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Godly Sidestep

 Godly Sidestep
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Everyone wonders life's meaning, our place in the universe, and just what or who started it all. Sometimes, in fictiondom, a character is introduced that simply MUST know. There's no way to create this character without their knowing the "correct" religion as well as the origin of all things. Answering this question creates a different problem: Alienating the fan base. Alternatively, the creators may just want to tease the audience with a Riddle for the Ages, and that sort of riddle doesn't last long if all the answers are spelled out.
So what do you do? You do the Godly Sidestep, an in-universe Shrug of God, where the Powers That Be refuse to answer The Big Questions, whether it's because You Are Not Ready, The World Is Not Ready, they're Things Man Was Not Meant to Know, or they want the questioner to Figure It Out Yourself. The meta-reason, however, is often that a specific answer is inconvenient to the creators as it strongly colours the work's worldview and closes off ambiguities that would have allowed for extra potential.
How is this dance done? Evade the question. Get cut off mid-sentence. Lie. Something. The Godly Sidestep is the moment when the story acknowledges that yes, this character does know the answer but no, they won't be telling you.
Subtrope of The Unreveal. See also Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane for one tactic for performing this dance round the truth. Compare Death Amnesia, in which a character who's come Back from the Dead conveniently remembers nothing about the afterlife.
 Godly Sidestep
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2023-09-29T02:01:36Z
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DBTropes
 Godly Sidestep / int_12300cc3
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Godly Sidestep
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While not the perfect example, no one in the Watchmen universe is better equipped to answer questions of a supernatural nature than Dr. Manhattan. He generally stays relatively quiet and respectful on the matter. When asked if he was god, he simply replied:
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At the very end of the Finding Nemo visual commentary, during the Pixar Vanity Plate, the director can be heard saying, "Here's the secret of life. The secret of life is—" (Luxo Jr. shuts off his light.)
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In Sherlock Holmes (2009), Holmes claims that experimenting with one of the Hermetic rituals used by the Temple of the Four Orders has allowed him to reconcile nearly 2000 years of theological disparity... unfortunately, there's a madman currently trying to destroy parliament and have himself declared supreme ruler of the British Empire, so it's a story for another time.
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"So, who's actually still alive: Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, JFK, or Adolf Hitler?" "Umm ... Morrison and Hitler."
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The Simpsons - God is about to tell Homer the meaning of life when the episode ends.
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The Dresden Files: In Ghost Story, Harry ends up in a rare moment of conversation with Archangel Uriel and is able to ask the Archangel a few questions. When it comes to the big questions, Uriel cannot answer as there are several Laws mandated by God that prevent Uriel from taking about anything that could influence Harry's Free Will, which is a serious thing to Uriel and God. The only thing Harry can get from Uriel is Uriel saying, "No matter where you go, there you are."
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In the Red Dwarf episode "White Hole", Holly gains an IQ of over 12,000 and professes to know the meaning of the universe. The only being present to ask her is a toast-obsessed kitchen appliance, and any questions it puts forward end up being about bread. Before anyone else can ask, she realizes she has three minutes to live and refuses to communicate with anyone.
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Enforced in Shortpacked! when Galasso resurrects the historical Jesus Christ. Mike points out everything they could ask him, but Amber finds the whole concept too bizarre / terrifying. When Mike asks Jesus point-blank about the "virgin birth" thing, Jesus is perfectly willing to answer - but Amber tackles him to stop him.
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Dungeons & Dragons:
In the 3rd Edition, the Aboleth does know what happened in the infinitely distant past before the gods came to be, so they can't be not knowing the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. They just don't feel like telling anyone, them being Eldritch Abominations and all that.
The 4th Edition sidestep the question of 'what happens to a person after they die' by stating that the deceased goes to the unknowable afterlife, beyond the reach of gods or devils. Not even the goddess of death know, as she only runs the Afterlife Antechamber. Exceptions to this rule are souls who have done great deeds for the gods (or Hell), in which case they become immortal souls who accompany their patron in the patron's domain.
