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A deity (from Latin, deus, "god"), or a god, is a postulated supernatural entity, usually, but not always, of significant power, worshipped, thought holy, held in high regard, or respected by humans.
Throughout history several people and groups of people have proclaimed themselves to be deities, and this list reflects those that are known.
Who
| When
| What
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| Alexander the Great
| 356 BC - 323 BC
| Claimed to be the son of Zeus.
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| Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah
| 985 - Unknown
| Claimed to be Allah.
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| * Anton LaVey
| April 11, 1930 - October 29, 1997
| Believed each individual satanist was viewed as his/her own god.
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| Aradia de Toscano
| August 13, 1313 - Unknown
| Foundress of Stregheria, believed due to a vision that she was the human incarnation of the goddess Aradia, and thus the (spiritual) daughter of Lucifer and Diana.
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| Beltway Snipers
| Occurred October 2002
| Wrote on tarot cards, "Dear Policeman, I am God. Do not tell the media about this." 1
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| Caligula
| August 31, 12 - January 24, 41
| Labelled himself a god.
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| * Charles Manson
| November 12, 1934 - Present
| Claimed to be Jesus Christ.
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| David Icke
| April 29, 1952 - Present
| Claimed to be God, the son of God and son of the Godhead.
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| * David Koresh
| August 17, 1959 - April 19, 1993
| Claimed to be the Second Coming.
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| Egyptian Pharaohs
| c. 3050 BC - c. 30 BC
| Had godly status. See List of Pharaohs.
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| Father Divine
| c. 1880 - September 10, 1965
| Claimed to be the only true manifestation of God.
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| Hong Xiuquan
| January 10, 1812 - June 1, 1864
| Claimed to be the second son of God, brother to Jesus Christ.
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| Jehovah Wanyoni
| ? - ?
| Reports that his divinity and birth is, "as is explained in the Bible." 2
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| Jesus
| c. 6-4 BC to c. 29-33 AD
| According to the Christian interpretation of his words, believed he was the son of God. See also: Historicity of Jesus.
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| * Jim Jones
| May 13, 1931 - November 18, 1978
| Claimed to be God and Buddha (see Jonestown).
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| Mirza Ghulam Qadian
| ? - ?
| Claimed to be Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and Mehdi. 4
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| L. Ron Hubbard
| March 13, 1911 - January 24, 1986
| Claimed to be both God and Satan. Note that his followers generally do not believe him to be divine.
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| * Sathya Sai Baba
| 1926 or 1929 - Present
| "I AM GOD, but I do not have to know I am God, for I have always been that." 3
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| Sun Myung Moon
| January 6, 1920 - Present
| Claims to be "the savior and messiah of humanity."
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Timeline of self-proclaimed deities<timeline>
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from:-3000 till: 30 text:Egyptian Pharaohs (3050 BC - 30 AD)
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from: -356 till:-323 text:Alexander the Great(356-323BC)
color:gray $center
from: -322 till: -5 text:317 $center
color:black textcolor:black $left
from: -6 till: 33 text:Jesus Christ(6 BC - 33 AD)
color:black $left
from: 12 till:41 text:Caligula(12-41)
color:gray $center
from:42 till:1312 text:1307
color:black $left
from:1313 till:1350 text:Aradia de Toscano(1313-1350)
color:gray $center
from:1351 till:1811 text:460
color:black $left
from:1812 till:1864 text:Hong Xiuquan (1812-1864)
from:1880 till:1965 text:Father Divine(1880-1965)
from:1911 till:1986 text:L. Ron Hubbard(1911-1986)
from:1920 till:end text:Sun Myung Moon (1920-present)
from:1926 till:end text:Sathya Sai Baba (1926-present)
from:1930 till:1997 text:Anton LaVey (1930-1997)
from:1931 till:1978 text:Jim Jones (1931-1978)
from:1934 till:end text:Charles Manson (1934-present)
from:1952 till:end text:David Icke (1952-present)
from:1959 till:1993 text:David Koresh (1959-1993)
</timeline>
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| * = Individuals who had significant numbers of followers believing to them to be deities.
= Individuals who became the focus of whole religions with many followers believing the individual to be divine or messianic.
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See also
- Apotheosis means glorification, usually to a divine level, coming from the Greek word apotheoun, "to deify."
- True-believer syndrome is an irrational belief in the paranormal.
- Delusion is commonly defined as a false belief.
- Arahitogami is a Japanese word, meaning a god who is a human being.
- Megalomania or Narcissism is the pattern of traits and behaviors which involve infatuation and obsession with one's self to the exclusion of others and the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition.
- Some people who believe themselves deities may be under the influence of one or more mental illnesses, see schizophrenia.
- List of deities
References
- Note 2: BBC News (November 12, 2001). "Kenyan 'God' sent Aids as 'punishment' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1651884.stm)". Retrieved December 29, 2004.
- Note 1: CNN (Oct. 10, 2002). "Man killed at suburban D.C. gas station (http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/South/10/09/shootings.maryland/index.html). Retrieved December 29, 2004.
- Note 3: Hanish, Dennis J. (May 23, 2001). The Guru Who Claimed to be God (http://web.archive.org/web/20020106052651/http%3A//home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/claimedgod.html). Retrieved December 29, 2004.
- Note 4: Idara Dawat-o-Irshad, USA, Inc. (2003). "Attention Qadianis! (Ahmadiyya) (http://www.irshad.org/info_q/questions.php)". Retrieved December 29, 2004.
- Old Dotty Clutteredbucket (2001). Walking, Talking, Living Gods (http://ipc.paganearth.com/diaryarticles/dotty/livegods.html). Retrieved December 29, 2004.
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