# What is a "god"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 8, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153 "2013-04-08T14:16:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/1 "2013-04-08T14:16:41Z")
There have been multiple threads about “God” and how we would react if there was one, but getting the OPs of these threads to pin down exactly what they mean by “God” can be like pulling teeth. What are the minimum requirements for you to consider an entity to be a “god” or “God”? What is the dividing line between “alien” and “god”? If you could please stick to what _you_ believe and not what you think others believe I would _greatly_ appreciate it-no “Those atheists think science is their god!” snipes, please. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/2 "2013-04-08T14:36:30Z")
Intriguing question. It’s tough to express the inexpressible. Some words pop to mind. Purposeful Creator. Infinitely wise. Perfection. Loving Parent. Not sure that helps. But at least it’s not “science is the atheist’s God”. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/3 "2013-04-08T14:52:11Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Intriguing question. It’s tough to express the inexpressible. > > Some words pop to mind. Purposeful Creator. Infinitely wise. Perfection. Loving Parent. > > Not sure that helps. But at least it’s not “science is the atheist’s God”. I’m not really looking for random and/or vague qualities, though. At the very _least_, what does an entity have to have or do to go from “powerful” to “god”? ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/4 "2013-04-08T14:52:27Z")
Atheist here, not sure if that violates the “what _you_ believe” edict, but what follows is my personal bare minimum for a god, should one appear, to be called god, so I think it qualifies. At a minimum, any god worth its salt should be able to: - Violate or change the laws of physics at will - Create life - Communicate with humans - Be immortal - Have a conscious will of some kind I’d be comfortable calling an entity with those five traits “god”. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > What is the dividing line between “alien” and “god”? I don’t think there is one that is perceivable by humans. Similarly, I don’t think such a being would be able to prove that it was the creator of the universe, short of affecting our minds so that we accept it. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/5 "2013-04-08T14:54:03Z")
The buck stops There. Not answerable to anyone, more powerful than anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/6 "2013-04-08T14:56:19Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > The buck stops There. Not answerable to anyone, more powerful than anyone. So the “top dog”(so to speak) is a god in your eyes, no matter what it can or cannot do? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/7 "2013-04-08T14:59:38Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What is the dividing line between “alien” and “god”? > [@Human\_Action](#): > > I don’t think there is one that is perceivable by humans. It would indeed be a pretty tough call, but there may be some helpful clues. For example, if there were two similar beings, at least one of them must be less than infinitely powerful. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/8 "2013-04-08T15:00:58Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > It would indeed be a pretty tough call, but there may be some helpful clues. For example, if there were two similar beings, at least one of them must be less than infinitely powerful. So-top dog _and_ infinitely powerful. Anything else? ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/9 "2013-04-08T15:04:08Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > It would indeed be a pretty tough call, but there may be some helpful clues. For example, if there were two similar beings, at least one of them must be less than infinitely powerful. Say there’s just one powerful being, who reveals itself on earth. How would we ever know if it was God, _a_ god, or just a powerful alien being? My money’s on “no way to tell”. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/10 "2013-04-08T15:05:11Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So the “top dog”(so to speak) is a god in your eyes, no matter what it can or cannot do? My feeling is that the Creator Of The Universe should be able to change the laws of physics at will, but NOT the rules of logic. Example: There’s an old conundrum: “Can God create a rock so heavy that He can’t lift it?” My answer is that He cannot, but it’s not because He is incapable of making it, but because the rock is incapable of existing. The challenge itself is unfair; it constitutes changing the rules in the middle of the game. One might as well ask God to create a four-sided triangle - the question itself is meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/11 "2013-04-08T15:07:04Z")
