-Psalm 82:1
At some point, it came to my attention that there were many verses like this in the Bible, which mention God in the context of interaction with other beings called 'gods'.
Now, clearly, being a Christian, I in no way question the fact that God is the only god in existence, in the proper sense of the word.
And yet the Bible itself, the Word of God, uses the term 'gods' to describe clearly non-God creatures.
Early Christian theology too, in the works of Justin Martyr and others, makes clear the fact that other 'gods' exist, but are not to be worshipped. They, in the Christian conception, are not properly to be called by the title of 'god'. But they do exist.
What can a Christian make of this? What use can this be to a Christian in studying the Bible and understanding the world around him?
Through the study of the biblical passages featuring 'gods', and through the study of early Christian theology that treats them the same way, and the interpretation of the pagan gods in Christian contexts down through the Renaissance and Early Modern period, I hope to give a satisfactory answer to that question, or at least to improve other Christians' abilities to seek an answer to those questions on their own.
Theology is the study of God and His works. This is the study of those creatures that God or man has called 'gods'. This is Polytheology.
