Why Study False Gods and Goddesses?
During this past school year, the staff of PCA read 100 Common Questions by Dr. Timothy Dernlan. One of the questions that captured my attention was “Why are false gods and mythology part of the classical curriculum?”
To answer this question, I first have to briefly answer why we read classic literature. Every great story and poem ever written is a fallen person’s attempt to capture the truth, goodness, or beauty of our reality. Many of these writers have ultimately come to false conclusions: that truth is relative or that a false god is a true god. However, these false conclusions die out from age to age, and only God’s Truth, Goodness, and Beauty remain constant. Therefore, even if these stories fail in their final conclusion, they have only continued to be read and appreciated because they did accurately portray some aspect of God’s character and reality. We have our students read great literature to allow them to grasp the reflections of God in each piece of literature and to give them practice in distinguishing the True, Good, and Beautiful from the false, evil, and ugly. Because we are fallen, every story contains some untruth and sin, but the great stories, whether written by Christians or not, also contain some truth, goodness, and beauty.
The stories of mythology are no exception to this rule. The vast majority of humanity today can agree that the mythology of the ancients is not an accurate portrayal of how humanity came to be or how the universe works. It is extremely unlikely that a student would ever get sucked into the worship of the ancient Greek and Roman gods. However, although the myths fail at their ultimate conclusion, they do illuminate many universal truths, for instance, the nature of life, death, and rebirth so frequently found in God’s Word and his creation, or our great need of a selfless sacrifice. Although the myths of the ancients were flawed, they were the attempts of wise and intelligent but fallen people to capture and make sense of God's creation. While clearly acknowledging that the gods and goddesses are false gods and unworthy of worship, we should teach our students to see God’s universal truths and to see reflections of the true God in ancient mythology.
In fact, the presentation of these false deities can serve as a foil to help us to see and to more fully worship the one true God. The gods of the ancients were capricious, selfish, quick to anger and abounding in harsh retribution for petty slights. As we read these stories, it becomes apparent that these are gods made in the image of man. Some of his best qualities they have in extremes, like strength, cleverness, and love of beautiful things. But the same is true of man’s worst faults—his anger, lust, and selfish desire for recognition and power. Ultimately, the ancient gods are unworthy of worship because they cannot measure up to their own standards. They command sacrifice while offering their worshipers little in return. They demand respect while cruelly mistreating mortals. Not only do these stories remind us of our own brokenness, they also show what depths of depravity are in the imagination of man apart from the sanctification and grace of the one true God. They give us cause to rejoice and worship because we serve a God Who is not like the promiscuous Zeus or the vengeful Hera or the bumbling Ares. We serve an all-powerful God Who is fully wise and fully good, Who is fully true and fully beautiful, Who far from demanding perfection He Himself could not attain, actually sacrificed His perfect Son for us in our imperfection. Rather than defiling, He touches things and makes them clean. Many of the ancient myths provide a platform for deep and important classroom conversations about the character and nature of the true God.
Now let’s go back to classic literature. I want to be clear that the Bible stands alone as the foundation of literature. No other book or story compares to the impact that the Bible has had on every age of literature. As the ultimate and only perfect presentation of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, the Bible permeates and underscores every great story ever written, even, to their dismay, the stories of atheists and pagans. I also want to be clear that the Bible is infinitely more important, valuable, true, pervasive, and influential than mythology. However, second (by far) to the Bible, great writers have referenced, rewritten, and soaked in the stories of ancient mythology more than any other literature. It has been said that trying to read classic literature without knowing the Bible stories and without knowing ancient mythology is like trying to write a story without knowing the alphabet. You cannot reach the depths of truth, goodness, and beauty in classic literature without first knowing the Bible stories, and second, knowing ancient mythology.
Knowing the mythologies of the ancients is even important outside of literature. As students study history and culture, it is important for them to understand the values and beliefs of the culture and time period they are studying. Ancient mythology uncovers these aspects of history and culture, improving a student’s understanding of the ancient world and its literature, which in many ways helped to give rise to our own.
Katelyn Lape
5th/6th Grade Teacher
