| 1 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1481497244052967300 |
| 2 | %% Image revised per IP thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1624852597007880700 |
| 3 | %% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 4 | %% |
| 5 | [[quoteright:310:[[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fg_jesus_6.png]]]] |
| 6 | [[caption-width-right:310:He can turn water into wine and dinner into dessert!]] |
| 7 | %% |
| 8 | ->''"So You are the Christ, yes the great Jesus Christ! \ |
| 9 | Prove to me that You're divine; change my water into wine!"'' |
| 10 | -->-- ''Music/JesusChristSuperstar'', "Herod's Song" |
| 11 | |
| 12 | [[Creator/CarlSagan Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence]]. Therefore, when an ordinary-looking character [[GodGuise claims to be]] {{God}}, {{Satan}}, [[MagiciansAreWizards a wizard]], [[MyFutureSelfAndMe time traveller]], [[ArtificialHuman robot]], or [[HumanAliens alien]], skeptics nearby will often demand a God Test to prove those claims. This will typically be a fantastic feat of some sort, something to be done that a regular person would never be able to do. The challenged party succeeding at the test is fairly rare, but they may respond with an explanation as to why they won't or why the test isn't meaningful. Thanks to Jesus' classic example there's a fair chance in the story this means they're on the level. Coming up with a test and having the God fail it is a good way to expose an impostor. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Often expressed as "If you're <X>, then do <Y>!" |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Note that, despite the name, the test is not limited to deities; any character claiming extraordinary abilities can be challenged with such a test. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Might overlap with GiveMeASign. Contrast with SecretTest. Also see GoodnessExam, TrustPassword and IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | ---- |
| 21 | !!Examples: |
| 22 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 23 | |
| 24 | [[folder:Arts]] |
| 25 | * Art/SistineChapel: DefiedTrope. One of “The Temptations of Christ” has Satan point towards the ground from the top of a temple, daring Christ to test God's ability to save him. Christ puts his hand to his chest to object and thus Satan moves to his third and final temptation of Christ. |
| 26 | [[/folder]] |
| 27 | |
| 28 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 29 | * During Creator/PeterDavid's run on ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'', with the "angel" version of the character, she meets a little boy who claims to be God, come to speak to her. She asks for proof, and He asks what sort of miracle would prove anything in an age of superheroes who can fly, transmute elements, etc.; so she's just going to have to take it on faith. |
| 30 | * In the ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' story ''ComicBook/TheBlackRing'', Lex Luthor meets ''[[ComicBook/TheSandman1989 Death]]'' and immediately demands proof. She softly pokes the tip of his nose, which turns grey and begins to crack. |
| 31 | * During the "ComicBook/HeroesReturn" story arc in Creator/MarvelComics, most of Marvel's heroes have had their memories of their "real" lives erased and they lived in a pocket universe for a year. They are confronted by a [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Celestial]] who demands that they return to a home they don't remember. If they don't, either the pocket universe will be destroyed, or the regular Earth will. [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Thor]] objects, saying that he thinks all of them together could take her. In response, she snaps her fingers and turns Thor, a god in his own right, into [[BewitchedAmphibians a frog]]. He retracts his objection. |
| 32 | * ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Hermes leaves Olympus and tries to get worshipers in the US in order to survive outside of the mystical realm but discovers that his powerful acts and boasting do not cause any to worship him in a time with superheroes everywhere and only drain his limited strength. |
| 33 | [[/folder]] |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[folder:Films -- Animated]] |
| 36 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheRoadToElDorado'', the Doradans challenge the explorers to a ballgame... two gods against 15 mortals. In that same film, Tzekel-Kan asks for a display of power. [[spoiler: And a volcano begins to erupt, before quickly stopping]]. And the funny thing is that Tzekel-Kan did it accidentally since he didn't really doubt about their divinity so far and merely wanted them to act like proper gods. |
| 37 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' pulls a [[GuileHero very clever]] version of this on the Genie. He challenges him, dismissively, "[[ReversePsychology I bet you couldn't even magic us out of this cave!]]" The Genie does it, then tells Aladdin he has [[ThreeWishes two wishes left]]. "Oh, no... [[ExactWords I never wished to be out of the cave.]] You did that on your own..." To Genie's credit, he takes it in his stride, but couldn't give any more 'freebies', [[spoiler:even when Al was in danger of drowning]]. |
| 38 | * Near the end of ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania'', when the monsters are at an annual Monster Festival, one of them asks them to prove that the Dracula they're with is the real deal. Dracula then hypnotizes him to smash his mug against his forehead. He casually accepts this as proof. |
| 39 | [[/folder]] |
| 40 | |
