Dionysus was the Greek god of entertainment, theater, religious ecstasy and wine. The Romans adopted him and called him Bacchus.
His origins are uncertain, and his cults took many forms; some are described by ancient sources as Thracian, others as Greek.[7][8][9]Though most accounts say he was born in Thrace, traveled abroad, and arrived in Greece as a foreigner, evidence from the Mycenaean period of Greek history shows that he is one of Greece’s oldest attested gods. His attribute of “foreignness” as an arriving outsider-god may be inherent and essential to his cults, as he is a god of epiphany, sometimes called “the god that comes”.[10]
Wine played an important role in Greek culture, and the cult of Dionysus was the main religious focus surrounding its consumption.[11] Wine, as well as the vines and grapes that produce it, were seen as not only a gift of the god, but a symbolic incarnation of him on earth.[12]However, rather than being a god of drunkenness, as he was often stereotyped in the post-Classical era, the religion of Dionysus centered on the correct consumption of wine, which could ease suffering and bring joy, as well as inspire divine madness distinct from drunkenness.[13] Performance art and drama were also central to his religion, and its festivals were the initial driving force behind the development of theatre.[14] The cult of Dionysus is also a “cult of the souls”; his maenads feed the dead through blood-offerings, and he acts as a divine communicant between the living and the dead.[15] He is sometimes categorised as a dying-and-rising god.[16] (source is Wikipedia)
Dionysus was a religious idea but he was also real, he was a demon spirit. As are all the gods worshipped. We just give them names and personalities. In reality just demons occupying places of power, called the “principalities and powers in high places.” See Ephesians 6:12, Ephesians 1:21 and Colossians 1:16.
Today our powerful entertainment system, centered in Hollywood (in the US) seems, to have a godless spiritual source. A chief spirit who is in charge pulling the strings, who is hostile to Jesus Christ.
Actors loyal to Jesus Christ are often ostracized from Hollywood. If they are not now, they are soon to be. Or pushed out by being forced to work contrary to their conscience being forced to decide between a career and their conscience.
This is one of many articles about Hollywood and this topic. https://jashow.org/articles/why-hollywood-hates-christianity/
The point of this particular article is to identify the spiritual forces or force above the entertainment system. There is a god over the evil systems we have inherited, demons (gods) pulling strings and motivating much of what happens in the entertainment system.
When we revolve our lives around entertainment we worship Dionysus. We don’t give him that name anymore but he is still there. The demonic spirit that they called Dionysus is still worshipped today. I don’t think he cares what name we give him as long as we worship him. And keep our spiritual seeking and gazing off of f the spirit of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God. His is a demonic ministry of distraction.
Don’t get me wrong there is nothing inherently wrong with entertainment. But entertainment hostile to and outside of Jesus Christ when it entangles, enslaves and addicts people to itself and distracts us from the kingdom of God is sin. All entertainment is to be brought in subjection to the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
If it’s not submissive to the Lord, it becomes idolatrous and becomes even worship of other gods.
Be VERY careful with your entertainment if you are a Jesus follower. If not you might find yourself tangled up with Dionysus in your social media feed on your smartphone or your Netflix app. Don’t disregard this, take not of the impact of entertainment on yourself and your loved ones.
