Wikipedia

List of people who have been considered deities

This is a list of notable people who were considered deities by themselves or others.

Imperial cults and cults of personality

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Main articles: Imperial cult and Cult of personality
Who Image When Notability
Pharaohs
 
 3150–30 BCE Egyptian pharaohs were kings of Ancient Egypt, and were considered gods by their culture. Their titles equated them with aspects of the likes of the hawk god Horus, the vulture goddess Nekhbet, and the cobra-goddess Wadjet. The Egyptians believed that when their Pharaoh died, he would continue to lead them in the next life, which is why his burial was grand and completed to perfection—to please him in the next life and ensure his immortality to protect his people. See List of pharaohs.[1][2]
Naram-Sin of Akkad
 
 2255–2119 BCE The first Mesopotamian emperor who claimed to be a god.[citation needed]
Japanese emperors
 
 ??? – 1945[3] Claimed, at least by some Shintoists, including government officials, to be divine descendants of the goddess Amaterasu. Hirohito, the Shōwa emperor, repudiated the "false conception" of his divinity in the Humanity Declaration in 1945.[4]
Chinese emperors
 
 221 BCE–1911 CE Deified as "Sons of Heaven", at least by some Confucianists, since the Qin dynasty under Qin Shi Huang.[5]
Alexander the Great   356 BC - 323 BC To legitimize taking power (in Egypt) and be recognized as the descendant of the long line of pharaohs, Alexander made sacrifices to the gods at Memphis and went to consult the famous oracle of Amun-Ra at the Siwa Oasis in the Libyan desert, at which he was pronounced the son of the deity Amun. Henceforth, Alexander often referred to Zeus-Ammon as his true father, and after his death, currency depicted him adorned with horns, using the Horns of Ammon as a symbol of his divinity.[80] The Greeks interpreted this message - one that the gods addressed to all pharaohs - as a prophecy.[citation needed]
Natchez rulers 700–1730 CE The Natchez were a theocracy ruled by "The Great Sun." This ruler has sometimes been deemed a God-king.[6]
Purnawarman
 
 395–434 CE The king of Sundanese Indianised kingdom called Tarumanagara. According to these inscriptions he embarked on hydraulic project[7]: 53–54  and also identified himself with Vishnu, which indicates he and his kingdom were adhering to the Vishnuite faith.
The Sailendras
 
 7th–11th centuries CE The Sailendra dynasty of Java were active promoters of Mahayana Buddhism and covered the plains of Central Java with Buddhist monuments, including the world-famous Borobudur.[8]
Majapahit kings
 
 1293–1597 Javanese rulers of South East Asia's largest ever kingdom, in Indonesia. After death, they were depicted as Hindu gods (see for instance Raden Wijaya).[citation needed]
Dalai Lamas
 
 1391–present Considered re-incarnations of Avalokiteśvara in Tibetan Buddhism. Panchen Lamas are incarnations of Amitābha.[9][10][11]
Inca emperors
 
 1438–1533 The Inca Emperors had a status very similar to that of the Pharaohs of Egypt.[citation needed]
Nepalese kings
 
 1768–2008 In Nepal, the kings of the Shah dynasty were considered incarnations of Vishnu.[12]

Posthumous deification

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Main article: Apotheosis
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Gilgamesh
 
 Sometime between 2800 and 2500 BCE[13] Most historians generally agree that Gilgamesh was a historical king of the Sumerian city-state of Uruk,[14][13] who probably ruled sometime during the early part of the Early Dynastic Period (c. 2900–2350 BCE).[14][13] It is certain that, during the later Early Dynastic Period, Gilgamesh was worshipped as a god at various locations across Sumer.[14] In the twenty-first century BCE, Utu-hengal, the king of Uruk adopted Gilgamesh as his patron deity.[14] The kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur were especially fond of Gilgamesh, calling him their "divine brother" and "friend".[14] During this period, a large number of myths and legends developed surrounding him.[14] Probably during the Middle Babylonian Period (c. 1600 BCE – c. 1155 BCE), a scribe named Sîn-lēqi-unninni composed the Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem written in Akkadian narrating Gilgamesh's heroic exploits.[14] The opening of the poem describes Gilgamesh as "one-third human, two-thirds divine".[14]
Imhotep
 
