History Main / GodlySidestep

** After learning that Niblonians have been around since the dawn of time, Leila asks them about the creation. After seconds of untranslated Niblonian gibberish, Leila exclaims "That means every religion is wrong!"

* Not a divine example, but [[spoiler: Jones]] from GunnerkriggCourt has been around as long as the Earth itself and perfectly remembers every moment of her existence. As such, she has in fact born witness to the origins of life on Earth, the evolution/extinction of species (including humans ''and'' dinosaurs) and countless other bits of priceless moments in history. When this is revealed, she explains that she decided long ago to just observe and interfere as little as possible with human society (hence her nickname, [[spoiler: Wandering Eye]]). Over the years, she has sometimes taken on the role of a teacher, but only of knowledge which humanity has already discovered for itself.

* Not a divine example, but [[spoiler: Jones]] from GunnerkriggCourt has been around as long as the Earth itself and perfectly remembers every moment of her existence. As such, she has in fact born witness to the origins of life on Earth, the evolution/extinction of species (including humans ''and'' dinosaurs) and countless other bits of priceless moments in history. Instead, she decided long ago to just observe (hence her nickname, [[spoiler: Wandering Eye]]). Over the years, she has sometimes taken on the role of a teacher, but only of knowledge which humanity has already discovered for itself.

* Not a divine example, but [[spoiler: Jones]] from GunnerkrigCourt has been around as long as the Earth itself and perfectly remembers every moment of her existence. As such, she has in fact born witness to the origins of life on Earth, the evolution/extinction of species (including humans ''and'' dinosaurs) and countless other bits of priceless moments in history. Instead, she decided long ago to just observe (hence her nickname, [[spoiler: Wandering Eye]]). Over the years, she has sometimes taken on the role of a teacher, but only of knowledge which humanity has already discovered for itself.

* In ''ItsWalky'', The Cheese claims to know which religion is the correct one, but refuses to tell anyone, claiming that if you don't figure it out for yourself, you won't understand the answer (and adds that even if he did tell anyone, chances are he wouldn't be taken seriously).

* In ''ItsWalky'', The Cheese claims to know which religion is the correct one, but refuses to tell anyone, claiming that if you don't figure it out for yourself, you won't understand the answer.

* In ''TimeBandits'', when Kevin actually asks what is the reason for evil, God merely says it has something to do with free will.

[[AC:Comics]]

* At the very end of the ''FindingNemo'' visual commentary, during the {{Pixar}} VanityPlate, the director can be heard saying, "Here's the secret of life. The secret of life is--" ''(Luxo Jr. shuts off his light.)''

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:Music]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]

* In ''ItsWalky'', The Big Cheese claims to know which religion is the correct one, but refuses to tell anyone, claiming that if you don't figure it out for yourself, you won't understand the answer.

** In {{JLA-Avengers}}, he ''destroyed several universes'' trying to find the answer. He eventually finds the one being who knows it -{{Galactus}}- but is turned himself into a "cosmic egg" like the one the MarvelUniverse was created from in the process. Technically, he found the answer he wanted- but whether he feels fulfilled -[[AndIMustScream or anything else]]- as a result is unknown.
** MarvWolfman has stated that he always hated what Krona saw (but not why- perhaps he disliked the implication that the universe has a creator) and that he specifically wrote a scene in CrisisOnInfiniteEarths to subvert it by saying that what Krona actually saw was the hand of the Anti-Monitor trying to recreate the universe [[InTheirOwnImage in his own image]].

* ''{{Dogma}}'' - In a perfect example, God herself does this. After the heroes save God, the day, and the universe, the main character asks to be told the meaning of life. God, played by Alanis Morissette, simply smiles.

* ''TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' - Deep Thought is a computer programmed to answer the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. It reveals that the answer is "FortyTwo", and when its operators complain, points out that obviously the answer isn't going to make sense unless you know the precise wording of the Question. Then an even more advanced computer - [[spoiler: The Earth]] - was built to formulate the Ultimate Question, so that the Ultimate Answer could be understood. ''That'' computer was then destroyed five minutes before it would have completed its task. That's some grand sidestepping.

** In "Planet of the Dead", The Doctor knows the true story of Easter. Right after he says "What REALLY happened was-", he gets cut off and forgets what he was talking about.

* ''StarTrekVoyager'' has an episode where SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Q Jr. is told to write an essay about the origins and aspirations of his species. Kathryn Janeway treats the result as if it was an ordinary, though well done, student work.

How is this dance done? Evade the question. Get cut off mid-sentence. Lie. Something. The Godly Sidestep is the moment when the story acknowledges that yes, this character does know '''the''' answer but no, they won't be telling you.

* While not the perfect example, no one in the ''{{Watchmen}}'' universe is better equipped to answer questions of a supernatural nature than Dr. Manhattan. He generally stays relatively quiet and respectful on the matter. When asked if he was god, he simply replied

* Averted in ''TheMeaningOfLife''.

