The origin of the gods lies deep in human consciousness. Originally man had an awareness of the One Primordial God which he obscured by an act of pride followed by a diminished ability to reason correctly concerning the nature of reality. However, he was aware being a limited creature living in an unpredictable universe of suffering and death. So, there is in man an inclination to look for help in someone greater or more powerful than himself, thus he began to make gods in his own image and likeness judging from the mythological stories dealing with the lives of these mostly invisible gods.

Now man is a sentient being who relates to reality face to face thus the need to embody these gods in some way. In the long pre-Christian history of Egypt we see the embodiment of these gods in animal forms. In their depiction of these gods, e.g. Horus had a falcon or hawk head with a human body. "Horus the falcon soars above all the land and its inhabitants, and was, the natural symbol of the King who reigns over all Egypt." "There can be scarcely any doubt that the Egyptians worshipped divine powers in animal form. ...In reality, animals were rarely if ever worshipped as gods in ancient Egypt, but were instead thought of as manifestations of the gods. Like cult statues, they were actually one vehicle through which the gods would make their will manifest, and through which the faithful could demonstrate their devotion to the gods. Therefore, individual animals were not considered gods, but the god could take up his abode in them and they become an image of the god and a vessel for him. (Webpage by Jefferson Monet, "The Animal Cults of Ancient Egypt")

The above interpretation of the gods, however, does not appear to be the whole truth. "This Egyptian, [Hermes Trinsmegistus] however, says that there are some gods made by the supreme God, and some made by men. ... he asserts that visible and tangible images are, as it were, only the bodies of the gods, and that there dwell in them certain spirits, which have been invited to come into them, and which have power to inflict harm, or to fulfill the desires of those by whom divine honors and services are rendered to them. To unite, therefore, by a certain art, those invisible spirits to visible and material things, so as to make, as it were, animated bodies, dedicated and given up to those spirits who inhabit them,—this, he says, is to make gods, ...." (St. Augustine, City of God, Book VII, Ch. 23)

In general, the gods were created by attributing divine powers to creatures seen as persons with whom he or she could communicate and offer worship. St. Paul comments on the gods are appropriate here. He wrote, "At a time when you did not know God, you became slaves to things that by nature were not gods...." (Gal 4:8) St. Paul saw the struggle of mankind to free itself from the gods was not just against flesh and blood but a struggle against the "principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.(Eph 6:12)

The Egyptian Hermes Trismegistus was a philosopher, priest and magician of Egypt who lived a sometimes before Moses. He saw Egypt as an image of heaven but realized the it would end. He explained to Asclepius the Greek, "And yet, since it is fitting that wise men should have knowledge of all events before they come to pass, you must not be left in ignorance of this: there will come a time when it will be seen that in vain have the Egyptians honored the deity with heartfelt piety and assiduous service; and all our holy worship will be found bootless and ineffectual. For the gods will return from earth to heaven; Egypt will be forsaken, and the land which was once the home of religion will be left desolate, bereft of the presence of its deities. . . . O Egypt, Egypt, of thy religion nothing will remain but an empty tale, which thine own children in time to come will not believe; nothing will be left but graven words, and only the stones will tell of thy piety." (Webpage: Ancient Prophecies: Hermetic and Puranic) It would appear that Hermes had knowledge of the true God but preferred the gods of Egypt, so St. Augustine applies to him the word of St. Paul, "For although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened. While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes." (Gal 1:21-23)

2. Journey to One God