When are gods not gods? When they’re rebranded as human judges or rulers to avoid uncomfortable theological implications.
Derek Gilbert, hosts. Brian Godawa (www.Godawa.com), best-selling author of the theological thriller Cruel Logic, Doug Van Dorn (www.douglasvandorn.com), author of Giants: Sons of the Gods, and Dr. Judd Burton (www.BurtonBeyond.net), author of Interview With the Giant, discuss a Hebrew phrase in Genesis 6:2 that has led to a lot of theological discussion over the last 1,700 years.
Are the bene ha-elohim (“sons of God”) angelic beings or is that simply a term that refers to human rulers who allowed themselves to be corrupted.
Psalm 82 reads like a courtroom scene in heaven if one accepts the supernatural interpretation of “sons of God” or “sons of the Most High.”
However, because Jesus quotes Psalm 82:6 (“I said, ‘You are gods’”) in John 10:34, responding to a group of Jews who wanted to stone him for claiming to be divine, there are those who argue that Psalm 82 does not refer to supernatural beings.
We discuss Jesus’s use of Psalm 82 in John 10; in a nutshell, he would not have claimed to be divine (“I and the Father are one” – John 10:30) and then immediately said, in effect, “But it’s OK because you’re all gods, too.”
