To Catch a Nephilim: Billy Carson's misguided search for something true

 

I'm sure many are aware of the recent debate and ensuing debacle surrounding Billy Carson, and his debate with Christian scholar and apologist Wes Huff.  If you have not seen the debate you can find it HERE. The debate is a masterclass of defending the Christian faith on the merits of the historical truth. We don't "just have faith", we have a certainty in an actual historical event that actually took place. The resurrection of Jesus Christ.

If you have not heard of Billy Carson, he is a pseudo-scholar who is much what you would find on the History channel at 2AM from fifteen years ago. He claims to be an expert on ancient manuscripts, artifacts, and believes that he is uncovering "hidden truths" that have been kept from the general public about the truth of human history. 

Much of what he talks about concerns essentially extra-terrestrial super powerful beings that are the source of the existence of gods in ancient civilizations. Much of what Billy presents is fundamentally a questioning of the Christian understanding and narrative of history. Billy has many thousands of supports that he has influenced because he has (until recently) a competence and a narrative that people disenfranchised for various reasons think explains all their questions. 

Here's the interesting thing. This is going to sound crazy, but in a foundational way, Billy isn't totally wrong.

The Old Testament is replete with references describing spiritual beings, nephilim, sons of God, divine council...and the list goes on. These references continue to appear in the New Testament as well, taking shape as the spiritual powers just as demons and the like.

For many in the Evangelical world, we often flatten the reality of the spiritual world to be much simpler than what is actually presented in the text of Scripture. And for some, the claims of Billy seem off the wall (and in many cases they are, as per the debate linked above). But at the core premise of Billy's worldview, there are spiritual beings that have influenced and impacted human history. The only difference between Billy and the narrative of Scripture, is that Billy is parroting the propaganda of the other side. 

The Old Testament (OT) in particular is a product of the Ancient Near East (ANE). The Israelite people who produced it (through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) were declaring the truth of the Almighty God, King of the Universe, the Sovereign Lord who was the creator of all things. All of this while opposing the pagan deities of their geographic neighbors. So what we find is that much of what is written in the OT is a polemic against the pagan gods, and the religious narratives of the world around them, stating what actually went on. 

An example of this is Genesis 6, where the Bible describes the sons of God creating the Nephilim, or might men. This of course was a great sin, and abhorrent in the eyes of God. And the offspring of these instances are described as tyrants, given to evil and not to be looked up to. This stands in stark contrast to every narrative we see in ancient mythology. Has anyone heard of Hercules? That is a pagan narrative of a "hero", someone who is half-god and half-human. But the story in Scripture is actually saying, "THAT IS A BAD THING!!"

These parallels are evident all throughout the OT, and it is fascinating as you being to see how theses texts would have been so essential for the early nation of Israel, seeking to represent the one true God, in a world full of other stories.

As I have recommended in other posts, there are 2 books that are essential as primers when looking at this topic. The first is The Unseen Realm (or Supernatural) by the late Michael Heiser. The other is The Lord of Spirits by Andrew Damick.  Both of these books provide the groundwork for seeing and understanding the spiritual landscape and presuppositions that are going on in the OT text, and the implications it has on the story of Scripture, and our lives today.

Because of all of this we see that Billy is searching for something more. The world, especially the spiritual world is much more detailed that many of us take for granted. Much of the Christian community in the West for the last 100 years has been fairly shallow when it comes to our understanding of what goes on in the spiritual world, and we have kinda shrugged off any suggestion of anything more than angels & demons. So Billy is hitting at something that is true, but has been deceived into believing the wrong thing about something that is in essence true. The spiritual beings he talks about are real. But they are not what he thinks they are. In reality they are fallen spiritual beings that solely desire to see the corruption & destruction of humanity because they are image bearers of God.

So what does this mean for Billy Carson? 

To put it bluntly. Billy is essentially supporting demonic propaganda. Yes. Billy is very ill-informed and misguided, and whether intentionally or by happenstance he has been a mouthpiece for narratives that the demonic forces of old used to control the nations surrounding Israel in their nascent stage. 

My hope and prayer is that Billy's eyes will be open. That he will, through the work of the Holy Spirit understand his need for Christ and believe the Gospel that changes everything.