List of appearances of God in fiction

The following is a chronological list of appearances of God in fiction, where "appearance" is defined as a physical or mental manifestation either clearly identified as God (that is, not merely a miraculous or supernatural phenomenon) or for which independent claims have been made that God is depicted (excluding metaphor).

The portrayal need not be accurate in any sense; characters falsely claiming to be God or a God-character at odds with most interpretations of God are included as well.

Distinct individuals who are identified with God or an incarnation of God in some religious traditions (for example, Jesus or Haile Selassie) are not included on this page. See those pages for any respective lists.

Movies

* The Chronicles of Narnia
* The Ten Commandments (1956). Charlton Heston voices God as he instructs Moses (also played by Heston) in the biblical story of Exodus.
* Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974). God appears in the sky (as a Terry Gilliam animation) and orders King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table on a quest to find the Holy Grail.
* Oh, God! (1977). George Burns plays a God who selects an assistant grocery manager to spread his message. Burns reprised his role in the two sequels, Oh, God! Book II (1980) and Oh, God! You Devil (1984).
* Time Bandits (1981). "The Supreme Being" follows the Bandits through the film as an animated head. In the end, he appears as an elderly gentleman played by Ralph Richardson.
* Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989). The starship Enterprise is hijacked and flown to a planet where an entity claiming to be God awaits.
* Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991). After dying and entering heaven, Bill and Ted compliment God (depicted only as a bright light) on his work.
* Dogma (1999) Bud Cort plays 'John Doe Jersey', a physical incarnation of God. Later, Alanis Morissette plays God.
* Bedazzled (2000) A character played by Gabriel Casseus appears in a scene near the end of film, and it is implied that he is God (although he is credited in the film as "Elliot's Cellmate/Angel".
* Bruce Almighty (2003). Morgan Freeman plays a God who delegates his omnipotence to a disgruntled television reporter.
The Matrix Trilogy (1999, 2003, 2004) The Architect, played by Helmut Bakaitis, who claims to be the creator of the Matrix, seems to be a representation of God; indeed, some have said the entire trilogy is a cyberpunk representation of the story of Jesus.
*In a 1999 made-for-TV film based on Joan of Arc, there was no physical representation of God, but it did feature Welsh singer Charlotte Church as the "Voice of God"

Novels

* The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979). God proves his own existence via the existence of the Babel fish, which causes Him to disappear "in a puff of logic".
* God appears in the Red Dwarf novels Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (1989) and Better Than Life (1990). God is a Guest at one of Rimmer's parties in his Better Than Life Dreamworld, and goes on a time-traveling drinking binge with other famous people such as Norman Wisdom and Albert Einstein.
* The Old Man and Mr. Smith (1990). God (as Godfrey, "the old man") and Satan ("Mr. Smith") take an inspection tour of the world together.
* The Amber Spyglass (2000). The Authority, the first angel, claims to be the creator of the multiverse and styles himself God—though he is presented as lying.
* One Door Away From Heaven. God makes various appearances in this book, notably as the playful Presence in the dreams of animals, and apparently, angels manifast as a race of shape-shifting aliens with the power to open people's minds to God's grace via their bond with certain animals.
* The Lord of the Rings. The character of Tom Bombadil is left outside. He can be interpreted as an example of the Wiccan god, with his wife Goldberry likewise representing the goddess.

Comics

* In the Vertigo comic series "Lucifer", written by Mike Carey, God makes an appearance near the end of the series in the form of a portly old man in a suit and bowler hat. He goes by the name of Yahweh, which is the name of God in Judaic text. However within the series, a ten year old girl named Elaine inherits the Throne of God and therefore becomes the new God of the Universe while the old God journeys into the void for undisclosed reasons.
* In issues of Fantastic Four, God looks just like hugely influential comics artist Jack Kirby, one of the co-creators of the Four.
* In the graphic novel series Preacher, God is depicted as having vacated His throne after the birth of an angel-demon hybrid called Genesis, whose power threatens His own. The series follows the preacher Jesse Custer in his literal search for God.
* In the webcomic Sinfest, God is an early character, the third to be introduced into the comic, and appears frequently. His face is never shown, only his hand, usually with a finger puppet, is shown. His speech bubble is shown as coming from between two cumulus clouds. His speech is in gothic when He speaks directly, without a puppet, but in normal text with a puppet.
* In the last issues of Animal Man, the author, Grant Morrison appears and interacts with Animal Man. As he is the author, and controller of Animal Man's reality, he is essentially God.

Plays

* Waiting for Godot. In one interpretation (one disavowed by the author), God (Godot) is manifested as absence, or belatedness, which in turn appears as the structural principle of the play.

Television

* The Simpsons (1989-). Multiple appearances of a robed hand of God from the clouds (which inconsistently appears as having four fingers, like all other hands in The Simpsons, or five). In Homer the Heretic he visits Homer in his dreams to ask him why he left his church? Homer claims he doesn't see the point of going to church where they keep reminding him he will go to hell. God gives in and claims that even He would sometimes rather want to watch football.
* South Park (1997-): God makes several appearances, usually as a beam of light with a disembodied voice, but sometimes in His True Form: a bluish monster with hippo and a platypus parts, a snake-like tongue, brown fur and a long tail. In one episode, South Park's God claims he is a Buddhist.
* Family Guy (1999-2002, 2005-) God makes several appearances in the show, along with Jesus and Krishna.
* Futurama (1999-2003) in the episode Godfellas. After falling asleep in a Torpedo Tube, Bender gets shot out into Space. After being worshipped himself as a God by a race of tiny aliens living on a rock that becomes lodged in his chest plate, he ends up being sucked into a nebula that, it seems, is sentient. The Nebula itself implies that it is God (at least, that it can hear Prayers from across the Universe) and answers Fry's request to send Bender back to Earth.
* Joan of Arcadia (2003-2005). God appears to Joan Girardi, a teenage girl, in the form of a different person each time.
* Drawn Together (2004-): God appears and is interviewed in a reality television-style interview booth. The booth has been converted into a glory hole room during a coming out party for Xandir, who "enters" during God's interview.
* Tripping the Rift (2004): A stereotypical white-bearded "God" appears in one episode where the main characters return to the beginning of time to watch the universe being created, but accidentally run over and kill God, thus leading to the creation of a radically different reality. The characters then return to the beginning of time to save God so as to restore their original reality.
((God, the Devil, and Bob))

Radio

* The BBC Radio comedy series Old Harry's Game, written and directed by Andy Hamilton, is set in Hell with Satan as the main character. The series occasionally features God (played by David Swift) as slightly confused, vengeful and not very welcoming of criticism or inquiry. He is often mentioned in dialogue by other characters (particularly Satan who doesn't get along well with him and is resentful of his damnation).

See also

* Dramatic portrayals of Jesus