-->'''God''': [pokes Bethany's nose] Nweep.

* In the ''RedDwarf'' episode ''White Hole'', Holly gains an IQ of over 12,000 and professes to know the meaning of the universe. The only being present to ask her is a toast-obsessed kitchen appliance, and any questions it puts forward end up being about bread. Before anyone else can ask, she realises she has three minutes to live and refuses to communicate with anyone.

* ''{{Futurama}}'':

* ''{{Duckman}}'' - Finding himself in Heaven, Duckman gets an Etch-A-Sketch from God. He asks why and God tells him that it has the Meaning of Life written on it, but by then it has been erased from Duckman moving it around.

* ''TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': SubvertedTrope - The Secret of the Universe turns out to be [[spoiler: "I was only kidding.'']]
* In GodtheDevilandBob, Bob asks God why he allows evil to exist. God takes a deep breath and explains to Bob, just as a train passes between them and the audience. Bob is impressed and accepting of God's answer, but we never get to hear it.

* ''HaruhiSuzumiya'': Kyon asks Nagato, after treating with beings that are effectively ghosts of alien lifeforms, what happens after humans die. Her answer? Information classified.

Everyone wonders life's meaning, our place in the universe, and just what or who started it all. Sometimes, though, in fictiondom, a character is introduced that simply MUST know. There's no way to create this character without their knowing the "correct" religion as well as the origin of all things. But then answering it creates a different problem: Alienating the fan base.

Alternatively, the creators may just want to tease the audience with a RiddleForTheAges, and that sort of riddle doesn't last nearly so long if all the answers are spelled out.

Everyone wonders life's meaning, our place in the universe, and just what or who started it all. Sometimes, though, in fictiondom, a character is introduced that simply MUST know. There's no way to create this character without their knowing the "correct" religion as well as the origin of all things. But then answering it creates a different problem: Alienating the fan base. You can't exactly have the all-knowing character say "Oh yes, Big Bang. There is no God" without having every censor and talk-show up in arms about it.

* In ''LifeAndDeath'', When Death asked which religion were right, God whispered in his ear. Death was surpised, meaning it was something unusual.

** Another, far more direct example, is when The Doctor battles against the Devil himself. When The Doctor asks him "from which religion?", the Devil answers "All of them" and further states that he existed before time. An obvious lie, the characters have more pressing matters and drop the line of questions.

Everyone wonders life's meaning, our place in the universe, and just what or who started it all. Sometimes, though, in fictiondom, a character is introduced that simply MUST know. There's no way to create this character without their knowing the "correct" religion as well as the origin of all things. But then answering it creates a different problem: Alienating the fan base. You can't exactly have the An all-knowing character can't exactly say "Oh yes, Big Bang. There is no God" without having every censor and talk-show up in arms about it.

* ''{{Dogma}}'' - In a perfect example, God herself does this. After the heroes save God, the day, and the universe, the main character asks to be told the meaning of life. God, played by Alanis Morissette, simply giggles and runs away.

[[AC:Film]]

* At the very end of the ''FindingNemo'' visual commentary, during the {{Pixar}} VanityPlate, the director can be heard saying, "Here's the secret of life. The secret of life is--" ''(Luxo Jr. shuts off his light.)''

* An episode of Disney's ''{{Hercules}}'' has Zeus about to give the meaning of life on a chat show, however they run out of airtime just before he states it.

* Subverted at the end of SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish (Which, it should be noted, comes from the same book series that featured Deep Thought mentioned above). The protagonists travel to the planet where Gods final message to his creation is written in 30-feet-high letters of fire. The entire message is revealed to the reader, and it goes like this: [[spoiler: We apologise for the inconvenience.]]

* The Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians series features gods and demigods. Soon after Percy learns about the gods, he asks the obvious question and is informed that the gods are "the lower-case 'g' kind" and they "don't deal in metaphysics."

* Series/DoctorWho

* StarTrekVoyager has an episode where SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Q Jr. is told to write an essay about the origins and aspirations of his species. Kathryn Janeway treats the result as if it was an ordinary, though well done, student work.
* Averted HARD in a classic SaturdayNightLive skit, where an angel (Dana Carvey) happily rattles off answers to the quickfire questions of a just-deceased fellow (guest host John Larroquette).

* The creators of JoanOfArcadia made this the rule, actually listing things God couldn't say with regards to unversal truths and religion. God conversed with Joan on a regular basis and always refused to answer any major questions.

* Music: the song (not the album) "God Shuffled His Feet" by the CrashTestDummies.

* In LifeAndDeath, When Death asked which religion were right, God whispered in his ear. Death was surpised, meaning it was something unusual.
* In ItsWalky, The Big Cheese claims to know which religeon is the correct one, but refuses to tell anyone, claiming that if you don't figure it out for yourself, you won't understand the answer.

* ''TheSimpsons'' - God is about to tell Homer the meaning of life when the episode ends.
* {{Futurama}}