Demigods and the Nephilim

In this episode, we’re going to explore different viewpoints on the demigods--beings that are more powerful than humans but less powerful than YHWH (or other gods).

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of mankind, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Genesis 6:4 NASB

definition

Demigod [1]

noun

1. : a mythological being with more power than a mortal but less than a god
2. : a person so outstanding as to seem to approach the divine

Demigods in other religions/cultures[2]

• Greek/Roman Mythology (e.g., Hercules)
• Orishas from Yoruba culture (and Santeria)
• Children of Bathala in the Philippines
• Sæmingr of Norse Mythology
• Tammuz/Semaramis of Assyria[3]
• Superhereos of Pop Culture

Why Do We Love this Idea?

• Does it make us feel closer to God?
• Royalty often declares themselves as gods or descended from gods[4]
  • Egyptian pharaohs
  • Roman Caesers
  • Chinese Emperors
  • Japanese Emperors (according to Shinto beliefs)

You can see this list for many other demigods across cultures

Disclaimer

I believe that all religions and cultures trace their origin back to Adam and Eve. While I believe the Bible to be the true and preserved Word of God, I believe that we can find bits of truth in other religions and cultures. The purpose of this series is to examine the themes that remained universal to highlight universal knowledge--in this case, the occurrence of a belief in beings that exist in the spectrum between mortal and divine.

References

1. "Demigod". Merriam Webster; visited January 2021
2. Matt Williams. "List of demigods". Wikipedia; visited February 2021
3. If you aren't familiar with these names, you should definitely checkout TruthUnedited's History of Religion series on YouTube for a crash course
4. "Rulers and Imperial Titles". Wikipedia; visited February 2021