Sydney Harris

We’ve recently read the Iliad in English class, which is the epic tale of bravery, courage, and vengeance.  The story depicts the quest for honor and glory among the gods and men.  This story is a Greek and Trojan tale, so therefore includes Greek and Trojan gods and goddesses in them.  Divine intervention was a major part in Homer’s Iliad.  The gods that are seen most in this book are Zeus, Hera, Athena, and Poseidon.  Most of the gods have favorites and are on a particular side to win.  Although, as the just and highest god, Zeus is equal in loyalty to both the Greeks and Trojans.  Even when his son Sarpedon is about to die, for example, he lets the outcome go unaltered.  The gods in the Iliad are extremely active in the lives of their people in a very obvious and straightforward way.

As Christians we have one deity we look to for help and wisdom, and that is God.  God is also very involved in our lives and cares deeply for us.  He wants our praise and worship like the Greek gods but doesn’t do harm to us if we don’t.  He is jealous but doesn’t show His wrath upon us like the gods repeatedly do throughout that time period and in the book.  He doesn’t pick sides and is only doing and deciding what is right and good.  He answers our prayers like the gods in the Iliad do but not always the way we want Him to. He has been very evident in the history of this world, nation, and personal lives of everyone who accept Him.

History has opened a lot of doors for questions in relation to where is God when you need Him or how He lets bad things happen.  As Christians we struggle with answering this question for people and frankly ourselves.  In the Bible it states God is all-powerful and wise and just.  So, when bad things happen, we wonder how a wise and loving God would do such a thing.  We also know the earth is Satan’s domain, and he wishes to kill, steal, and destroy.  God doesn’t use His power over Satan because He knows he won’t stop, and He is righteous and will never force us to worship Him.  Bad things happen because sin entered the world through Adam and Eve and cannot be completely removed until Jesus comes back and recreates a new Heaven and Earth.

In history the Greek gods and goddesses have been known to not be perfect and make a lot of mistakes.  They have bad tempers, do what they want with humans, and don’t care for anyone but themselves.  The only way they would show mercy to you is if you were their child (or a demi-god), or you gave them sacrifices.  These gods committed adultery, murder, and a list of other things any normal deity figure would not do.  The Greek and Trojan people had no concept of one god making the whole universe and everything in it, so they made up their own gods.  They knew the stories and theories they made weren’t true, but they compromised the truth so they could do what they wanted.

The Christian God is the only way to Heaven or anything after death through His Son Jesus, who died for our sins.  He made the Heavens, Moon, Stars, and everything in it.  Our God is personal and real, the main difference between the two.  He wants to be involved and relevant in each single person out of the billions of people He uniquely created for a purpose.  He cares enough about us to give us rules and regulations and abides by them, earning our respect.  We have a reverent fear of God, but the gods only create a natural fear in their believers.  A lot of religions today are about works and just the religion, not the relationship.  That’s what Christianity is all about, the relationship we create with our Heavenly Father and how we share His love with others while we are on this planet.