William Durand-Poole

I mean, it was a proper calling, okay?

It's not like going for a job.

It was something that I was moved to do.

And I was moved to do it, actually, when I was very young, when I was in my 20s.

You know, I first kind of got this call and I thought, no, no, no, just put it off, put it off, put it off.

And then, you know, one day I was teaching a module on ancient Israel.

teaching the book of Isaiah to my students.

And this overwhelming desire, this feeling came from deep within me, which said, okay, Lloyd, you've been doing this for long enough.

You need to take this message elsewhere now.

And that was the start of my journey towards the church.

What's going on?

Well, the Egyptian pantheon was vast.

When you go to Egypt today, you often hear local guides, I've overheard them say, how many gods do the Egyptians worship?

I will tell you, 777.

No truth in that.

And in fact, I think nobody ever tried to count to tell you the truth.

And you're right, Anita, to say that there were great state gods like Amun-Re, Isis, Osiris,

had huge temples and great pilgrimage followers, but also they're the tiny little gods as well.

You know, the gods against scorpion bites or the gods of digestion, whatever it might be.

I mean, all sorts of things, you know, and it says so much, doesn't it, about ancient perception of self and society that you need this.