Can something be a small “g” god, or does your worldview demand that there only be _one_ “GOD” and that it be all powerful in every aspect? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/12 "2013-04-08T15:10:46Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > So-top dog _and_ infinitely powerful. Infinitely powerful suffices. There can’t be two top dogs. Granted that it is difficult or impossible for us to distinguish between “infinitely powerful” and “extremely powerful”. But theoretically, that’s a workable definition. If someone’s power were shown to be merely extreme and not infinite, then he must be a mere creation of an even greater Creator (presuming that there is indeed a Creator). ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/13 "2013-04-08T15:13:35Z")
I know that many humans believed in quite a few gods, some of which were supreme over the others and in some cases actually generated the Earth and Sky by their actions. During the Egyptian pharaonic dynasties and the Greco-Roman era, many deities of both sexes were worshiped. And there we come to that interesting word, worshiped. Perhaps we have defined the word ‘god’ as ‘that which should be worshiped’. So, what qualities in a deity deserve to be worshiped, if any? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/14 "2013-04-08T15:19:08Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Can something be a small “g” god, or does your worldview demand that there only be _one_ “GOD” and that it be all powerful in every aspect? Excellent point. I did notice the lower-case “g” in the OP, but I chose to ignore it. Can’t do that anymore. I have been expressing my views about the one and only God. As for lower-case gods, I don’t care how anyone else defines them. Dictators, gods, police, they’re all more powerful than me, and anyone more powerful than me is someone who I better be careful not to offend in a practical sense, because the ramifications of upsetting them could be pretty bad. That’s true of God also, but in addition He has my allegiance, and in any dispute between Him and anyone else - no matter how minor - I’m going to be on God’s side (i.e., the “top dog”) every time. (Or at least, I’ll try to; I admit I’m human and not always as strong as I wish I was.) ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/15 "2013-04-08T15:19:10Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > My feeling is that the Creator Of The Universe should be able to change the laws of physics at will, but NOT the rules of logic. > > Example: There’s an old conundrum: “Can God create a rock so heavy that He can’t lift it?” My answer is that He cannot, but it’s not because He is incapable of making it, but because the rock is incapable of existing. The challenge itself is unfair; it constitutes changing the rules in the middle of the game. One might as well ask God to create a four-sided triangle - the question itself is meaningless. I’ll note that many religious apologists use the laws of logic as proof of God’s existence - that if there are laws, there must be a lawgiver. But in your view, God didn’t create them, God is subject to them. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/16 "2013-04-08T15:19:32Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Infinitely powerful suffices. There can’t be two top dogs. > > Granted that it is difficult or impossible for us to distinguish between “infinitely powerful” and “extremely powerful”. But theoretically, that’s a workable definition. If someone’s power were shown to be merely extreme and not infinite, then he must be a mere creation of an even greater Creator (presuming that there is indeed a Creator). But I’m not asking what it takes to be _The_ God-I’m asking what it takes to be _a_ “god”. In your worldview, can there exist entities that might qualify to be gods yet not be the Creator Of All? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/17 "2013-04-08T15:22:39Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > I know that many humans believed in quite a few gods, some of which were supreme over the others and in some cases actually generated the Earth and Sky by their actions. During the Egyptian pharaonic dynasties and the Greco-Roman era, many deities of both sexes were worshiped. > > And there we come to that interesting word, worshiped. Perhaps we have defined the word ‘god’ as ‘that which should be worshiped’. > > So, what qualities in a deity deserve to be worshiped, if any? Historically, this is pretty accurate. But I’ve never understood why one would bother worshiping the lower gods, if there’s an option of worshiping their Boss. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/18 "2013-04-08T15:25:17Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Can something be a small “g” god, Wouldn’t that be a demigod? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/19 "2013-04-08T15:27:03Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Wouldn’t that be a demigod? Were all the gods below Zeus “demigods”? ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153/20 "2013-04-08T15:32:08Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’m not really looking for random and/or vague qualities, though. At the very _least_, what does an entity have to have or do to go from “powerful” to “god”? Apparently I misunderstood the OP. I didn’t anticipate it as a “my god can beat up your god” type question. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-god/655153.md?page=2)