 2600 BCE Ancient Egyptian architect and physician whose status, two thousand years after his death, was raised to that of a god, becoming the god of medicine and healing. He was an Egyptian chancellor to the pharaoh Djoser, probable architect of the Djoser's step pyramid, and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. The gradual deification of Imhotep seems to have been completed about 525 BCE. His divinity is clearly attested an inscription, adjancent to his picture in the Ptolemeic temple at Kasr el-Agouz, near Luxor: „Son of Ptah, beneficient god, begotten by the god of the south wall (Ptah), giver of life, who bestows gifts on those he loves, who listen (to those who call upon him), who provides remedies for all diseas“. Imhotep's deification led to the deification of his mother named Kheredu-ankh and his wife Renpetnefert. In Memphis and on the sacred Island of Philae existed temples dedicated to him. The Greeks identified Imhotep with their own divine healer and physician, Asclepios (which also healed people in their dreams).[15]
Queen Dido of Carthage
 
 814 BCE Founder and first queen of Carthage, after her death, she was deified by her people with the name of Tanit and assimilated to the Great Goddess Astarte (Roman Juno).[16] The cult of Tanit survived Carthage's destruction by the Romans; it was introduced to Rome itself by Emperor Septimius Severus, himself born in North Africa. It was extinguished completely with the Theodosian decrees of the late 4th century.[citation needed]
Homer
 
 8th century BCE Venerated at Alexandria by Ptolemy IV Philopator.[citation needed]
Romulus and Remus
 
 771–717 BCE Founders of Rome, sons of Mars, Romulus served as first king. Romulus was, according to the book History of Rome (written between 27 and 9 BCE by the historian Titus Livius), the son of Rhea Silvia, a Vestal Virgin which became pregnant with the twins Romulus and Remus by the god Mars.[17] After his death, Romulus was defined as the god Quirinus, the divine persona of the Roman people. Romulus ascension to heaven and deification as god Quirinus is mentioned in Ovid’s poem Metamorphoses, Book 14 (written shortly before 8 AD). Ovid depicts god Jupiter promising Mars the right to translate his son Romulus to immortality.[18] He is now regarded as a mythological figure, and his name a back-formation from the name Rome, which may ultimately derive from a word for "river". Some scholars, notably Andrea Carandini believe in the historicity of Romulus, in part because of the 1988 discovery of the Murus Romuli on the north slope of the Palatine Hill in Rome.[19]
Pythagoras of Samos
 
 c. 570–495 BCE Pythagoras was the eponymous founder of the religion of Pythagoreanism.[20] A posthumous legend claimed that Pythagoras was the mortal incarnation of the "Hyperborean Apollo"[21][22] and that he proved his divinity to Abaris the Hyperborean by showing him his golden thigh.[21]
Hephaestion
 
 356–324 BCE Deified by Alexander the Great[citation needed]
Alexander the Great
 
 356–323 BCE Some believe he implied he was a demigod by actively using the title "Son of Ammon–Zeus". The title was bestowed upon him by Egyptian priests of the god Ammon at the Oracle of the god at the Siwah oasis in the Libyan Desert.[23]
Julius Caesar
 
42 BCE
Deified by the Roman Senate two years after his assassination.[24]
Antinous
 
 111–130 CE Deified by Hadrian. He is the last non-Imperial human formally deified in Western civilization.[citation needed]
Mary, Mother of Jesus
 
 300 CE In 300 CE she was purportedly venerated as a Mother Goddess in the alleged Christian sect Collyridianism, which was found throughout Thrace. Collyridianism was made up mostly of women followers and female priests.[25]
Guan Yu
 
 581–618 CE Guan Yu was deified as early as the Sui dynasty and is still popularly worshipped today among the Chinese people variedly as an indigenous Chinese deity, a dharmapala in Buddhism and a guardian deity in Taoism. He is also held in high esteem in Confucianism. In Hong Kong both police and gangsters consider him a divine object of reverence. In certain schools of Taoism and Chinese Buddhism he has been deemed divine or semi-divine status.[26]
Ali
 
 599–661 CE According to the Alawite faith, Ali ibn Abi Talib is one member of a trinity (Ali-Muhammad-Salman the Persian) corresponding roughly to the Christian Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.[27] He is considered the second emanation of God by Yarsan and the supreme deity in Ali-Illahism.
Tan Goan-kong
 
 657–711 CE Also known as Chen Yuanguang, he was a general and official in the Tang dynasty. He was deified and worshipped by the descendants of immigrants from Zhangzhou to Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, all refer to him as the "Sacred Duke, Founder of Zhangzhou" (開漳聖王; Kāi Zhāng shèngwáng; Khai Chiang Sèng-ông).[28]
Sugawara no Michizane
 
 845–903 CE Japanese Imperial courtier banished from the capital and deified upon his death to appease his angry spirit. Worshipped as Tenjin, kami of scholarship.[citation needed]
Lin Moniang
 
 987 CE or later Fujianese shamaness worshiped as a sea goddess throughout coastal China and the Chinese diaspora community under the name Mazu.[citation needed]
Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah
 