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In the 3rd OVA to Fushigi Yuugi, Taka Tamahome asks Taiitsukun if the misfortune befalling the universe is Mayo's fault. She replies "Perhaps it is, perhaps it is not." It's actually not entirely her fault, but a huuuge Xanatos Gambit makes it look that way. Additionally, she tells him what the Shinzaho is using as a riddle. It's the twelve-week-old fetus that was transferred out of his wife Miaka and into the aforementioned Mayo.
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In JLA/Avengers, he destroyed several universes trying to find the answer. He eventually finds the one being who knows it (Galactus), but he is turned into a "cosmic egg" like the one the Marvel Universe was created from in the process. Technically, he found the answer he wanted- but whether he feels fulfilled (or anything else) as a result is unknown.
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Haruhi Suzumiya: Kyon asks Nagato, after treating with beings that are effectively ghosts of alien lifeforms, what happens after humans die. Her answer? Information classified.
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In God, the Devil and Bob, Bob asks God why he allows evil to exist. God takes a deep breath and explains to Bob, just as a train passes between them and the audience. Bob is impressed and accepting of God's answer, but we never get to hear it.
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Not a divine example, but Jones from Gunnerkrigg Court has been around as long as the Earth itself and perfectly remembers every moment of her existence. As such, she has in fact born witness to the origins of life on Earth, the evolution/extinction of species (including humans and dinosaurs) and countless other bits of priceless moments in history. When this is revealed, she explains that she decided long ago to just observe and interfere as little as possible with human society (hence her nickname, Wandering Eye). Over the years, she has sometimes taken on the role of a teacher, but only of knowledge which humanity has already discovered for itself.
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Immortal Hulk: In the final issue, the Hulk and Joe Fixit come face-to-face with the One Above All, and Hulk asks why his life has to suck so much. The One gives a non-answer, and Joe soon comes to the conclusion they're not going to get any kind of answer. It's implied this was part of the One Above All's plan.
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In Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure, at the Olympians' press conference on the day of their public return to the mortal world, the pantheon (and by extension the novel itself) does this in response to a reporter who asks, "What about Christ?"
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God's long monologue in the final chapters of the Book of Job can best be described as this. Job spends most of the book demanding an audience with God to ask why he is suffering. God’s response is that unlike Job, He has made all of creation and therefore has the wisdom and power to do whatever He wants and deems best. Job is so thrilled to finally receive a response from God that he is completely satisfied with this answer.
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The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series features Greek gods and demigods. Soon after Percy learns about the gods, he asks the obvious question and is informed that the gods are "the lower-case 'g' kind" and they "don't deal in metaphysics."
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In Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, the eponymous character meets God. God is a sleeping fat man who, upon being woken up, refuses to answer any questions and insists he's earned a break after creating the entire universe.
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In Time Bandits, when Kevin actually asks what is the reason for evil, God steps behind a wall for a moment, then comes back and says "something to do with free will and all that."
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In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Spock dies. In The Search for Spock, he comes back. In The Voyage Home, Bones asks him about what he experienced, prompting this response.
Considering that the circumstances of his death and resurrection involved some Vulcan telepathic Applied Phlebotinum not generally available to humans, it's unclear whether he made it to anything resembling the afterlife that humans experience (if there is one) in any case.
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Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire has the Winslow, an immortal, indestructible (seriously, when the universe ends it will ask "Hey! Who turned out the lights?") creature that looks like a lizard plushie and is annoying. Multiple religions have sprung up declaring it an object of worship or an abomination to be destroyed. The Primes hid it away on Earth to avoid the religious wars, but they refuse to say why it's so important to the fate of the universe.
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The Good Place: Upon reaching the titular afterlife, Eleanor asks which religion was the "right" one. Michael tells her that, basically, all religions got "about 5% right". There's an even bigger sidestep: The Good Place is actually the Bad Place, and everything Michael has said could be a lie.
