Myth Made Fact Part 2 with Louis Markos

Good Heavens! The Human Side of Astronomy

When the Apostle Paul preached his sermon on Mars Hill to the Greek philosophers, he quoted from two Greek poets writing about Zeus, but he used the poem as a bridge to show the Athenians the truth about the risen Lord Jesus Christ. In speaking of the Gospel in Romans 10, Paul references Psalm 19. The proclamation of God's glory begins with the good news of creation.

And as we learned in part one, Dr. Markos argues Jesus Himself does what Paul did on Mars Hill when speaking to a group of curious Greek seekers, using those things which have come before to proclaim the arrival of the kingdom of the heavens. From the general revelation of creation through the pagan imagination of the Greco-Roman world, Jesus is Lord of all.

But what would this kind of creative bridge-building look like for us today? Dr. Markos argues Christianity isn't just a story, but the best story. In our scientific and post-Enlightenment age people flock to the movies, starving for redemption, meaning and purpose. And though we all know the stories of the silver screen are indeed not true in a literal sense, they are true on a much deeper level. Bravery, sacrifice, standing up for truth and goodness in a world filled with evil. Our culture wants this to be true.

And the good news is that it is true. Dr. Markos argues Christians should seek to find Christian truths in our movies and in the ancient myths. As C.S. Lewis noted in his essay, "Myth Became Fact", "We must not be nervous about 'parallels' and 'pagan Christs': they ought to be there - it would be a stumbling block if they weren't. We must not, in false spirituality, withhold our imaginative welcome." On part two, Dr. Markos gives us more insights into the ways we can use the ancient myths in proclamation of Gospel truth.

Podbean enables our podcast to be on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast platforms. To support Good Heavens! on Podbean as a patron, you can use the Podbean app, or go to https://patron.podbean.com/goodheavens. This goes to Wayne Spencer. If you would like to give to the ministry of Watchman Fellowship or to Daniel Ray, you can donate at https://www.watchman.org/daniel. Donations to Watchman are tax deductible.