| 41 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 42 | * In ''Film/OhGod'', Jerry Landers asks the [[Creator/GeorgeBurns old man]] claiming to be God to prove it by making it rain. On cue, it suddenly starts to rain... inside Jerry's moving car. Later, God proves His divinity in a courtroom by making a deck of cards appear and disappear in plain view. He concludes his visit by vanishing in full view of the audience, and there are no recordings (audio or written) of His testimony. |
| 43 | * Played with in ''Film/BruceAlmighty'', when Bruce tries to catch God ([[Creator/MorganFreeman the other one]]) with a HowManyFingers test. After God guesses correctly every single time, Bruce tries to fake him out by holding up five fingers on one hand and two on another, then very quickly putting two fingers away when God says "Seven." When Bruce triumphantly holds up his one hand, it suddenly has that many fingers. Apparently, God also pulled the same stunt on Gandhi, who took it a lot harder than Bruce. |
| 44 | * Creator/MNightShyamalan's ''Film/TheLastAirbender'' has one of these. |
| 45 | -->"The Avatar would be an Airbender. Can you Airbend, boy?" |
| 46 | ** The test goes on to show the elements reacting to Aang's presence- i.e. rocks move towards him, water falls into a perfect circle, etc. The scene is infamous for making very little sense, because it doesn't explain why the elements don't do it all the time, suggesting that Aang did it on purpose, allowing himself to be captured. |
| 47 | * In ''Film/TheManFromEarth'', John Oldman quietly foils his friends' attempts to prove him wrong by explaining that most of his knowledge WOULD fit in with textbooks because that's what happened. Then he [[spoiler: starts explaining that he was both a student of the Buddha and the resulting inspiration for the biblical Christ]], to everyone's dismay, but he still cannot (or at least will not) give them true proof of his {{immortality}}. At the end, [[spoiler: he unwittingly exposes himself to be the father of his psychologist friend, (said friend looks to be twice John's age) giving the man a heart attack and proving, in the viewer's eyes, that his story was true]]. |
| 48 | * In ''Film/Bedazzled1967'', the Devil offers to prove his supernatural powers by offering Stanley a test wish, and Stanley humbly requests a Frobisher's ice lolly, probably expecting him to conjure one from the air. Instead, the Devil takes him to the bus station so that they can ride to a sidewalk stand and buy one. Stanley, unsurprisingly, isn't convinced. (In the [[Film/Bedazzled2000 2000 remake]], the wish is for a Big Mac and a Coke, and is delivered the same way.) |
| 49 | * ''{{Angel-A}}'' has to prove her claims to André. First she makes an ashtray float in mid air, but he believes in a trick. Then she makes her cigarette butt grow back which eventually convinced André. |
| 50 | * ''Film/JustLikeHeaven'' has David convincing Jack that Elizabeth's right behind him. Jack pulls a HowManyFingers that concludes with him FlippingTheBird. And despite this, it still takes a SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay moment to convince him |
| 51 | * ''Film/TheManWhoWouldBeKing'', Daniel Dravot, is acclaimed as a god when struck by an arrow which fails to penetrate his uniform (it hit his bandolier). When he arrives at a temple, though, the priests want to see if he can duplicate the feat for them. They are convinced of his divinity after seeing the Masonic emblem he wears, which echoes Alexander the Great (who they believe was divine, and hail Dravot as his heir). Later he bleeds when his bride-to be bites him though, and they [[TorchesAndPitchforks come after him]]. |
| 52 | * Famously played with in ''Film/BackToTheFuture1''. When Marty tells 1955 Doc he's from the future, a skeptical Doc asks who the president is in 1985. When Marty replies, "Ronald Reagan", Doc utterly refuses to believe him, and is only convinced after Marty tells him about the flux capacitor, which he hasn't finished inventing yet. |
| 53 | -->'''Doc Brown:''' Who's the Vice President, Jerry Lewis?! |
| 54 | * In ''Film/{{Bewitched}}'', Isabel's attempts to prove she's a real witch fail because Jack thinks they're extremely clever tricks, until she propels him high in the air and pulls him back down. |
| 55 | * In ''Film/{{Hook}}'', Smee and Hook confirm Peter's identity as Pan, but see that he seems to have changed quite a bit. They tell him they'll give his kids back if he merely flies a little. ([[spoiler:Upon failure of such, and at Tinkerbell's urging, they extend the challenge by giving him both more tasks and more time.]]) |
| 56 | * In ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'', Gozer performs a god test on Ray by... asking him if he's a god. Ray fails by simply telling the truth. (There's no knowing whether Gozer would have demanded more proof had Ray answered yes.) |
| 57 | * Inverted and utterly subverted in ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian,'' where no evidence can disprove Brian's divinity: |
| 58 | -->'''Brian:''' I'm not the Messiah! Will you please listen, I am not the Messiah! Do you understand? ''Honestly!''\ |
| 59 | '''Female follower:''' Only the true Messiah denies his divinity.\ |
| 60 | '''Brian:''' What!? Well, what sort of chance does that give me? All right, I ''am'' the Messiah!\ |
| 61 | '''Crowd:''' He is! He is the Messiah! |
| 62 | * ''Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951''. As a demonstration that he is a powerful alien, Klaatu cuts power ''all over the globe'' for exactly half an hour, with the exception of hospitals and airplanes in flight, which has the additional benefit of demonstrating the incredible degree of control he has over this effect. |
| 63 | * In ''Bernard and the Genie'', the Genie tries to kill Bernard as soon as he's summoned. Bernard stops him by wishing he'd stop trying to kill him, but still doesn't believe he's a genie. His test is to wish that the chair he has his foot on was TV presenter Melvyn Bragg. Cue a very confused Melvyn Bragg on all fours with Bernard's foot on his back. Bernard abruptly wishes it was a chair again. |
| 64 | * ''Film/EuropaEuropa'': The Soviet instructors at the Komsomal academy in Poland stage one to "prove" that God does not exist for their students after one Polish boy disputes this. He's told he should pray for candy from God, which doesn't come. At the same time one of the Soviet men goes up on the roof and drops in candy to the students, which they say is from Stalin. Thus they claim God doesn't exist and won't give them candy, but Stalin always will. Solly does not look at all convinced by this, but wisely stays quiet. |
| 65 | * ''Film/TheVoormanProblem'': Voorman, Dr. Williams's patient, claims that he is God. Voorman offers to prove it by doing away with the existence of Belgium. Williams is horrified when his wife doesn't know what Belgium is. He checks his encyclopedia and finds the space formerly occupied by Belgium to be a body of water called the "Walloon Lagoon." |
| 66 | * Played with in ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'' when Kirk asks "God" why he would need a starship. While the supposed "God" does respond with bursts of electricity, that's to punish their impertinence, and they quickly reject his claim. |
| 67 | * ''Film/IfFootmenTireYouWhatWillHorsesDo'': Communist brainwashers use this to teach children that Jesus can't miraculously provide them with candy, but "our glorious leader UsefulNotes/FidelCastro" can. This at least is something [[TruthInTelevision really done]] in communist states. However, why a bunch of characters who are supposed to be Soviets (considering their bad 'Russian'/'Dracula' accents) are focused on a Cuban guy rather than, you know, a Russian, is anyone's guess. Shouldn't those kids be praying to ''Brezhnev'' for candy? |
| 68 | * ''Film/SeeYouYesterday'': Claudette and Sebastian struggle to convince her brother and his friend that they're here to stop one of them from getting killed... It doesn't work. |
| 69 | * ''Film/TenThousandBC'': The antagonist is a giant man who claims to be a god and quickly terrifies the rebellion into submission. D'Leh defiantly hurls a spear at him, and when he falls over dead, roars, "''HE'' IS NOT A GOD!" |
| 70 | [[/folder]] |
| 71 | |
| 72 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 73 | * ''Literature/CombatantsWillBeDispatched'': Alice Kisaragi [[FlatEarthAtheist does not believe in anything supernatural]], thinking any such phenomenon is either a trick or explainable by science. Grimm attempts to convince her by summoning a wish-granting demon. After accusing the demon of just being a hologram, Alice asks her to prove herself by creating two or three new planets in their solar system, only for the demon to be shocked and say she's not powerful enough to do that. After getting insulted again, the demon attempts to kill her by stopping her heart, but since Alice is a RobotGirl, this fails. Alice then asks her to unclog the toilet in their base, causing the demon to get fed up and leave. Alice smugly concludes the demon was fake. |
| 74 | * ''Literature/AConnecticutYankeeInKingArthursCourt'' plays with this one memorably: a charlatan claims to be able to tell people whatever is happening anywhere in the world. After listening to various plausible tales of the doings of foreign potentates, the main character takes his turn: "Tell me what I'm doing with my hands behind my back right now." |
| 75 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': |
| 76 | ** In ''Literature/TheLastHero'' the Silver Horde try to sneak into Dunmanifestin by claiming to be 'new gods'. The locals know what's going on but, being [[JerkassGods who they are]], decide to have some fun by demanding Cohen prove his bonafides by rolling a seven on a six-sided die. He does, by [[CuttingTheKnot cutting the die in half in midair]]. |
| 77 | ** In ''Literature/SmallGods'', Om attempts to prove to Brutha that he's a Great God trapped in the form of a tortoise, but can't muster any kind of grand demonstration such as a thunderstorm. He then cites a secret childhood experience of Brutha's to prove his omniscience, only he's ''lying'' about having divinely perceived it at the time: he's just skimming Brutha's surface thoughts, a feat which Om considers so mundane that he doesn't even realize humans can't do it. |
| 78 | * ''Literature/ExpectingToFallIntoRuinIAimToBecomeABlacksmith'': The protagonist Kururi is incredulous at the claim of a captured assassin that the TribeOfPriests country that sent him, did so because Kururi's mere existence is a PokeInTheThirdEye when they try to use their mystical visions to spy on his nation. Kururi's wife then points out that she's seen a glass of water he was drinking turn into grape juice. Still disbelieving, Kururi drinks a glass of water and it indeed turns into grape juice. This is poking fun at his MessianicArchetype characterization. |
| 79 | * ''Literature/FateZero'': UsefulNotes/GillesDeRais says that after his beloved [[UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc Jeanne d'Arc]] was executed, he began to doubt God, believing God would have saved her. To test Him, he began to commit atrocities like murdering children, believing that if God was real, He would have intervened. He never experienced divine retribution and was instead arrested and executed by greedy people who wanted his land. He concluded that God either isn't real or is lazy and doesn't deserve worship. |
