What If God Was One Of Us? | Unveiled

What If God Was One of Us?

Many people throughout history have claimed to be Gods or to have divine ancestry… Like Alexander the Great, who often called himself the Son of Zeus, the God of Thunder. However, none of these self-proclaimed divinities have been able to actually prove their heritage. So, what if someone did? This is Unveiled and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; What if God was one of us? The idea that Gods walk among us isn’t new. One of Christianity’s core beliefs is that Jesus Christ, the son of God, came to live and breathe on Earth before ultimately dying for our sins. And even the pre-incarnate God is said to have walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Greek Mythology also places the Gods in close and humbling proximity, supposing that its twelve major figures resided atop Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. More broadly speaking, some religions say that God based the creation of us on His likeness, while others have prophets or messengers of God at their heart... so imagining God as a human isn’t all that difficult. The first step into making God “one of us”, though? Actually getting Him or Her here in the first place. An omniscient, omnipotent being, He’s often thought of as residing in the afterlife or in the heavens, watching over us from above. But now, He’d have to do the same from the surface of Earth itself - most likely while trying to blend in. God hasn’t recently, or according to some religions ever, outright presented Himself to the entire Earth to claim it as his own... So, his arrival might well be muted. But, depending on which if any belief you subscribe to, that doesn’t mean his arrival would be without reason. From a Christian perspective, God’s literal presence among us means nothing good… Just as the second coming of Christ supposedly foretells God’s final judgement and spells the end of humanity, were God to appear, it’d seem that we’d really messed something up - and could be on the brink of Armageddon. But, other than the end of the world as we know it, what other reasons might God have for coming to Earth? And, in the event that His cover was blown, how would humanity respond? Almost immediately, people would demand proof, needing irrefutable evidence that the person claiming to be God really is what they say they are. Throughout history, rulers including Roman emperors and Egyptian Pharaohs have cited some form of the “Divine Right of Kings and Queens” to qualify them for their position… But such a “right” isn’t likely to go as unquestioned in the twenty-first century. Perhaps a true God amongst mortals would harbour some kind of ability to just instantly convince everyone of His authenticity… But, if not, we’d need to see miracles. As arguably the easiest and most direct way of separating a superior being from an everyday human, God could prove his Godliness in an instant by, say, predicting future events, speaking to everyone on Earth simultaneously, or performing otherwise inhuman feats such as levitating. On the other side, if God was one of us but wanted to remain anonymous, He’d need to successfully hide such powers for his entire time on Earth. As soon as anyone caught sight of a seemingly regular person behaving in a God-like way, a frenzy would take hold - with news of the sighting spreading on social media, reporters rushing to the site of the supposed miracle, and masses of people crowding to catch a glimpse of - or maybe even a selfie with - actual God. After the initial excitement, though, there’d likely be an even stronger recurrence of doubt - with people dubiously asking; “how did they do that?”, rather than accepting that God had really revealed Himself to them. And even if His divinity was accepted, some might believe Him to be an imposter, the devil or a demon in disguise, sent to Earth by the real God to test His followers’ faith. And so, this figure, whoever they were, would find themselves with the highest of high profiles and in an extremely uncomfortable position - on the one hand revered by millions, on the other under the suspicion of millions more. They’d be under severe pressure, too, with people looking to (and expecting) them to solve all of their problems, to take away their sicknesses or to guarantee their happiness. There’d now be a clear, recognizable figure at which humankind could direct all of its greatest grievances - with likely first questions ranging from; “Why don’t you stop natural disasters?” to “Why is there world hunger?”. In a time where we may well have turned away from regular world leaders and politicians in favour of a confirmed higher being, if God were one of us then He’d in many ways have to become the ultimate diplomat, bridging the gap between life and death, mortality and immortality, fact and faith. Say He decides to play no part in day-to-day human affairs, though… God could at once become the most worshipped but also the most loathed figure on Earth. Masses of disgruntled onlookers would rise to demand change, with protests and riots breaking out wherever the God-in-human-form appeared. Next, there would emerge challengers and rivals to God’s position. Global leaders, influencers and empire builders could no longer falsely claim to be a descendant of God themselves but, if public opinion of God had become bitterly split, perhaps they wouldn’t need to… We’d no longer see people claiming to be God, but instead claiming to be better than Him. Regardless, though, it’s difficult to imagine anybody’s influence superseding that of a confirmed God’s. So, wherever God lived - assuming that in being “one of us” He’d also live in the same way as we do - it’d become the most populated city in the world, and a place of regular pilgrimage for the millions that couldn’t actually call it home. It’d be all eyes on God’s place for as long as He walked among us, with scientists, philosophers, artists and prudent businessmen and women flocking to be near Him. National borders and international ties could well be ditched seeing as the entire planet would have a universal focus, with social groups created around your opinion of “God personified” rather than nationalities. Indeed, God in this particular form would never be able to rest. He’d look, sound and seem like “one of us”, but the rest of the world would always know His power. Everyone’s problems would fall at his door; Everything he touched would be kept as a relic; every word he said would carry global consequences. A God in human form would know the secrets to life, the universe and everything… And he’d spend his days deciding exactly how to safely impart those secrets onto regular human beings. Such a person could inspire hope but also hysteria; relief and happiness but also fear and frustration… But, either way, we’d always know that all of life on Earth really was being watched over by someone not that unlike ourselves. And that’s what would happen if God was one of us.