History Main / OurGodsAreDifferent

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has The Maker, the supreme deity that married the mortal [[CrystalDragonJesus Andraste]], and allegedly "cast down the false gods". Other deities are also present, mainly the Old Gods, [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon]] gods that were worshiped by the [[TheEmpire Tevinter Imperium]], trapped in the Deep Roads, but are currently zombified and leading the Darkspawn Horde.
** Notably, the game's theology is quite ambiguous. The Church of Andraste doesn't have any more genuine evidence for the existence of their deity than the religions of RealLife, leaving room for religious faith rather than any sort of certainty. The Old Gods are definitely real, but their true nature is unknown, and it's unclear whether they really deserve the title of gods or not. The same goes for the Dalish pantheon that may or may not somehow relate to the Old Gods, which seem to parallel the Dalish Forgotten Ones. ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' reveals that the Dalish gods [[spoiler: were "merely" incredibly powerful elven mages. Solas explains that they went from being respected as powerful leaders to being revered as gods, and the truth was forgotten after elven civilization collapsed and elves lost their immortality.]]
** The DLC for ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' reveals that the Golden City was real - and the powerful Tevinter Magisters were probably tricked into entering it by their Dragon god pals. Whether or not the Maker is real is up for debate, but SOMETHING imprisoned those intelligent blood magic using dragons. However the same DLC says that the "Golden City" was the Black City before the Magisters got there, which contradicts the standard mythology as much as it confirms and casts serious doubt on the normal interpretation of the Maker. In short, religion in the ''Dragon Age'' world is scary as hell. The few concrete facts about the remaining deific forces in the world are wildly contradictory, even if they're independently confirm-able, and the '''only''' Creator forces in the world any protagonist has ever seen is the [[spoiler:Titan in the undercroft of the Deep Roads that may have created the Dwarves. Absolutely nobody left in the world knows the exact relation between the Titans, Lyrium, Dwarves, Darkspawn, and the Old Gods, and more disturbingly, why the entire Dwarven empire seems to have, slowly but inexorably, migrated surfacewards over the course of the last few thousand years.]]

** Other divine entities are recognized or revered by the Golden Order, but are never referred to as ''gods''. The Greater Will is an abstract, seemingly formless entity that [[TheChooserOfTheOne chose Marika]] and granted the world the Elden Ring in the first place, and has connections with the very concept of life, laws and gold, but is never referred to as a god or worshipped as such. The Two Fingers, giant [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin finger-like creatures]] are considered 'vassals' of the Greater Will and act as their messangers, and they ''are'' worshipped, but more like prophets or angels than proper minor gods. The powerful Ancient Dragons, being associated with lightning and thus "imbued with gold", are allied with the Golden Order and have their own official sub-religion dedicated to worshipping them (the capital's Dragon Cult), but are not considered gods.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'': The series has several varieties of "divine" entities. While every race and religion has their own {{Creation Myth}}s and names/personalities/powers for these entities, there are enough similarities to paint a general picture. For the sake of quick summaries (using their most commonly recognized names):

** One of these spirits, said to have been "begat" by Padomay, was Lorkhan. Depending on the version of the myth, he convinced/tricked some of the other et'Ada into helping him create the mortal plane, known as Mundus. (The races of Mer, or Elves, generally believe this was a cruel trick that robbed their ancestors of their pre-creation divinity while the races of Men believe it was a good thing.) Those et'Ada who sacrificed large parts of their being to create Mundus became known as the Aedra, while those that did not participate became the Daedra. For his treachery, the Aedra "killed" Lorkhan and tore out his "divine center" (heart), which they cast down into the mortal world he helped to create. His spirit then wandered Mundus, occasionally taking [[GodInHumanForm physical mortal forms]], known as "Shezarrines" after Lorkhan's Imperial name, Shezarr. Nirn's [[WeirdMoon two moons]] are said to be his sundered "flesh divinity" and he also may have re-ascended to godhood as part of the deity Talos (see below).

*** There are many other Daedric spirits below the Princes, collectively referred to as "Lesser Daedra". Like the Princes, they are technically immortal and cannot be truly "killed". If their mortal form is slain on Mundus, their spirit returns to Oblivion to reform. The lesser Daedra are often found in service to one of the Princes and are also favored summons of mortal conjurers. They are typically considered by many in-universe to be the equivalent of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demonic beings]].

