God

Name: God (not an actual likeness)

Actor: Rob Benedict (speculative, see article)

Date: Before time, space, and everything - Present

Location: Earth

Occupation: Deity

Episodes:

  • 4.16 On the Head of a Pin
  • 5.03 Free to Be You and Me
  • 5.02 Good God, Y'All!
  • 5.16 Dark Side of the Moon

DESCRIPTION:

Castiel: He isn't in Heaven. He has to be somewhere.
Dean: Try New Mexico. I hear he's on a tortilla.
Castiel: No, he's not on any flatbread.

– Castiel and Dean, 5.02 Good God, Y'All

God is a deity who exists alongside of other divine entities that serve as and represent gods in their own religions. God is the deity of the Abrahamic religions (that is Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

HISTORY:

His full potential remains unknown, but he is extremely powerful, and is known to be omnipotent and omniscient.

According to Death, neither he nor God can remember how old they are - Death claims that he is as old as or older than God. Death also states at the end of time, God himself will die, and Death will then reap him.

After creating leviathans, God was concerned at their destructiveness, and locked them away in Purgatory. He next made four archangels, and the angels who comprised the Host of Heaven.

After creating humans, God told all of His angels to bow before them and love them more than Him, but Lucifer, God's most beautiful angel, refused to bow to humanity, while the others did. Lucifer then sought out his older brother, Michael, for support, but Michael refused to listen. On God's command Lucifer is cast out of Heaven. Lucifer then twists a human soul - Lilith - into the first demon in defiance of God. God imprisons Lucifer with 600 seals, 66 of which must be broken for his release.

Only the archangels and Metatron have ever seen God, while the angel Joshua is the only known angel to have conversations with Him. At some point, God left Heaven. Michael assumed command of the angels, and then ran Heaven and Earth for millenia.

God is first mentioned in 1.12 Faith, when Dean is healed by Roy Le Grange, who believes God is healing through him, although his powers are actually connected to a reaper his wife is manipulating. When Dean asks why he was saved, Roy says he was guided by the Lord because he saw in Dean's heart that he was "A young man with an important purpose. A job to do. And it isn’t finished."

In 2.13 Houses of the Holy, when people claim that an angel told them to kill, Sam reveals that he believes in God and that he prays. Dean says: "There's no higher power, there's no God. There's just chaos and violence, random unpredictable evil, that comes outta nowhere, rips you to shreds." When Dean witnesses a man who attacked a woman killed in a freak accident, he wonders whether he had seen "the hand of God" at work.

In 4.01 Lazarus Rising, Castiel reveals that he raised Dean from Hell because "God commanded it." This may or may not have been true as God left Heaven at some point, and it seems more likely that the Host of Heaven ordered Castiel and other angels to rescue Dean. As the 66 seals are broken, Zachariah reveals that the angels plan to allow the Apocalypse to begin. When Dean asks where God is, Zachariah replies "God has left the building." However Joshua later reveals that it was God who saved Dean and Sam when Lucifer rose, by transporting them onto the plane and resurrecting Castiel.

Some angels, such as Uriel and his cohorts, also refuse to put humanity above angels, and remain loyal to Lucifer and seek to free him. Michael wants Lucifer freed so he can kill him.

Both Uriel and Raphael lost faith in their maker, stating that God must be dead by now, although most angels believe that he still exists.

After Lucifer is freed, Castiel states that aside from Michael, God is the only one strong enough to defeat Lucifer and end the Apocalypse, and so he begins a quest to find him. Castiel thinks that while God has been absent, it was He who resurrected him and saved the boys from Lucifer. He reveals that Dean's amulet is very powerful and that it "burns hot in God's presence," and so borrows it from Dean to help in his quest.

Raphael claims that God is dead, as this is the only explanation for the horrible things have happened on Earth over the last hundred years and God's continuing silence. Dean encourages Castiel, who still believes God is not dead, to continue his search.

While in Heaven, Sam and Dean seek out an angel in the Garden of Eden for information. Joshua confirms that God is on Earth, but also tells them that He no longer cares about the Apocalypse, thinking it isn't His problem. Joshua says he thinks God talks to him because he can "sympathize gardener to gardener." He also confirms that God has intervened on Sam and Dean's behalf (put them on the plane, brought back Castiel, granted them salvation in Heaven), saying that "it's more than He's intervened in a long time."

Chuck Shurley begins writing his final book, titled "Swan Song", with an explanation of the Impala's history and significance. He is later called by Dean for the location of Lucifer and Michael's final battle, which he readily gives. Chuck finally appears dressed in white, musing on the difficulty of getting endings right. He then disappears, leading viewers to believe he may, in fact, be God. God also resurrects Castiel a second time and grants him greater powers. Later Castiel wonders when talking to Dean if perhaps God had actually helped them more than they realize.