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When the crew of One Piece meet an old man who was on the one ship in recorded history to make it to the end of the Grand Line. Usopp asks him about One Piece, the treasure allegedly stashed there (and, incidentally, the thing everyone's trying to get, and the title of the series). However, his captain very angrily calls No Spoilers on him, saying he wouldn't like an adventure where he knew the outcome.
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Futurama:
After learning that Nibblonians have been around for 17 years longer than the universe, Leela asks them how the universe began. Nibbler gives a long string of Intelligible Unintelligible gibberish.
In "Overclockwise", Bender temporarily achieves omniscience, and obtains printouts with the answers to life's great questions. He casually throws away "the reason we exist", but does show Fry and Leela an account of their future together.
In "Godfellas", Bender meets an entity which doesn't know if it's God (or, more likely given his other actions, does know but refuses to reveal the answer to Bender). It then sidesteps Bender's implicit questions about whether free will exists with a Mathematician's Answer: it knows what you're going to do before you do it, unless you do something it didn't know you were going to do.
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Averted in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.
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The creators of Joan of Arcadia made this the rule, actually listing things God couldn't say with regards to universal truths and religion. God conversed with Joan on a regular basis and always refused to answer any major questions.
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Averted in a classic Saturday Night Live skit, where an angel (Dana Carvey) happily rattles off answers to the quickfire questions of a just-deceased fellow (guest host John Larroquette).
"So, who's actually still alive: Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, JFK, or Adolf Hitler?" "Umm ... Morrison and Hitler."
"Are Bent-knee sit-ups or straight-leg sit-ups better?" "Straight-leg."
"What's God's favorite religion, anyway?" "Lutheran." "Huh."
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Deryni: In The Quest for Saint Camber, Kelson converses via Mind Speech with a being who appeared and helped him vanquish his treasonous cousin Conall:
If he won't even cop to his identity, forget about asking him about God/Heaven/Hell/the Meaning of Life/Whatever.
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In Dogma, God herself does this. After the heroes save God, the day, and the universe, the main character asks to be told the meaning of life. God, played by Alanis Morissette, simply smiles.
Granted, if She had actually said anything, Bethany's head would have exploded, so...
IMDB says that God's original answer would have been "Plastics", in reference to a George Carlin routine.
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Duckman - Finding himself in Heaven, Duckman gets an Etch-A-Sketch from God. He asks why and God tells him that it has the Meaning of Life written on it, but by then it has been erased from Duckman moving it around.
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Deep Thought is a computer programmed to answer the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. It reveals that the answer is "42", and when its operators complain, points out that obviously the answer isn't going to make sense unless you know the precise wording of the Question. Then an even more advanced computer (The Earth) was built to formulate the Ultimate Question, so that the Ultimate Answer could be understood. That computer was then destroyed five minutes before it would have completed its task. That's some grand sidestepping.
The second book opens with the supposition that even if anyone did find out the meaning of the universe, this would immediately cause it to disappear and be replaced by something "even more bizarre and inexplicable". The radio series raises the suggestion that this might be bunk made up by one of the Guide's wilier editors to increase general uncertainty and raise sales of the book, but in the adaptation of "Life, the Universe and Everything" a man who saw the whole truth of the universe admits this one is right. The Question and the Answer can't exist in the same universe.
Subverted at the end of So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish. The protagonists travel to the planet where God's final message to his creation is written in 30-feet-high letters of fire. The entire message is revealed to the reader, and it goes like this: We apologise for the inconvenience. The message's divine origin is accepted without question by the characters, although to the reader it comes off as slightly suspect given that it's in English note it's given to the audience letter-by-letter, so Translator Microbes are not to blame and uses the British spelling to boot.
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An episode of Hercules: The Animated Series has Zeus about to give the meaning of life on a chat show, however they run out of airtime just before he states it.