** For thousands of years, the Dunmer (Dark Elves) worshiped the Tribunal, a trio of PhysicalGod [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Deities of Mortal Origin]]. The three of them (Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil), along with their [[FaceHeelTurn former ally turned rival]], Voryn Dagoth, tapped into the power of the aformentioned Heart of Lorkhan to obtain their divine power. As a result of the events of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', [[spoiler:they are cut off from their source of power and all but Vivec are killed]]. The Dunmer people later revert to their traditional ancestor veneration and worship of the "good" Daedra.
** While some more-Imperialized [[LizardFolk Argonians]] may recognize the Aedra and Daedra, their race primarily worships the Hist -- a race of [[WiseTree sentient]], [[TimeAbyss ancient]][[note]] "ancient" as in "they have existed on the planet before linear time was conceived of"[[/note]], and possibly {{Omniscient}} spore-reproducing trees. They can communicate with each other via deep, interconnected root systems and can communicate with the Argonians via visions transmitted in their sap, which the Argonians drink to learn and grow.
** While the [[CatFolk Khajiit]] worship some of the Aedra and Daedra, no deity is more revered than Masser and Secunda, the two moons of Nirn who are elevated to god status by the Khajiit since the many different forms a Khajiit can take depends on the phases of the moons.

* ''VideoGame/{{Grime}}'': The surreal world with all its weird lifeforms...that's actually the body of the dead god Vered the Worldparent. You are the Chiseled One, who's the prophesied Endgiver and child of the Worldparent. While the Chisel One, a vaguely humanoid being with a black hole for its head, isn't a god yet - they are on a quest to succeed their mother and achieve true godhood.

* In ''Anime/{{CodeGeass}}'' the being referred to as "God" is left extremely nebulous and complicated, but it is clear that this God is an anthropocentric concept. It is actually known as the "collective human unconsciousness" and represents the collective mind, spirit and soul of humanity. It is not supreme or omnipotent, as [[spoiler:Charles zi Britannia wants to destroy it to [[AssimilationPlot unite all of humanity into one collective soul]], and Lelouch uses his CompellingVoice on it to kill Charles.]] Its most common physical manifestation is a Jupiter-like planet with a strange tower connected to it.

* ''Art/TheApotheosisOfWashington'': Apparently, really good [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfTheUnitedStates Presidents]] become gods when they die. In this {{painting}}, an ascended Washington sits besides Victory and Liberty in a FluffyCloudHeaven looking down upon an {{Anthropomorphic Personification}} of Freedom and the [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek gods]], who now seem to serve the Celestial-In-Chief.

* In Franchise/TheDCU gods tend to range from being incredibly powerful superhuman individuals more akin to physical gods (Most of the New Gods, Onimar Syn, the classical gods, Lobo, etc.) to nigh omnipotent but still human minded individuals (Anansi and several classical gods, etc.) to basically omnipotent cosmic forces (The Endless, Lucifer, Comicbook/TheSpectre, Michael, etc.) right up to a single Omnipotent God who may or may not be split into several aspects (The Presence, The Source, etc.). Those who fall in the second category are incredibly difficult to kill by mortal hands as they just return a bit weakened unless they are already so faded their death unavoidable, which is why Franchise/WonderWoman has never balked at killing them. Then of course you have entities who are essentially Omnipotent for all purposes but are at best physical gods since they aren't really religious or worshipped individuals (Mr. Mxyzptlk and other denizens of the 5th dimension).\\

** Gods in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse tend to be fairly powerful, and may or may not be powered by belief DependingOnTheWriter. Then there are the [[CosmicEntity Cosmic Entities]], which rank ''above'' most gods, and are often [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Anthropomorphic Personifications]]. They have a distinct hierarchy to them, though it has a tendency to be in constant flux.

*** Most are still lower on the totem-pole than the various entities that govern the universe- Comicbook/{{Galactus}}, Eternity, Death, Infinity, Oblivion, etc.- who are abstract beings that represent fundamental aspects of existence, e.g. Eternity personifies Time, Infinity personifies Space etc, and they are all aspects of beings that personify them across the multiverse, with each verse having it's counterpart for them [[note]] Eternity has claimed that Chthon is a threat to him; Dormammu's power fluctuates and on a good day he can at least give any these guys a serious fight; and Shuma-Gorath may be stronger than everyone listed so-far as he rules more than a ''hundred'' universes. Galactus's power also tends to fluctuate (depending on how well-fed he is) and he has sometimes been so weak he can be defeated by teams of human heroes, and both gods and mortals can increase their power to the level of an Abstract or beyond with the use of certain {{Amplifier Artifact}}s, such as the Infinity Gauntlet / Gems, the Heart of the Universe and others, or in the case of certain beings might actually have particular superpowers on-par with these entities, or even beyond.[[/note]]. The Phoenix Force, which is also worshiped in some places, guards the M'Krann Crystal and hence the Multiverse, and is stronger than Galactus, whose existence is necessary to keep imprisoning OmnicidalManiac Abraxas, a nigh-omnipotent being that threatens the multiverse. Celestials and the Watchers are {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s that wield godlike power, the former so much that even supposed omnipotents feel beneath them. Random all-powerful beings like the Beyonder and the Stranger pop up from time to time. And of course, the Living Tribunal.