Following Lucifer and Michel's imprisonment in Lucifer's Cage, God's continued absence from Heaven leads to civil war amongst the angels. Raphael is determined to free Michael and another angel - Balthazar - is making deals for souls.

In 6.17 My Heart Will Go On, Atropos makes an assumption that God himself decides a person's death then passes on the details to the Fates.

In 6.20 The Man Who Would Be King, Castiel prays to God revealing what he has done in order to defeat Raphael demands a sign that he is on the right path.

In 6.22 The Man Who Knew Too Much, Castiel, after performing a ritual, and upon claiming all of the souls from Purgatory and absorbing them into his vessel, declares that humanity now as a new god - him.

In 7.17 The Born-Again Identity, its revealed that God has apparently resurrected Castiel for a third time with all of his powers intact but no memory despite his briefly declaring himself God.

In 8.21 The Great Escapist, Metatron reveals that before God left Heaven, he enlisted Metatron, a secretarial angel to take down instructions on his various creations. When God left, the archangels despaired and then decided to take over the universe themselves, a plan Naomi seems to be following since their demise. God may also have granted Metatron special powers as his Scribe as Metatron is able to erase angel wards due to his position.

IS CHUCK GOD?

Well, there's only one explanation. Obviously I'm a god... I'm definitely a god. A cruel, cruel, capricious god.

– Chuck to Dean and Sam, 4.18 The Monster at the End of This Book

Following the season five finale, there was much debate amongst fans to whether Chuck was in fact God, and whether he had been so all along. While consensus was with Chuck as the Divine being - many fans started substituting Chuck's name for God's in expressions such as "Chuck be praised?" "Oh My Chuck - OMC" and "Thank Chuck" - not all agreed. Writer and Producer Sera Gamble on the God debate refused to either confirm or deny the speculation: "Don't ask me to squish the God debate! How many TV shows can say their fans are talking about THAT stuff?"

Chuck as a writer is the creator of the story of Sam and Dean Winchester in the form of the Supernatural books. He says when confronted with the real Sam and Dean that he "is a god," for all that he puts them through in the books happens in real life. This is explained by Castiel as Chuck being a prophet of God. Castiel says the Supernatural books will become known as the Winchester Gospels.

The metaphor in this episode is of the writer as creator. Chuck's pseudonym is Carver Edlund, a reference to Supernatural writers Jeremy Carver and Ben Edlund. The character is an avatar for Eric Kripke himself (Source) and is used to comment on the text and process of writing with reference to specific past episodes of the show. This metaphor would also hold then is God, the creator, was also the writer. We have a trinity here - Chuck Shurley, Eric Kripke and God.

Sam and Dean find out from the angel Joshua that God is on Earth.

In 5.01 Sympathy for the Devil, Chuck says that he can feel the angels' presence in his house, which is not a power of the prophet and may be due to his being God.

In the finale there is further foreshadowing of Chuck's possible identity: When Dean calls Chuck, Chuck answers the phone "Mistress Magda," and we briefly see a newspaper ad for a blonde women in a bikini named "Miss Magda" on Chuck's desk before he puts his glass on it. This may be a reference to Mary Magdalene who Jesus, the physical incarnation of God, healed of demons. She then become a follower of his, and an early Christian leader.

Chuck, after narrating the events that take place, finally appears dressed in white musing on the difficulty of getting endings right. He then disappears - Chuck, it seems, is God.

Fans arguing against Chuck's divinity point primarily to the fact that Dean's amulet, which Castiel says will "burn hot" in God's presence does not react when Dean and Chuck meet face to face in 4.18 The Monster at the End of This Book, 4.22 Lucifer Rising, and 5.01 Sympathy for the Devil. However, Joshua tells Sam and Dean in Heaven "Magic amulet or not, you won't be able to find him."

Other arguments include the failure of others to recognize God's true self, including Raphael, the archangel assigned to protect Chuck. In 5.03 Free to Be You and Me, he tells Dean and Castiel that God is "dead" and they are living in a "godless universe."

Castiel is also ignorant of Chuck's true identity. He held off Raphael at Chuck's house while Dean went after Sam in 4.22 Lucifer Rising, and met Chuck several times.

GOD IN LORE:

God is the English name used to refer to the monotheistic definition of the deity in Judaism, Christianity, and the Islam (where it is referred to as Allah). He (as it is usually gendered as male) varies greatly in nature between cultures, religions and sects from benign to wrathful. He is held to be the creator of all things including humans, and to be all powerful.

SEE ALSO:

  • Angels
  • Archangels
  • Heaven
  • Prophets
  • Angelic Weapons
  • Angel Lore
  • Leviathans
  • Purgatory

EXTERNAL LINKS: