I’m talking about stuff like Dune with the viewpoint from an immortal being, them being bored with their omnipotence or knowing the future, relishing surprises and people rising against them. Wanting to be overthrown sometimes or prescience being a curse instead of an advantage. If you had perfect recall and watched the same reruns of shows everyday, that might be boring after 100 years, even 5 years.
His Dark Materials (iykyk).
Borges stories like The three versions of Judas and The immortal. Judas is made a villain and has been hated a lot throughout history, but this story brings up some good takes like he’s a part of god’s holy plan so he himself is holy. That he was a tool of god and should be celebrated as the instrument to catalyze the resurrection, to fulfill a prophecy or plan. It’s also brought up that, similar to dune, god might be bored with living forever without peers or anybody up to their level, and they might want to experience what it’s like to be a squirrel or a cow or even a human sometimes. Since they have the power to do anything, they have the power to make themselves live the life of a human to experience human emotion and get out of the boring rut of being a god for a (human) lifetime. It could have been god himself instead of Judas.
I won’t talk about the other story, you just have to experience it. Any other good books or interpretations of religion that wowed you?
Edit: maybe the title should say most realistic take instead, since these are not too out there, but more making gods think like us.
by whoisyourwormguy_
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Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman. Each of the very short stories imagines a different afterlife. It is at times funny, at times deep. It does make you think about the nature of existence.
Pratchett’s Diskworld books.
Obligatory mention of Small Gods by Terry Pratchett (and Discworld as a whole). Gods only get to be gods because people believe they’re gods and if they stop that’s just bad news for you!
Bujold’s world of the Five Gods has the holy family each with their own seasons and domains: Father of winter; Mother of summer; Daughter of spring; Son of Autumn; and the Bastard to act as balance.
The Gods need humans (or animals) to open themselves so they can act.
So, one aspect is that on death, everyone is entitled to a miracle… a sacred animal chooses which deity takes their soul.
The Chronicles of Wormwood comics have a great take on religion. There’s a first limited series, then a one-shot, then a second limited series.
The main character is the Anti-Christ, who, after finding out his dad is Satan, refuses to go along with his plans for Armageddon. He has to deal with attacks from a rival shock TV producer, the Vatican, and temptations from Satan. It’s incredibly funny, witty, and surprisingly intelligent when poking holes at Christianity and religion in general. Oh, and he’s best friends with Jesus, who only has short periods of coherent thought after getting brain damage after getting beat down by the LAPD.