*** This trope was put to a more literal test during ''Comicbook/SecretInvasion'', when a strike team of Earth gods went to kill the Skrull gods.

* In ''Hangwire'' a urban fantasy/LovecraftLite novel by Adam Christopher, the gods of Earth not only included the usual ones from various world's mythology like Zeus, Thor and etc. but they also had [[Film/Ghostbusters1984 Gozer the Gozerian]] among their numbers. The gods came from the beginnings of the universe and almost of them are CosmicEntities with tremendous RealityWarper powers, Bob (who's actually the Polynesian death god Kanaloa) is only an intermediate god but he knows he can rewrite the laws of physics in the universe. While they aren't dependent on [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly prayer and belief]], they can be greatly augmented by it and each god is almost completely immortal even [[YourSoulIsMine devouring a god's soul]] isn't lethal. The only thing that may cause a god to permanently die is if they annihilate themselves. As of the book, almost all the gods have left to their respective afterlife realms and have formed a [[FantasyPantheon bureau of gods]] that Bob refers to as "Them". "Them" regulate what the few gods that remain on Earth can or cannot do. The deities featured in ''Hangwire'' are an indie journalist turned mystery man acrobat and is possessed by the bit power and spirit remaining from Nezha the Chinese god of thieves after the god's old avatar was murdered, a handsome and unaging beach bum named Bob who's really Kanaloa, and Tangun the Founder (the legendary founding figure/[[GodEmperor godking]] of Korea) who is residing in a young Korean-American woman who's the last "golden child" (a bloodline of hereditary Korean shamans who are mediums for the godking). When {{EldritchAbomination}}s threatened the world, these monstrosities found out they are not AboveTheGods and received a lethal CurbstompBattle from Bob for their efforts.

** The Dawn Gods are a group of extraterrestrial higher beings who journyed to this world and uplifted humanity to help them fight the monsters that were preying on them called Glories. These Gods have an etherial and otherworldly appearance.

* In Robert Jordan's Literature/TheWheelOfTime series there are two godlike creatures. The Creator and The Dark One respectively. They both seem to exist outside of known reality and it is implied that they might be incarnations of Order and Chaos. However it is shown that in this universe human beings are capable of reaching this level of power as well through the proper tools.

* ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptunia'' has its residents from the four worlds worship their goddesses fervently. The catch? Three of the goddesses are caricatures of [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 the three]] [[UsefulNotes/XBox360 seventh-generation]] [[UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} video game consoles]] and the fourth one is a Sega console that never got released (Sega Neptune).

* In ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' the word "God" (well, OK, "[[ImprobablyFemaleCast Goddess]]") doesn't carry too much weight. Thanks to the fact that monsters and even humans are practically {{Physical God}}s, anyway, the OddJobGods are little more than {{Butt Monkey}}s of the game universe. Even the truly powerful goddesses can merely go toe-to-toe with some of the more powerful {{youkai}}, and Reimu canonically kicks in the door of TheRival Moriya Shrine, defeats its [[{{Miko}} Shrine Maiden]], and its [[PalsWithJesus Live-in Goddesses]]. You'd think that would hurt the ol' donation drive, to have your deity publicly beaten in her own temple by a rival deity's priestess? That said, this seems to mostly apply to the "lower gods"; the ones that inhabit the Earth and are part of the Myriad Gods. Yorihime is such an overpowered character because she's capable of summoning gods of far greater power than previously shown, which allowed her to effortlessly defeat every single character that went against her (including Reimu). Also, one must bear in mind that the Spell Card rules that everyone follows specifically limits how much power the characters can use in a fight, and it's always non-lethal.

