Poll: Would you be a good god?

[Charisma]

I'm actually writing a story where the old pantheon of gods died out suddenly in an inexplicable divine cataclysm, and a number of years later when the mortal races are still struggling to rise from the ashes a new god appears, claiming to be the old god of (insert morally wealthy concept here), and he becomes known as the One God.

So what we've got is a world that's used to a whole pantheon, full of political checks and balances, and then after a great tragedy there is only One left.

The interesting part of the guy's arc is that he starts out with the best of intentions, wanting to nurture and protect his children from the horrors of life. But along the way he ends up being forced to swallow lesser evil after lesser evil, in the name of preventing what he sees as greater evils. After a while his reign is marked by oppression and fascism committed through his holy Church in the name of maintaining peace and safety.

For the most part he succeeds; most people are generally happy and enjoy a reasonable amount of freedom. And the One God himself never really does succumb to power lust or corruption; his intentions remain pure until the end. But there are still some very dark things going on that no one ever sees for which the One God is directly responsible, things which he has no choice but to endure.

So to relate this all back to what you're asking, I think a godlike being, free of any kind of divine rivalries or rules, can't reasonably be expected to be totally good. The responsibilities for such a person would inevitably drive him to become, at least partially, evil.

As for myself, I would see a lot of wisdom in getting out all my twisted fantasies of control and power, even if I intended to become nice later on.

 

[LtWiesel]

YOu must be a dick sometimes, even as a god^^

When live is good the whole time, most people stop believing in you. They werent in church last week and still they live in peace, so maybe they dont have to go next week too...but when you hit someone with a, let´s say meteor, you will hear way more praying during the next days^^

Well and then there is boredom...dont know if you get bored as a god but i guess there are nice ways to entertain yourself as a god, without killing some dudes.
I think i would just wait till someone gets hit be a truck or lightning during a storm and then appear to tell the people that it was my vengence, everybody has sins

 

[SimuLord]

A lot of "pious" people would get hit by lightning bolts. Any Sarah Palin or Pat Robertson types would be eviscerated by the Bolt of Judgment as an example to the others that "He's real and He doesn't take well to people acting like assholes in His name."

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

I think Sim City has proven that I would be a horrible, uncaring deity.

 

[carpathic]

Absolute Power makes the idea of morality defunct. You can only really be judged moral by those who examine your actions against their understanding of reality. A god's understanding of reality is such that even actions I might judge horrendous could in fact be good in the long run.

Or that is what most religious people assert.

Not sure I totally agree.

I would like to think I would be a good god. I have always found it to be more fun to help than hinder. That said, I think that for god, interacting with humans would be like me looking for emotional connection with the characters in Fallout 3. You know there is a whole lot going on out there, more society etc, but you never get more than the barest hints, becaus eyou are not wholly submerged in the milieu, and aren't as limited as the characters (to say nothing of the programming)

 

[Hallow'sEve]

No [http://progressiveboink.com/jon/images/calvinhobbes/bill4.gif]

 

[Audun]

Define 'good' first. What does it mean to be a 'good' god? To be at every whim of your believers? To shower them in gold, food and happiness? Or does it mean to be a fair god that punishes the wicked and doesn't bother the faithful? Furthermore, what's good for one can be bad for other, so is it just the perception of your followers that describes your 'goodness' or is there some moral law above you as a god that decides about it?
Try to explore the topic from that angle, would make much more interesting topic in a fictional book rather than the black and white scheme that's boring and predictable.

EDIT: If you haven't already, i recommend Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" as a food for thought about creating divine entity in fiction.[/quote]


I have not read "American Gods", but i will check it out as soon as possible

I am currently writing a book, it is a fantasy book in which gods play a integral role. I have created some fictional gods, most of which are scheming, backstabbing, deceiving and exploiting. The reason for this is basically that these individuals are free of all social, religious and other restrictions. So i thought to myself, would i be a "good" god? definitely not. It would probably start small, killing evil people etc. But sooner or later i would be seduced and corrupted by that power. Naturally this was a question i had to ask you escapists. However, please remember that this is a fictional book, and i have no intention of hurting any religious sensibilities.


It somehow got in the "gaming discussion" forum...

Define 'good' first. What does it mean to be a 'good' god? To be at every whim of your believers? To shower them in gold, food and happiness? Or does it mean to be a fair god that punishes the wicked and doesn't bother the faithful? Furthermore, what's good for one can be bad for other, so is it just the perception of your followers that describes your 'goodness' or is there some moral law above you as a god that decides about it?
Try to explore the topic from that angle, would make much more interesting topic in a fictional book rather than the black and white scheme that's boring and predictable.

EDIT: If you haven't already, i recommend Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" as a food for thought about creating divine entity in fiction.

The definition of goodness is tricky, i do not have a good answer.