| 80 | * Soon in the chronology of the ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' series, [[spoiler:Nagato Yuki and Asahina Mikuru both reveal their true nature to Kyon, asking him to help them monitor Haruhi. Knowing that Haruhi is dying to meet an alien, a time traveler, or an esper, he puts two and two together and confronts Koizumi Itsuki about his own position. When he confirms Kyon's suspicions, the latter asks him to prove he has [[PsychicPowers ESP]] by reheating a cup of coffee, to which he answers that [[NotThatKindOfMage his powers only work in certain conditions]]. He later proves himself when said conditions are met, without knowing that Kyon had recently witnessed Nagato's own powers and was now convinced that his three clubmates were all honest.]] |
| 81 | * Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/TheHazing": While the natives of Spica IV are initially willing to believe the Earthmen's claim that they are gods, their failure to cure the chief's wife of her illness works against them. Fortunately, the HumanoidAliens who had stranded them on the planet are captured with a welding gun. Williams uses the [[RayGun welding gun]] to set fire to several of the wooden huts, intimidating the natives into worship again. |
| 82 | * During the ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' series, the Emperor repeatedly and vehemently denies any godhood. This trope gets inverted, however, because half the stuff he does SEEMS like it should take a god to accomplish, so no matter how much he denies it, the "true believers" just say "only a true god would deny his divinity while also demonstrating it." |
| 83 | * ''Literature/HowNotToSummonADemonLord'': Fanis Laminitus thinks God is not real and that the people of the Church are nothing but con artists that swindle people out of donations. When Fanis meets the devout Lumachina Weselia, she threatens her with a gun, saying that if God was actually real, He'd save Lumachina. A horrified Batutta knocks the gun away just as she fires, but Fanis walks away laughing that God didn't save her so that proves He's not real. |
| 84 | * Early on in ''Literature/MyMentalChoicesAre'', Kanade receives a phone call from someone [[Creator/ShinnosukeTachibana who sounds like a casual young man]] who claims to be {{God}}. He's understandably skeptical and demands to know who's actually on the other side, which he responds by... [[GenderBender turning Kanade into a woman]]. He doesn't get turned back until he accepts that yes, he was seriously just called up by God (as well as doing [[TheGadfly his additional request]] of standing on his head while naming his favorite historical figure, [[JerkassGods because it was either that or he stay a girl forever]]). |
| 85 | * ''Literature/TheTalesOfAlvinMaker'': In ''Red Prophet'', some Indian hecklers demand that the one-eyed prophet Tenskwa-Tawa prove his powers by restoring his missing eye. The prophet rebukes them, and reveals the supernatural visions he receives through the missing eye--and ends up making new converts. |
| 86 | * In ''Literature/WillOfHeaven'', the Guest of Canghai asks Han Xin what he has to do to make the latter believe he serves a real god. Han Xin offhandedly tells him to make a river disappear. [[spoiler: He does.]] |
| 87 | * In ''Literature/ChildhoodsEnd'' by Arthur Clarke, the aliens arrive and start issuing orders. When South Africa refuses to give all ''white'' people full civil rights, the aliens create darkness in an exact one mile radius over Johannesburg. The South African government capitulates. |
| 88 | [[/folder]] |
| 89 | |
| 90 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 91 | * ''Series/TheATeam'': In "The Crystal Skull", Murdock is thought to be a god by a primitive tribe and made to walk across flaming coals to prove his immortality. Fortunately Frankie is able to make up a fire retardant to protect him, though he complains of blistered feet afterwards. |
| 92 | * ''Series/BattlestarGalactica1978'' episode "War of the Gods Part 1''. Count Iblis claims to have great powers and knowledge. The Council of Twelve gives him three challenges: to deliver their greatest enemy (Baltar) to them, to lead the fleet to Earth, and one more to be named later. |
| 93 | * ''Series/TheBionicWoman:'' Jaime Sommers has been replaced by her evil twin, and dropped into prison in her place. After escaping, and getting cornered by the cops, who have been joined by her boss, she tells him to ''whisper'' any question he wants, across a hundred yards of open field, to prove who she really is. |
| 94 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 95 | ** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E6TheAztecs "The Aztecs"]]: Barbara get subjected to one while [[ItMakesSenseInContext posing as an Aztec Goddess]], as Ian was about to be killed. She demanded they stop, but they'd begun to doubt her and basically said, "If you are who you say you are, you can save him yourself. If you can't, why should we listen to you?" [[spoiler:She ended up grabbing a knife and holding it to the Aztec's throat, claiming she had no need to use her divine powers if human ability would suffice.]] |
| 96 | ** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E1SmithAndJones "Smith and Jones"]]: The Doctor meets companion-to-be Martha Jones. At the beginning of the episode, she's walking to work when the Doctor walks up to her, takes his tie off, and says, "Like so!" Later, they meet again and he has no memory of this. At the end, Martha asks him to prove that he's a time traveller. He takes his TARDIS and disappears, reappearing seconds later ... without his tie. |
| 97 | * ''Series/JoanOfArcadia'' has Joan ask the teenage boy claiming to be God to prove his divinity. He gestures behind himself to show... a tree. |
| 98 | -->'''Joan''': ...that's a tree.\ |
| 99 | '''God''': Let's see ''you'' make one. |
| 100 | * An episode of ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' has Al [[DealWithTheDevil sell his soul to the devil]] to be drafted onto the Chicago Bears and take them to the superbowl. He doesn't specifically ask for proof that it's the devil, but is very slow on the uptake. So the devil makes Al's head rapidly spin around prompting Al to say "Oh, you're the devil". |
