Honestly, I disagree with the premise, which equates pagan gods with demons. There is a huge difference and they shouldn’t be equated to each other. Ancient Mesopotamians were just as aware of demons and performed exorcisms regularly, but of malevolent spirits and not of gods. The Lilitu were always considered demons, they were not deities.
From a strictly Judeo-Christian cosmology, the old gods never existed. Their gods are clay and metal, the work of men's hands. Our God is in the heavens, he has done what he pleased.
In general, I agree that there is no such thing as "Judeo-Christian." And a Talmudic scholar I once accidentally connected with via email emphatically said the same. But, when dealing with demons and pagan gods, we are dealing with questions right on the boundaries of where Christianity grew out of Judaism, and then became distinctly non-Jewish. The notion that the ancient Greek gods correspond to demons from then-ancient times is all in the mix.
I think both (1) and (3) have much to recommend them. The first, objective, and the third, understanding people developing such gods at all. Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" presents two very different Anglican missionaries. The first had long conversations with a village elder, who said true, that is a carving of wood, not a real god, and acknowledged that his people knew there was one God, who they called Chukwu, a word still in use among Christian Igbo today, since there is no other word for one supreme God in their language. (Similarly, al-Lah is Arabic for The God.) But, they did have a tradition of such an expansive God needing messengers to help him keep on top of everything, and there the two had less common ground. I've mentioned this before, but my Talmudic friend said Gautama and his associates worked out a great deal correctly, its too bad they never considered a creative deity.
I'd say that the OT tends to alternate between positions 1 and 2, whereas St. Paul leans towards position 3. However, this might just be that the Greek religion was more humane and decent than the Canaanite one.
I don't find anything of (2) in the Old Testament, which is probably a good deal of what shapes my view on the whole discussion. The Old Testament does refer to "the gods of other nations," but when there is anything more about them, it is a gold statue, the works of men's hands, etc. What Elijah proved to the priests of Ba-al was not "Our God is stronger than your God," but, "Why doesn't your god answer when you call on him? Is he even there? Maybe he is asleep?" There is also "Let no man worship any god but you oh, king," which is another kind of idolatry, but again, not positing demons.
Yes. The old gods are coming back to life. Jonathan Cahn wrote a powerful book about it.
Honestly, I disagree with the premise, which equates pagan gods with demons. There is a huge difference and they shouldn’t be equated to each other. Ancient Mesopotamians were just as aware of demons and performed exorcisms regularly, but of malevolent spirits and not of gods. The Lilitu were always considered demons, they were not deities.
OK, disagree, but note that meme is a long-standing Christian view going back to Augustine and even earlier.
Some early Christian Greek converts equated the two. I think they were wrong to even try.
Satan is a master imposter and can appear as a deity, a god, or a good 'ol boy if it suits his purpose .
From a strictly Judeo-Christian cosmology, the old gods never existed. Their gods are clay and metal, the work of men's hands. Our God is in the heavens, he has done what he pleased.
I don't think there is a single Christian position on the Pagan gods. I can think of at least these:
1. They are pure fantasy, and the idols are just wood and stone.
2. They are demons.
3. They constitute human groping after God, or perhaps a garbled memory of ancient revelation.
This is actually personally important for me, living in Japan, and thus being confronted with Shinto and Buddhism.
Side issue: There is no such thing as "Judeo-Christian".
In general, I agree that there is no such thing as "Judeo-Christian." And a Talmudic scholar I once accidentally connected with via email emphatically said the same. But, when dealing with demons and pagan gods, we are dealing with questions right on the boundaries of where Christianity grew out of Judaism, and then became distinctly non-Jewish. The notion that the ancient Greek gods correspond to demons from then-ancient times is all in the mix.
I think both (1) and (3) have much to recommend them. The first, objective, and the third, understanding people developing such gods at all. Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" presents two very different Anglican missionaries. The first had long conversations with a village elder, who said true, that is a carving of wood, not a real god, and acknowledged that his people knew there was one God, who they called Chukwu, a word still in use among Christian Igbo today, since there is no other word for one supreme God in their language. (Similarly, al-Lah is Arabic for The God.) But, they did have a tradition of such an expansive God needing messengers to help him keep on top of everything, and there the two had less common ground. I've mentioned this before, but my Talmudic friend said Gautama and his associates worked out a great deal correctly, its too bad they never considered a creative deity.
I'd say that the OT tends to alternate between positions 1 and 2, whereas St. Paul leans towards position 3. However, this might just be that the Greek religion was more humane and decent than the Canaanite one.
I don't find anything of (2) in the Old Testament, which is probably a good deal of what shapes my view on the whole discussion. The Old Testament does refer to "the gods of other nations," but when there is anything more about them, it is a gold statue, the works of men's hands, etc. What Elijah proved to the priests of Ba-al was not "Our God is stronger than your God," but, "Why doesn't your god answer when you call on him? Is he even there? Maybe he is asleep?" There is also "Let no man worship any god but you oh, king," which is another kind of idolatry, but again, not positing demons.
It's that sort of thing I was thinking of. A lot of passages seem to talk as though the other gods actually do exist. You might be right, though.