldn’t let him. 31 Some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, also sent a message to him, begging him not to risk his life by entering the amphitheater.

32 Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there. 33 The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander forward and told him to explain the situation. He motioned for silence and tried to speak. 34 But when the crowd realized he was a Jew, they started shouting again and kept it up for two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

35 At last the mayor was able to quiet them down enough to speak. “Citizens of Ephesus,” he said. “Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven. 36 Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash. 37 You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.

38 “If Demetrius and the craftsmen have a case against them, the courts are in session and the officials can hear the case at once. Let them make formal charges. 39 And if there are complaints about other matters, they can be settled in a legal assembly.

Acts 14:8-20 (New Living Translation)

Paul and Barnabas in Lystra and Derbe
8 While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. He was sitting 9 and listening as Paul preached. Looking straight at him, Paul realized he had faith to be healed. 10 So Paul called to him in a loud voice, “Stand up!” And the man jumped to his feet and started walking.

11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!” 12 They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. 13 Now the temple of Zeus was located just outside the town. So the priest of the temple and the crowd brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates, and they prepared to offer sacrifices to the apostles.

14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting, 15 “Friends,[a] why are you doing this? We are merely human beings—just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. 16 In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, 17 but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.” 18 But even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them.

19 Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. 20 But as the believers[b] gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

********************
I think its Hermes my son is studying actually. I wonder what these people were going to sacrifice exactly? I can understand Paul being upset they would do this at all....but I also have a feeling it was more then just that. I'll see if a bible commentary tells.

Thanks again. :)

God bless

[teddyv]

I think its Hermes my son is studying actually. I wonder what these people were going to sacrifice exactly? I can understand Paul being upset they would do this at all....but I also have a feeling it was more then just that. I'll see if a bible commentary tells.

Thanks again. :)

God bless
I suspect it would have been the bulls that they were bringing.

[moonglow]

I suspect it would have been the bulls that they were bringing.

yea I saw that but I was wondering if there was more going on. I did look it up on Adam Clark's bible commentary...it sounded pretty complicated...alot of 'meaning' in what was going on. Way too complicated though for my son...but that is ok. We had a nice talk and I read those passages in the bible to him. Explains how idol worship was such a major thing then and what went with the worship of these many gods. He said the kids all think these gods are 'neat'...I told them yea most think they are interesting but they are only hearing the surface stuff and not the horrors that went with them. One time I was looking up the name of Baal (a god in the OT) and found its name was associated with demon names..the devil and many of these are. They aren't so neat when you get past the fantasy that goes with them.

God bless

[fuzzi]

The 'queen of heaven', or Ashtaroth

She is mentioned in Judges 2 and 10, then later in 1 Samuel 7 and 12. She is usually mentioned along with Baal/Baalim (supposedly, her son, also referred to as Tammuz). In 1 Samuel 31, the Philistines take the body of King Saul and put it in her temple.

All through the book of Jeremiah this god(dess) is mentioned. In Jeremiah 7, the people made cakes, poured out drink offerings and burnt incense for her. Further on, they are sacrificing their children (throwing them into fire), possibly to the same god.

There are any number of references to child sacrifice in 2 Kings, where some of the kings worshipped Baal and 'caused' their children to 'pass through the fire', or threw them into the flames as a sacrifice. There are more examples of that in 2 Chronicles, and Ezekiel 20 and 23.

I have read that the mother and child 'gods' Ashtaroth and Baal/Tammuz have been worshipped in different forms, such as Diana (Ephesus), Isis (Egypt), Venus (Rome) and Aphrodite (Greece).

Hope that helps.

[moonglow]

The 'queen of heaven', or Ashtaroth

She is mentioned in Judges 2 and 10, then later in 1 Samuel 7 and 12. She is usually mentioned along with Baal/Baalim (supposedly, her son, also referred to as Tammuz). In 1 Samuel 31, the Philistines take the body of King Saul and put it in her temple.

