Gods as head of state. (1/?)

Even if a god was a real, physical guy that ran around on Earth, there would still be people who interpret what he says differently. SOme people would still believe that you need to follow things strictly, some people would believe you need to follow things literally, some people would think it's more metaphorical. There would be people who look at the numbers and try to calculate the end times, there would be people who try to use the words to push their own agendas. There would be people claiming to be prophets...and there would be other people claiming to be a god, or the sons of god, and trying to run their own countries, too.

What would help you a lot is to figure out the (rough) history of this god, when they showed up, when they decided to take over the country, what their relationship is with other gods. Was there a big famine that killed a lot of people and made some people not like him anymore? Was there an unsuccessful war? A natural disaster?

 

I actually did all this with my setting. The big question/theme that emerged from this whole saga was whether or not it was possible to be a moral paragon (even if you define what “moral paragon” means) while also being a temporal ruler. The answer ended-up being “no”.

 

It's definitely an interesting idea. If you want to read some works with this premisse, you could go for The Silmarillion, by Tolkien (though you might want to skip the first few chapters, which are a bit slow unless you're a Tolkien fan). Or if you want something recent, you could go for Breach of Peace, by Daniel Greene (though I haven't read that one, but I heard it was nice).

I think the main thing you need to decide is where the limits of your god's powers lie. If they are literally everywhere at once and all powerful, then it would be hard to tell a good story (unless it doesn't involve those gods at all of course). So, it would be good to know what they can and can't do, and it would be good if the reader knows this as well. It prevents the reader from feeling cheated if the gods at some point use a power to get out of trouble.

 

I like the idea... they use it in the Belgariad series; another for you to read.

This is what I was thinking also. Having a good outline of what's possible in the world; with their own abilities could give you a consistency. You'd also have to consider the implications of the church itself. What is the hierarchy? Who gets to speak directly to their god? Why? What could a person do to meet their deity? What sort of people are the followers? What sort of impact do they have in the greater realm? Does the deity's power increase or decrease with the number of followers they have or is it rather static? What sort of beliefs do the gods impart to their followers? How do the various godly factions interact with each other?

These are just some points to consider.

 

that's actually a great idea , keep on working on that

 

what I like about it is the way you put one different perspectives in one paragraph that took me to another place