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'': Like ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' and ''Literature/AmericanGods'', all supernatural beings seem to exist on and draw power from the principals of ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve and GodsNeedPrayerBadly. That said, most if not all can be taken down [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu with a good old-fashioned ass-beating]], though the belief of their followers [[DeathIsCheap can still bring them back]]. Certain evidence likewise implies that [[GodIsEvil YHVH]] and [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]] are the paragons of [[OrderVersusChaos Law and Chaos]] insofar as they don't need worship explicitly to exist - neither can truly die [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil as long as there are people who yearn for salvation or freedom]].
** In the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' sub-series, this is such a prevalent theme that it has [[OurGodsAreDifferent/{{Persona}} an entire subpage]].
* Master Hand and Crazy Hand from the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series are said to be the personifications of humanity's creativity (Master Hand) and destructiveness (Crazy Hand). Though any fighter in the roster can beat them in combat if the player is good enough. There's also Master Core, apparently the true form of one or both of the Hands, and Tabuu, who is some kind of god of another dimension who defeated and imprisoned Master Hand. [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU The fourth game]] escalates this by including [[VideoGame/KidIcarus Palutena]] and [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Rosalina]], though they are not stronger than any other character.

Part of this is because, in real life, "god" is one of those categories that ended up being applied fairly arbitrarily to the supreme entities, nature spirits, and culture heroes of many unrelated mythologies. Thus, it includes, among other things, the physical but literally immortal ''theoi'' of Greek myth, the intensely physical ''Aesir'' of Norse myth who could be maimed or slain like any other being, the supreme and omnipotent spiritual creator of Abrahamic theology, the Japanese ''kami'' that could range from the spirit of a single plant to the rulers of the universe, and many others besides. Consequently, modern fiction's depictions of gods can vary very widely depending on which sources they're drawing from.

*** Things are made ''even'' more complicated by the Abrahamic God, who tends to appear mainly in ''ComicBook/GhostRider'', though it's implied he coordinates with the Skyfathers as well as being more powerful than them, including Odin. He even appears in person at one point in, of all things, ''ComicBook/HowardTheDuck'', where he indicates that he isn't the top authority in existence, equating his role in creation more to that of a project director, than a supreme being.

*** Sitting at the very top of the Marvel cosmic hierarchy (so far) is the One-Above-All, who fills a role akin to God. That being said, in contrast DC, which is more overt in its association of the Presence with the Abrahamic god, Marvel has been reluctant to clearly associate the One-Above-All with any distinct religion, and its exact relation is much more ill-defined, and much like the prior examples, seems to hinge on the [[DependingOnTheWriter writer's own view]]. Indeed, some associate them more with the [[AuthorAvatar writer/artist of the comic]], then any percise deity; in their first appearane, they, fittingly enough, appear as Jack Kirby, who is indicated to have a partner (implied to be Stan Lee). At any rate, the One even muses at one point on the possibility that there may yet be something above even them, even if they could never understand it, which they are perfectly fine with.

** Gods in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse tend to be fairly powerful, and may or may not be powered by belief DependingOnTheWriter.

*** Things are made ''even'' more complicated by the Abrahamic God, who tends to appear mainly in ''ComicBook/GhostRider'', though it's implied he coordinates with the Skyfathers as well as being more powerful than them, including Odin.

*** Most are still lower on the totem-pole than the various entities that govern the universe- Comicbook/{{Galactus}}, Eternity, Death, Infinity, Oblivion, etc.- who are abstract beings that represent fundamental aspects of existence, e.g. Eternity personifies Time, Infinity personifies Space etc, and they are all aspects of beings that personify them across the multiverse, with each verse having it's counterpart for them [[note]] Eternity has claimed that Chthon is a threat to him; Dormammu's power fluctuates and on a good day he can at least give any these guys a serious fight; and Shuma-Gorath may be stronger than everyone listed so-far as he rules more than a ''hundred'' universes. Galactus's power also tends to fluctuate (depending on how well-fed he is) and he has sometimes been so weak he can be defeated by teams of human heroes, and both gods and mortals can increase their power to the level of an Abstract or beyond with the use of certain {{Amplifier Artifact}}s, such as the Infinity Gauntlet / Gems, the Heart of the Universe and others, or in the case of certain beings might actually have particular superpowers on-par with these entities, or even beyond.[[/note]]. The Phoenix Force, which is also worshiped in some places, guards the M'Krann Crystal and hence the Multiverse, and is stronger than Galactus, whose existence is necessary to keep imprisoning OmnicidalManiac Abraxas, a nigh-omnipotent being that threatens the multiverse. Celestials and the Watchers are {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s that wield godlike power, the former so much that even supposed omnipotents feel beneath them. Random all-powerful beings like the Beyonder and the Stranger pop up from time to time. And of course, the Living Tribunal. The One Above All, however, is essentially analogous to God and is above and in charge of everyone and everything else else. Appropriately enough, he looks like Jack Kirby, and hints that he has a writing partner presumed to be Stan Lee.