All through the book of Jeremiah this god(dess) is mentioned. In Jeremiah 7, the people made cakes, poured out drink offerings and burnt incense for her. Further on, they are sacrificing their children (throwing them into fire), possibly to the same god.

There are any number of references to child sacrifice in 2 Kings, where some of the kings worshipped Baal and 'caused' their children to 'pass through the fire', or threw them into the flames as a sacrifice. There are more examples of that in 2 Chronicles, and Ezekiel 20 and 23.

I have read that the mother and child 'gods' Ashtaroth and Baal/Tammuz have been worshipped in different forms, such as Diana (Ephesus), Isis (Egypt), Venus (Rome) and Aphrodite (Greece).

Hope that helps.

You know that is interesting. I was always told the 'queen of heaven' was Mary..mother of Jesus..which made no sense to me at all. thanks for clearing that up!

And thanks for the other information too. I did a study on Diana and Artemis...its kind of interesting how all of these are connected in some way.

God bless

[fuzzi]

Satan has many counterfeits to confuse and dissuade men from the truth of the Lord.

Remember the unholy trinity of Revelation 13: Satan (dragon), beast and false prophet.

[Emanate]

Just a side note:

Baal is Hebrew for Lord.

Beulah is the feminine tense of Baal.

[moonglow]

fuzzi Satan has many counterfeits to confuse and dissuade men from the truth of the Lord.

Remember the unholy trinity of Revelation 13: Satan (dragon), beast and false prophet.

Isn't that the truth!


Just a side note:

Baal is Hebrew for Lord.

Beulah is the feminine tense of Baal.

That is not what its referred too in the bible though.

1 Kings 22:52-53 (New King James Version)

52 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; 53 for he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.

2 Kings 10
Worshipers of Baal Killed

18 Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now therefore, call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu acted deceptively, with the intent of destroying the worshipers of Baal. 20 And Jehu said, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21 Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. So they came into the temple of Baal, and the temple of Baal was full from one end to the other. 22 And he said to the one in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out vestments for them. 23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab went into the temple of Baal, and said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search and see that no servants of the LORD are here with you, but only the worshipers of Baal.” 24 So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for himself eighty men on the outside, and had said, “If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, whoever lets him escape, it shall be his life for the life of the other.”

25 Now it happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, “Go in and kill them; let no one come out!” And they killed them with the edge of the sword; then the guards and the officers threw them out, and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal. 26 And they brought the sacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them. 27 Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal and made it a refuse dump to this day. 28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel.

Good thing the OT was written in Greek or there would be mass confusion on translating that if they used Baal to mean God...when here its plain Baal was a false god...a pagan god. Anyway this is the Baal I am referring too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal
Ba'al (pronounced: [baʕal]; Hebrew: בעל) (ordinarily spelled Baal in English) is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu. A Baalist or Baalite means a worshipper of Baal.

"Ba'al" can refer to any god and even to human officials; in some texts it is used as a substitute for Hadad, a god of the rain, thunder, fertility and agriculture, and the lord of Heaven. Since only priests were allowed to utter his divine name Hadad, Ba'al was used commonly. Nevertheless, few if any Biblical uses of "Ba'al" refer to Hadad, the lord over the assembly of gods on the holy mount of Heaven, but rather refer to any number of local spirit-deities worshipped as cult images, each called ba'al and regarded by the writers of the Hebrew Bible in that context as a false god.

God bless

[Emanate]

Good thing the OT was written in Greek or there would be mass confusion on translating that if they used Baal to mean God...when here its plain Baal was a false god...a pagan god. Anyway this is the Baal I am referring too.


Actually there is no confusion in the original Hebrew. The confusion is when english translators translated the name (YHWH) into english as LORD (6000+ times). Lord as the title for a false god predates the english translations by several millenia. In english the translation Lord GOD was actually the Hebrew 'Adonai (Adon) YHWH'. Baal is never applied to YHWH in Hebrew.