| 101 | * ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' parodies this in "[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S08E17TheHorrorOfPartyBeach The Horror of Party Beach]]": when the gang land in Roman Times, Pearl claims they are gods, and Brain Guy has to use his powers to demonstrate. "Behold! From nothing I produce this... [[MundaneMadeAwesome spoon]]." |
| 102 | * ''Series/RedDwarf'': |
| 103 | ** In "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonIWaitingForGod Waiting for God]]", when Lister's pregnant cat's offspring's descendants mistake Lister for God, Lister tries to inform the only survivor (the Cat) of this, leading to this hilarious exchange: |
| 104 | --->'''Lister:''' I am your god.\ |
| 105 | ''[beat]''\ |
| 106 | '''Cat:''' Okay. ''[points at a bowl of cat food]'' Turn this into a woman.\ |
| 107 | '''Lister:''' I'm serious.\ |
| 108 | '''Cat:''' So am I! |
| 109 | ** Another parody of the same concept from the same episode has the Cat test Lister's proclaimed divinity by asking him the ultimate question which could supposedly only be answered by the ''true'' [[{{God}} Cloister the Stupid]]: |
| 110 | --->'''Cat:''' If you're God, why ''[[HollywoodHomely that]]'' face? |
| 111 | * The Christ-figure in the ITV (UK) drama ''Series/TheSecondComing'' written by ''Series/DoctorWho'' writer Russell T Davies and starring Christopher Eccleston proves who he is by creating daylight around Manchester City's football stadium during the middle of the night - he is not explicitly asked to show his powers, but decides the only way to prove it is to do something on a significant enough scale to be believed from the outset. |
| 112 | * In ''Series/StargateSG1'', when Gerak becomes a Prior of the Ori and is asked to destroy Jaffa who refuse to believe, Teal'c asks him what makes him believe they are gods, citing various impressive miracles they could have performed. He then points out that the Goa'uld performed the exact same miracles and posits that the measure of a god is not how much power they have, but how they apply it. If they were gods, they would not need Gerak to kill anyone on their behalf, or even ask such a thing of him. |
| 113 | ** In the season 4 episode "Threshold", during a flashback, it is shown that Teal'c subjected Apophis to one by allowing Valar, someone Apophis had ordered Teal'c to kill, to live and lying to Apophis about it. |
| 114 | * ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' |
| 115 | ** Inverted in the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E4WhoWatchesTheWatchers Who Watches the Watchers]]". A primitive alien tribe has come to believe that Picard is God (despite his protests), and to prove it one of them shoots him with a bow to prove that [[SpellMyNameWithAThe The Picard]] can't be killed. Fortunately for Picard the alien misses his heart, but does hit him in the shoulder, injuring him and thereby proving to the aliens that he isn't God. |
| 116 | *** Earlier in the episode, one of the aliens is beamed up in an effort to explain to her that this is the case, [[ClarkesThirdLaw comparing the advanced tech on display as a scaled up equivalent of her showing a bow and arrow to her primitive ancestors]]. It takes her seeing one of the crew die in sick bay to convince her that the beings before her are indeed mortal. |
| 117 | ** Also inverted in the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E13DejaQ Déjà Q]]", in which Q claims to have been stripped of his powers and exiled from the Continuum. When he asks how he can prove it, Worf suggests "[[DeadpanSnarker Die]]." Guinan performs a more direct test, stabbing him in the hand with a fork and saying "Seems human enough to me." when he screams in pain. |
| 118 | ** Played with in the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E13DevilsDue Devil's Due]]". 1,000 years ago a planet made a DealWithTheDevil to turn around their civilization and bring about 1,000 golden years, but after 1,000 years the devil would return to rule the planet. A con artist uses that myth to try and claim control of the planet. At the end of the episode the Enterprise crew finds and takes control of the cloaked ship she has been using to simulate her "powers" and Picard turns her own tricks against her, challenging her to stop the Earthquake he started and calling out for her to return when he beams her away using her own transporter. |
| 119 | * ''Series/Supergirl2015'': In "[[Recap/Supergirl2015S3E4TheFaithful The Faithful]]", Supergirl discovers a cult is worshiping her and is setting up disasters so they can convert people she rescues into new members. To put an end to it, Supergirl deliberately exposes herself to kryptonite and cuts her palm. Seeing her bleeding destroys most of their faith. |
| 120 | * ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' |
| 121 | ** Subverted when the angel Castiel meets the Ghostfacers. To prove his divinity, Castiel breaks a piece of glass, and states that it is made whole again... [[FailedAttemptAtDrama except that it isn't]]. |
| 122 | ---> '''Castiel:''' ''[looking upwards]'' Oh, come on! |
| 123 | ** In Season 11, the Winchesters actually do meet God. Dean is accusing Him of being a demon trying to trick them when God teleports them to the Men of Letters headquarters while Dean is still talking, then raises someone from the dead and helps him AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence. All Dean can say is "Holy crap." |
| 124 | [[/folder]] |
| 125 | |
| 126 | [[folder:Mythology and Religion]] |