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Doctor Who:
In "The Impossible Planet"/"The Satan Pit", the Doctor battles against the Devil himself. When the Doctor asks him "from which religion?", the Devil answers "All of them" and further states that he existed before time. They have other things to worry about than where exactly it came from and what this means for the universe, so they don't inquire too closely.
In "Planet of the Dead", the Doctor knows the true story of Easter. Right after he says "What REALLY happened was–", he gets cut off and forgets what he was talking about.
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Played with a lot in The Sandman (1989), especially regarding what happens after death (except for the very obvious fact that some people go to Hell, at least for a while). In an early issue, Dream follows Death around as she makes her rounds, and it is implied by his inner monologue that he witnesses exactly this, but he is too preoccupied with finding the solution to his own inner woe to describe it other than in brief, symbolic terms. Averted on another occasion, when Death assures a recently deceased character that he will now get to find out... but that's the final panel in that sequence. When near the end of the series Hob Gadling considers giving up his immortality, he asks Death directly about it. She just gives him a warm smile, as if not wanting to spoil the surprise. This particular sidestep is sidestepped itself in the final issue. An aging Shakespeare admits to thinking about death in his "every other thought", but when he gets the chance to speak to Dream a final time, he instead asks him about the nature of his literary talent (and he gets a fairly straight answer).
The most direct answer a mortal gets is that the question itself is as nonsensical as asking "what color is Wednesday?", so no one is asking the right question.
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In Life and Death, when Death asked which religion was right, God whispered in his ear. Death was surprised, meaning it was something unusual.
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Subverted at the end of So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish. The protagonists travel to the planet where God's final message to his creation is written in 30-feet-high letters of fire. The entire message is revealed to the reader, and it goes like this: We apologise for the inconvenience. The message's divine origin is accepted without question by the characters, although to the reader it comes off as slightly suspect given that it's in English note it's given to the audience letter-by-letter, so Translator Microbes are not to blame and uses the British spelling to boot.
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In the Star Trek: Voyager episode episode "Q2", Sufficiently Advanced Alien Q Jr. is told to write an essay about the origins and aspirations of his species. Kathryn Janeway treats the result as if it was an ordinary, though well done, student work... because she quickly recognizes it as Icheb's work instead of Q Jr.'s.
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In Legends of Tomorrow, the life and death of Jesus Christ is unofficially off-limits to all time travellers for fear of Butterfly of Doom-type consequences.
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In Dinosaur Comics, T-Rex can hear the voice of God, and at one point, God is asked to settle whether intelligent design is right or wrong. God's response is...less than helpful.
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In It's Walky!, The Cheese claims to know which religion is the correct one, but refuses to tell anyone, claiming that if you don't figure it out for yourself, you won't understand the answer (and adds that even if he did tell anyone, chances are he wouldn't be taken seriously).
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The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Godly Sidestep
processingCategory2
God Tropes
 Godly Sidestep
processingCategory2
Religion Tropes
 Godly Sidestep
processingCategory2
Speculative Fiction Tropes
 Godly Sidestep
processingCategory2
Tropes of the Divine
 Defenders: Beyond (Comic Book) / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 Johnny the Homicidal Maniac (Comic Book) / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 Dogma / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 Sherlock Holmes (2009) / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 Time Bandits / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Franchise) / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 Lyinginbedmon (Lets Play) / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 Deryni / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 Journeys of the Catechist / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 New Pantheon / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 Percy Jackson and the Olympians / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 The Cosmere / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 The Fortress of the Black Cauldron / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 Zeus Is Dead / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 LifeAndDeath
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Godly Sidestep
 The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante (Video Game) / int_afdb4507
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Godly Sidestep
 Roomies!, It's Walky!, Joyce and Walky! (Webcomic) / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 The Gods of Arr-Kelaan (Webcomic) / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 Duckman / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 God, the Devil and Bob / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep
 Hercules: The Animated Series / int_afdb4507
type
Godly Sidestep