The feminine version of Baal is used in conjunction with the land of Israel.

Another side note - Baal was the name of Abram's pop.

[fuzzi]

That is not what its referred too in the bible though.

1 Kings 22:52-53 (New King James Version)

52 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; 53 for he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.

2 Kings 10
Worshipers of Baal Killed

18 Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now therefore, call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu acted deceptively, with the intent of destroying the worshipers of Baal. 20 And Jehu said, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21 Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. So they came into the temple of Baal, and the temple of Baal was full from one end to the other. 22 And he said to the one in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out vestments for them. 23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab went into the temple of Baal, and said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search and see that no servants of the LORD are here with you, but only the worshipers of Baal.” 24 So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for himself eighty men on the outside, and had said, “If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, whoever lets him escape, it shall be his life for the life of the other.”

25 Now it happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, “Go in and kill them; let no one come out!” And they killed them with the edge of the sword; then the guards and the officers threw them out, and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal. 26 And they brought the sacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them. 27 Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal and made it a refuse dump to this day. 28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel.

Good thing the OT was written in Greek or there would be mass confusion on translating that if they used Baal to mean God...when here its plain Baal was a false god...a pagan god. Anyway this is the Baal I am referring too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal
Ba'al (pronounced: ; Hebrew: בעל) (ordinarily spelled Baal in English) is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu. A Baalist or Baalite means a worshipper of Baal.

"Ba'al" can refer to any god and even to human officials; in some texts it is used as a substitute for Hadad, a god of the rain, thunder, fertility and agriculture, and the lord of Heaven. Since only priests were allowed to utter his divine name Hadad, Ba'al was used commonly. Nevertheless, few if any Biblical uses of "Ba'al" refer to Hadad, the lord over the assembly of gods on the holy mount of Heaven, but rather refer to any number of local spirit-deities worshipped as cult images, each called ba'al and regarded by the writers of the Hebrew Bible in that context as a false god.
'Lord/LORD' as meaning our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ isn't the same as the word 'Baal'. If there were any doubts, just look at what was required of Baal worshippers (child sacrifice) and compare that to Jesus saying to let the little children come to Him, and the passage in Jeremiah, where the Lord talks about how He feels about child sacrifice:

[b]"And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart." (Jeremiah 7:31)

Lord as in our Lord is different from Baal, just as God with a capital 'G' is different from 'god', and as the 'Spirit' is different from 'spirit'.

We need to rightly divide and discern His word. :)

[fuzzi]

Another side note - Baal was the name of Abram's pop.
:hmm: Hmm. I see it as 'Terah'.

BCV for your information?

[moonglow]

'Lord/LORD' as meaning our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ isn't the same as the word 'Baal'. If there were any doubts, just look at what was required of Baal worshippers (child sacrifice) and compare that to Jesus saying to let the little children come to Him, and the passage in Jeremiah, where the Lord talks about how He feels about child sacrifice:

"And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart." (Jeremiah 7:31)

Lord as in our Lord is different from Baal, just as God with a capital 'G' is different from 'god', and as the 'Spirit' is different from 'spirit'.

We need to rightly divide and discern His word. :)

I didn't have any doubts about who Baal was in the bible...did you think I did? I thought my post made it clear...Baal was a pagan god and yes people sacrificed their children to it. :cry: There is Archaeological evidence too about Baal and how people worshiped it (hate to say 'him). Ba'al the God of Ancient Canaan (http://www.bible-history.com/resource/ff_baal.htm)

God bless

[Emanate]

:hmm: Hmm. I see it as 'Terah'.

BCV for your information?


I had my info shady in my brain. It was Saul's grandfather

[mizzdy]

Heres another link to baal. There are legends supposedly that say baal was identified as God's Son but since no one had contact with the El baal became 'the god'.

http://http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/baal.html