| 127 | * Literature/TheBible features many examples and [[OlderThanFeudalism some of them very old.]] In general, the Old Testament is much more okay with God Tests than the New Testament. Old Testament God was very active, with His miracles ranging from the subtle, such as ensuring Israelite victory in battle, to the obviously supernatural, such as raining down fire. In the New Testament, God was much more subtle, His only direct miracles being the impregnation of Mary and the resurrection. Jesus was generally willing to perform miracles, but He often asked that word of his miracles not be spread around, particularly his miraculous healings, and only engaged in one 'large scale' ritual, the feeding of crowds with only a few loaves of bread and fish. |
| 128 | ** God provided Moses with some evidence of Who sent him, starting with giving Moses temporary leprosy and turning his staff into a snake and back (with enough time for it to eat the Egyptian priests' staff-snakes), followed up by the Ten Plagues. |
| 129 | ** Gideon has an inversion; he was unsure that he (Gideon) was really TheChosenOne and wanted to make sure before he went off starting a war. He leaves a fleece on the floor overnight; once, having the fleece be wet with dew while the floor is dry, and once vice versa. Both are performed without objection. |
| 130 | ** Elijah challenges the priests of Baal to one in [[Literature/BooksOfKings 1 Kings]]. Both call upon their god to light an altar as proof. He mocks them when Baal fails to answer. Yahweh lights the altar, even after Elijah stacked the deck against himself by soaking his altar with water, and the Israelites praise him, then slaughter the priests after this. |
| 131 | ** In the Literature/BookOfJob, when God finally speaks to Job, He challenges Job to do things that only He as God can do, to humble Job so that he would not dare to question anything God does to him. |
| 132 | ** God does this in [[Literature/BookOfIsaiah Isaiah 41:21-23]] to the gods that Israel have made for themselves, challenging them to show "what has occurred" or to declare things to come, even going so far as to say "do anything, good or bad", with verse 24 stating the ForegoneConclusion that these gods are nothing but worthless idols. |
| 133 | ** God actually encourages His people Israel in the Literature/BookOfMalachi to test Him in regards to bringing the full tithe to the storehouse instead of withholding it in Chapter 3, saying that He will pour out so much blessing that there will not be enough room to store it. |
| 134 | ** {{Satan}} tries to invoke this by suggesting Jesus prove He was the Son of God by turning stones into bread. Jesus refused, saying "[[AsTheGoodBookSays It is written]]; Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from God's mouth." [[TheUnfettered Not to be put off]], Satan told Him to jump from the roof of the temple, saying "If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give His angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee: And in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone." [[DefiedTrope Jesus refuses again]], saying "[[KirkSummation Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.']]" |
| 135 | ** Also invoked in the New Testament letters. John the apostle in [[Literature/EpistlesOfJohn his first letter]] instructs Christians to test any spirit claiming to be from Heaven, by verifying that the spirit in question confesses Jesus is Lord and that He came in the flesh, because demons will masquerade as angels of light to try to deceive people, but will never confess Jesus's Lordship or Incarnation before mortals, because doing so would defeat the point of the deception. |
| 136 | ** Shortly after Jesus was arrested, his captors blindfolded him, one of them punched him, then they mockingly said if he was really the Son of God, he would know which of them punched him. Jesus' response, if he responded at all, is not mentioned. |
| 137 | ** King Herod (Antipas) tested Jesus on the day of His crucifixion to see if He would do all the miraculous things he had heard about. Jesus did nothing. |
| 138 | ** When Jesus is on the cross the authorities mockingly say "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." |
| 139 | ** Played straight by Jesus and Thomas. When Thomas hears of the resurrection, he refuses to believe the story, thinking it incredible. It is not until Jesus shows Thomas his crucifixion wounds that Thomas believes. Jesus then says that it would have been better for Thomas to have believed without seeing his wounds. |
| 140 | * According to [[Literature/TheQuran the Koran]], Muhammad refused to perform any God Tests to prove that he was a prophet, since there are several such stories in Literature/TheBible and in every one of them the prophets passed the tests but the crowds still didn't believe them. Since it never works, God wouldn't perform any more miracles only for the entertainment of unbelievers. |
| 141 | * Several people ask the current prophet for a sign that God exists in Literature/TheBookOfMormon. Usually what they get is [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor being immediately struck down]] by divine power. Sometimes this leads to a happy conversion and they recover. Other times, not so much. |
| 142 | * As the tales where this trope does pop up can tell you, it's generally ''very'' dangerous to ask TheFairFolk to prove themselves to you. Partially because, if they are of the kind that CannotTellALie, they are likely to get insulted by the fact that their word is not good enough for you; cue DisproportionateRetribution, and partially because, well, [[BlueAndOrangeMorality they are]] TheFairFolk: [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor if the only thing you wish for is to know]] if they really are the beings they claim to be, don't blame them if [[LiteralGenie the knowledge that they really were]] [[JerkassGenie the beings they claimed to be]] is the ''[[ExactWords only thing]]'' you're left with. |
| 143 | [[/folder]] |
| 144 | |
| 145 | [[folder:Newspaper Comics]] |