I don't think there will be "good" gods, and "evil" gods, most will be a mixture of both. If one is a "good" god, one would still need to defend his followers, even if that means doing evil. Would that god still count as "good" if he let his people perish? As for evil, not even a god could maintain a society based on belief by being wholly evil. His followers would pray out of fear, but not if there was an alternative god available.

The gods in my book are mostly motivated by self interest. Their fallibility is a major theme in my book. The main character is a human elevated to godhood, trying retain his humanity

 

[andrew.wright16]

I don't refrain from doing bad things because there are consequences- I choose not to because its wrong to do it.
..then again if someone REALLY annoyed me I'd smite them straight in the gonads.

My morales reflect those of my parents and upbringing, murder is a bad thing but drinking alcohol and getting stupidly drunk seems okay.

But a God doesn't have that upbringing and would probably possess all the knowledge in the Universe, thus human beings wouldn't be a significant feature in the life of the Universe and I would probably regard them in the same way I would a spider a found in my room- it would fascinate me but I wouldn't feel too bad if I killed it.

 

[Ampersand]

ve veri veniversum vivus vici.

I'm pretty sure that if i was omnipotent, I wouldn't be that much different from the way i am now...........well except i probably wouldn't still live at home.

In other words i'd be a kind God.

 

[PrimoThePro]

I'd try to be a good person. At times I would get bored, and then the consequences of my actions would be detrimental, but for the most part, I think I'd do an okay job.

 

[ReaperzXIII]

I would get bored then create monsters to terrorize the earth (I wouldn't put them in majorly populated areas just in sacred groves to guard random treasure I create like the gun of rainbows), then I would come down in human form and start to fight some of the monsters without using my godly powers then if I die I would respawn myself.

I would also make 2 of my buddies lesser gods to hang with.

 

[Blind Sight]

I'm thinking that if I were a god I'd probably just spend most of my free time just fucking with disbelievers. You don't believe in the Church of Blind Sight? BAM! Next morning that statue in your front lawn is a giant penis and your driveway is now paved with sentient eyeballs. Also, everytime some conservative, fundamentalist nutjob started going on about what I want people to do I'd just randomly cut in during their speeches.

Sarah Palin: And God, God wants us to stop homosexuals from destroying marriage...
Me from the sky: No, no I don't, I really don't care all that much. Also, for your information, I'm Canadian, for all you American God fanatics. Yeah, that should give you plenty to be afraid of.

 

[Jack_Uzi]

I would try to do my best to be good and honest, but these can only come from my perception of what is or isn't. That and I think power corrupts and I would probably resign pretty soon.

 

[Azure Sky]

Hmm, probably not, if not purely on the basis of the below.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

 

[Keava]

The definition of goodness is tricky, i do not have a good answer.

I don't think there will be "good" gods, and "evil" gods, most will be a mixture of both. If one is a "good" god, one would still need to defend his followers, even if that means doing evil. Would that god still count as "good" if he let his people perish? As for evil, not even a god could maintain a society based on belief by being wholly evil. His followers would pray out of fear, but not if there was an alternative god available.

The gods in my book are mostly motivated by self interest. Their fallibility is a major theme in my book. The main character is a human elevated to godhood, trying retain his humanity

Sounds pretty much like the concept of ancient mythologies. After all the Greek and Nordic (and some other) gods were made to resemble the human society with their petty little quirks and mischief. They argued, they acted against each other, look at Loki and Odin, look at all the things Zeus did. Eventually look at Pratchett's portrayal of gods, especially the parts where along with Fate and mysterious Lady they play a board game with human lives ("Interesting Times" comes to mind).

What will matter in the end is the context in which all those things will happen. While as an author you have full right to show some of the characters as more evil inclined than others, the reader in the end should be able to decide for themselves basing on the situation described by you.
Avoid absolutes and good luck with the book ^^

 

[Loviathan]

I already live my life free of the typical concept of morality, instead I follow very simple logical rules based upon utilitarianism and a prima facie assumption that obeying the law results in the best outcome for all involved.

While capable identifying right and wrong, I tend to ignore labels in place of my own judgement.
Typical true neutral. That said I tend to lean toward lawful, even in situations where obeying the law would be seen as the 'wrong' thing to do, even if it results in my own detriment.

Do these attributes translate into a good person? It's probably too early to say.
Would they translate into a good god? I suggest they would, at the very least there would be some level of stability.

 

[Audun]

What will matter in the end is the context in which all those things will happen. While as an author you have full right to show some of the characters as more evil inclined than others, the reader in the end should be able to decide for themselves basing on the situation described by you.
Avoid absolutes and good luck with the book ^^

Thank you for the advice, i appreciate it. I have never written a book before and will probably need all the advice in the world.

 

[Evilsanta]

Yep i am a goody two shoes so...I think i would. But who knows? Power corrupts right?

 

[SolomonG679]

I would ignore our current world and travel to an entirely different galaxy to make a brand new species and civilization, though I would be brutal it would be for their own betterment.