* YHWH/Yahweh/Jehovah of Literature/TheBible, who spends a large chunk of the DoorStopper trying to convince everyone and their mother that not only is he greater than all other gods, but that almost all of the "gods" he competes for worship with are false idols.
-->"You are my witnesses," is the utterance of Jehovah, "even my servant whom I have chosen, in order that you may know and have faith in me, and that you may understand that I am the same One. Before me there was no God formed, and after me there continued to be none. I—I am Jehovah, and besides me there is no savior." -- '''[[Literature/BookOfIsaiah Isaiah 43:10-11]]'''
** Technically speaking Judaism and Christianity have traditionally believed that other gods ''exist'', just that they aren't ''gods''. For example in [[Literature/BookOfPsalms Psalm 82]], God sits in the divine council among the other gods and begins to enact judgements on them. "You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince" (Psalm 82:6-7). The reason why Judaism and Christianity are said to only believe in one god is that the definition of "God" has changed over the centuries, once it meant simply any spiritual being that was worshiped, but later on it meant specifically an ontologically distinct being. Definitions like "monotheism" and "polytheism" are [[NewerThanTheyThink actually fairly recent concepts]], in fact the early Christians had argued that the gods of the pagans were lesser spirits ([[OurDemonsAreDifferent "daimones"]]) rather than that they weren't real.
** There has been much confusion created by the concept of The Holy Trinity in the Bible, the idea of one Godhead in three persons. It is an [[MindScrew infamously confusing concept]] that has kept biblical scholars from getting sleep for literal millennia. The Trinity holds that God appears in three persons, The Father (Jehovah/Yahweh/I Am), The Son (Jesus Christ), and The Holy Spirit. Scholars disagree if these figures are different manifestations of one deity or are three individual deities themselves connected by a similar substance. These ideas have challenged Christianity’s place as a “monotheistic” religion, and other Abrahamic faiths have come to label Christian beliefs as polytheistic. Catholic priests often teach Jesus is the direct manifestation of the God who created the Earth in seven days and the are not actually separate, independent, beings. However the concept of direct incarnation has had some doubt thrown on it and has been challenged with scripture from the Bible itself. Quotes such as Matthew 27:46, when Jesus cries “Oh Father, why have you forsaken me” while being crucified shows signs of Jesus and God having separate intentions and independent minds. However, most church goers surprisingly never put much thought into the concept of the Trinity and dismiss it as something humans are unable to understand.

* Myth/ClassicalMythology has three levels of gods. The Protogenoi are the consciousnesses of substances and abstract concepts, such as sky (Oranos), light (Aether), earth (Gaia), and destiny (Aithir). From the Protogenoi were born the Titans, who in turn were overthrown by their own offspring, the Olympians. It should be noted that there are other different families of gods too, Daimones embody concepts like justice or happiness, while a whole host of rustic spirits, Satyrs and Nymphs of all types, Harpies, Gorgons, Erinyes, and the Old Sea Deities (Thaumas, Nereus, Cetus) count as particular families of deities. On the other hand, many of these families have no more than three gods.
* Myth/NativeAmericanMythology had most tribes believing in the monotheistic "Great Spirit/Great Mystery/Wakan Tanka/Manitou/Gitche Manitou". However, it's not in the same manner as the European's view of the Christan {{God}} of Literature/TheBible, instead, the "Great Spirit" is often conceptualized to be many things that vary amongst different indigenous tribes; being more than one entity, a force of nature, a life force, the power or the sacredness that resides in everything, etc.
* Myth/NorseMythology is rather vague on what the difference between a god and a giant is. The main rule of thumb appears to have been that gods were associated with the Aesir or Vanir familial groups, while non-god giants[[note]]There were at least two cases where giants ''became'' gods through the simple expedients of getting adopted as a brother and marriage, respectively[[/note]] weren't. It gets better: some sources list [[OurElvesAreDifferent the elves]] and even [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame the dwarves]] as families of the same sort of beings as the Aesir, Vanir, and Jötnar (giants). One triptych goes: the Aesir have power, the Álfar (elves) have skills, and the Vanir have knowledge.