| 146 | * ''ComicStrip/NineChickweedLane'': Monty (who may or may not be GodInHumanForm) asks CloudCuckooLander Thorax for advice on how to deal with his God Complex ("It started around the time I created the universe"). Thorax's recommendation? "Try prayer, and see if you get a busy signal." |
| 147 | [[/folder]] |
| 148 | |
| 149 | [[folder:Puppet Shows]] |
| 150 | * In one episode of ''Series/TreintaYUnMinutos'', a puppet claiming to be God appears in front of the characters. They dare him to prove to them he is indeed God, so he transforms them into horrible creatures (their human actors) to prove his power. |
| 151 | [[/folder]] |
| 152 | |
| 153 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 154 | * One of the black cards in ''TabletopGame/CardsAgainstHumanity'' instructs the players to use one of the white cards in their hand to answer the question, "What will I bring back in time to convince people that I'm a powerful wizard?" Answers can range from the absurd ("George Clooney's musk") to the mundane but probably seemingly-magical to people from the past ("that thing that electrocutes your abs") to the actually-supernatural ("being a motherfuckin' sorcerer"). |
| 155 | [[/folder]] |
| 156 | |
| 157 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 158 | * In Creator/{{Aristophanes}}' ''The Frogs'', The god Dionysos and his servant both claim to be the real Dionysos, and the gatekeeper of Hades decides to tell them apart by flogging them. Supposedly, a real deity can't feel and won't react to pain. This being a parody, they ''both'' fail. |
| 159 | * ''Music/JesusChristSuperstar''. Quoth Herod to Jesus, "Prove to me that you're no fool/Walk upon my swimming pool." Jesus in the Gospels also comes up against demands for miracles to prove his status, and refuses to play along with them. |
| 160 | [[/folder]] |
| 161 | |
| 162 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 163 | * Repeatedly in ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', since [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly faith in the gods is at a low ebb]] and gaining "praise spheres" plays a vital role in the gameplay's RPGElements. Amaterasu sometimes displays a wicked sense of humor in answering them. |
| 164 | * In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', the [[FantasticDrug lyrium-addled]] templar Carroll repeatedly refuses to believe that the protagonist is a Grey Warden. They can't pass his God Test, but not for the usual reason: |
| 165 | --> '''Templar''': Go on, then, kill some darkspawn! Let's see some righteous Grey-Wardening! |
| 166 | --> '''Warden''': There ''aren't'' any darkspawn here! |
| 167 | * The ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' fan module ''The Maimed God's Saga'' has a cleric of Tyr as the PlayerCharacter. At one point a mob assembles in the town square demanding that you prove you're really a cleric. You can blow them off without consequence, or if you have the spell ''remove disease'' prepared, you can cure a sick woman in the crowd. |
| 168 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Futurama}}: The Game'', Leela ends up encountering the Sun God, who was lauding his powers over the local underdeveloped civilization living on the Sun. Leela asks that he prove that he is a God, but this angers him and causes a boss fight. After defeating him, he admits the truth. |
| 169 | -->"You found me out... [[AGodIAmNot I'm not really a god]]... I'm *cough* *cough* just an ordinary... [[DistinctionWithoutADifference eternal, omniscient, superintelligent being]]." |
| 170 | * The first few chapters of episode 2 of ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'' have Chloe testing Max's rewind power to make sure it's legit. This includes guessing the contents of her pockets and predicting the immediate future. |
| 171 | * In ''VideoGame/BlackAndWhite'', one yokel refuses to acknowledge the divinity of the [[AGodIsYou miracle-spewing luminous celestial being]] until its {{Bond Creature|s}} grows large enough to impress him. |
| 172 | * ''VideoGame/AmazonGuardiansOfEden'': When a tribe thinks Jason and Maya are a pair of fair-skinned gods while their shaman thinks they're demons, a medicine man tells them to prove they're gods. They accomplish this by throwing fireworks into a fire, which impresses the natives but the medicine man remains suspicious. He tells them to heal the sick boy, which they do and receive a canoe as well as some supplies. Failure to do either of these things results in the main duo getting eaten by the natives. |
| 173 | [[/folder]] |
| 174 | |
| 175 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 176 | * Something of a variant in [[http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1584#comic this]] ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'' comic strip. It turns out that the Second Coming was accidentally stopped in the 1693 after Jesus' miracles proved he was [[WitchHunt guilty of witchcraft]]. |
| 177 | * ''WebComic/GunnerkriggCourt'': Coyote proves his divinity to Annie by [[PerspectiveMagic pulling the moon from the night sky]], which she pokes to see if it's real. Even still, she assumes it was some kind of trick… at least until she sees [[DefaceOfTheMoon her fingerprint on the moon's surface]] through a telescope later that night. |
| 178 | * ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'': In [[https://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/030601c this]] strip, a character from the future is trying to convince himself from earlier in the timeline that he remembers this conversation from when he was him. To prove it, he asks his past self to pick a number between zero and ten. His past self inadvertently proves his future self right by cheating, since his future self knew exactly how he would cheat. |
| 179 | -->'''Far Future Alternate Bass''': Seven. |
| 180 | -->'''Future Alternate Bass''': Ha, it's-- |
| 181 | -->'''Far Future Alternate Bass''': But then if I correctly picked seven, you were going to lie and say you picked five. |
| 182 | [[/folder]] |
| 183 | |
| 184 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 185 | %%* In episode 55 of ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'', Yami asks Noah to prove that he's a god. |
| 186 | * [[spoiler: Tennyo]] of the Literature/WhateleyUniverse was forced to prove she was The Captain [[spoiler: (i.e. The Star Stalker)]]. The test involved opening a box but to open that box, a hand must be sacrificed. |
| 187 | * ''WebAnimation/DarkMatter2525'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFOTnBz-PCk The Evolution of Apologetics]] notes that things have fallen from the days of the Bible, when Elijah showed God was real by having him do a miracle. |
| 188 | ** Also done in the [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv--V1yc2QDJi6hFNhur3iAsyFpXRtB8w "Power Corrupts" series]], which [[spoiler:portrays our reality as a [[Franchise/TheMatrix Matrix-like]] world whose sole purpose is testing if Yahweh can use power responsibly. It turns out that Yahweh is a regular guy who abuses his power to no end and, due to Satan's meddling, accidentally gained control over robots and thus also the real world. Finding a solution to this problem drives much of this story's plot.]] |
| 189 | [[/folder]] |
| 190 | |
| 191 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 192 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers'', Daggett is mistaken for "The Mighty Knothead" by a tribe of Amazonian raccoons after a mishap in getting a wood knot from a tree. He is subjected to tests to prove that he is TheChosenOne. |
| 193 | * It doesn't come up all that often, but in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Aang has had to prove he is the Avatar on one or two occasions. For him, it's rather easy; just do a little [[BlowYouAway Airbending]], as the Avatar is the Last Airbender. He did this once on purpose on Kyoshi Island, and then [[SuccessThroughInsanity King Bumi]] tricked him into doing it again by throwing a chicken leg at him the first time they visited Omashu. |
| 194 | * Spoofed in ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead''. The duo meet a cult leader claiming to be God, and try to do the test. The problem is that the guys asking the questions are, well, [[TheDitz Beavis and Butt-head]]. |
| 195 | -->'''Butt-head''': Like, if you're God, then like, what's the name of that guy who built that ark?\ |
| 196 | '''"God"''': Noah!\ |
| 197 | '''Butt-head''': Whoa!\ |
| 198 | '''Beavis''': Yeah! |
| 199 | * In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', when the Griffins have UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} over for dinner, Brian asks him to prove that he is Jesus. So Jesus instantly turns everyone's dinner into ice cream. And, at the request of Peter after the above incident, enlarged Lois' breasts. |
| 200 | ** When confronted by Santa Claus, Peter asks him what he asked for when he was twelve. Santa's answer (Nothing. Because it was the year you found that Penthouse in the woods) convinces Peter. |
| 201 | * Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'', where [[JackassGenie Norm the Genie]] gripes that he always has to deal with mortals wasting their first wish on something stupid, like "a giant sandwich" to make him prove that he actually grants wishes. Eventually, he starts giving new masters freebie sandwiches without being asked just to cut out the preamble. |
| 202 | * In ''WesternAnimation/GodTheDevilAndBob'', after several small attempts God makes to prove his divinity (like pulling out ping pong balls from Satan's mouth), Bob ''still'' brushes him off, causing God to play ''hardball''. Cue the entire bar split apart, growing to fifty feet, bathed in heavenly light and surrounded by doves... with a bear in a fez riding a tricycle with the banner "It's really Him!!!" |
| 203 | -->'''Bob''': [[OhCrap Uh]], so, ''God''... what are you drinking? |
| 204 | * ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': |
| 205 | ** Steven has had to prove he is Rose Quartz on three separate occasions, since just telling Gems he is her son doesn't work since Gemkind don't reproduce organically and thus don't even know it's a thing that exists, what it is and how it works. The [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E48TheReturn first time]] was by accident when he summoned his shield to protect his home and his family from a weapon; the [[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E24Bubbled second time]] was an attempt to heal a Ruby while in space; and the [[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E24IAmMyMom third time]] was to prevent his friends and family from being abducted by Aquamarine and Topaz. |
| 206 | ** And then, in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E23Reunited "Reunited"]], after learning some important things about his mother, Steven has to prove to [[spoiler:Blue and Yellow Diamond]] that he is [[spoiler:their "shattered" sister Pink]]. He does this by [[spoiler:managing to unleash Pink's [[CoverBlowingSuperpower distinctive Diamond aura]].]] |
| 207 | [[/folder]] |
| 208 | |
| 209 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 210 | * As with many Native American peoples, the Tainos of Puerto Rico were told that the Spaniards invading their land were gods. To make sure, they caught one and tried to drown him... and succeeded. Even then they had no chance against the invaders. |
| 211 | * As shown above, Carl Sagan's famous quote, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," is an excellent summary of skeptics' treatment of claims with this magnitude. |
| 212 | [[/folder]] |
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