 985–1021 CE Sixth Fatimid Caliph in Egypt, ruling from 996 to 1021. The members of the Druze faith believe that the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah is the Mahdi. The Muslim scholar and early preacher Nashtakin ad-Darazi claimed that the Caliph was God incarnate. Because of that he was executed by Al-Hakim who did not proclaim that he was God. The Druze today reject Ad-Darazi's preaching completely.[29][30][31][32][33]
Tokugawa Ieyasu
 
 1616 Deified posthumously with the name Tōshō Daigongen by his successors.[citation needed]
Hu Tianbao 17th century According to What the Master Would Not Discuss (Chinese: 子不語), written by Yuan Mei (Chinese: 袁枚) during the Qing dynasty, Tu'er Shen was a man named Hu Tianbao (胡天保) who fell in love with a very handsome imperial inspector of Fujian Province. One day he was caught peeping on the inspector through a bathroom wall, at which point he confessed his reluctant affections for the other man. The imperial inspector had Hu Tianbao sentenced to death by beating. One month after Hu Tianbao's death, he appeared to a man from his hometown in a dream, claiming that since his crime was one of love, the underworld officials decided to right the injustice by appointing him the god and guardian of homosexual affections.[34]
Xiongdi Gong 1831–1861 108 men from Hainan who were returning home from Vietnam with money earned by them and fellow migrants for their families when they were killed by pirates.[citation needed]
Gauchito Gil
 
 1840s, allegedly 1847 Venerated as a folk saint and deity in Argentina.[citation needed]
George Washington
 
 1865–present Worshipped as a kami in Hawaiian Shinto shrines.[35] In the United States Capitol dome, he is also depicted ascending into Olympus and becoming a god, in the famous painting called The Apotheosis of Washington.
Kanichi Otsuka 1891–present Shinreikyo states of its founder "God became one with a human body, appeared among humanity, and founded Shinreikyo."[36]
Maria Franciszka Kozłowska
 
 c. 1924 – present At least some mariavites believe that God the Father became Mary, God the Son became Jesus and Holy Spirit became Maria Franciszka Kozłowska (1862–1921, an excommunicated Roman Catholic nun from Poland). It's difficult to tell whether she has deified herself or has been involuntary deified during her lifetime or posthumously deified. In 1967, Archbishop Maria Rafael Wojciechowski officially testified that in the 1936–1938 period, Archbishop Maria Michał Kowalski had written "Mother said to me that she was present at the creation of the world and that she arranged the world." (for "mother", he used the Polish word "mateczka" which is a diminutive and a title held by Maria Franciszka).[37][38]
L. L. Zamenhof
 
 20th century–present Considered a god by members of the Oomoto religion.[citation needed]
José Rizal
 
 20th century–present Deified by some people in the Philippines due to his contributions to the Philippine Revolution.[39][40]
Wallace Fard Muhammad 20th century–present Posthumously (?) deified by Elijah Muhammad. He is also given other titles by the Nation of Islam.[41]
Adolf Hitler
 
 1958–present Deified by some neo-nazis most notably among followers of Esoteric Nazism. The claim of Hitler's divinity was first made by Savitri Devi in her book The Lightning and the Sun. Devi believed Hitler was avatar of Hindu god Vishnu.[42] Later it was promoted by Chilean neo-nazi Miguel Serrano.
John Coltrane
 
 1967–1981 After Coltrane's death, a congregation called the Yardbird Temple in San Francisco began worshiping him as God incarnate.[43] The congregation became affiliated with the African Orthodox Church; this involved changing Coltrane's status from a god to a saint.[43] The resultant St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church, San Francisco, is the only African Orthodox church that incorporates Coltrane's music and his lyrics as prayers in its liturgy.[44]

Involuntary deification

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Uzair ? The Quran claims that a group of Jews, often interpreted as the Yemenite Jews, believed "Uzair" was the son of God.[Quran 9:30][45] It is argued by some that Uzair was Ezra. Ezra established Second Temple Judaism[46] and is regarded as a very important figure in Judaism.[47] The concept of "son of God" as the God in the Flesh is now strictly rejected in Judaism.
Antiochus II Theos
 
 286–246 BCE Seleucid ruler. The younger son of Antiochus I and Stratonice, succeeded his father in 261. He liberated Ephesus, Ionia, Cilicia and Pamphylia from Egyptian domination, and in return for their autonomy the cities of Asia Minor gave him the title Theos ("God").[48]
Paul the Apostle and Barnabas
 
 Autumn 49 CE[49] According to a story recorded in the Book of Acts 14:8–18, the apostle Paul and his companion Barnabas healed a crippled man in the street in the town of Lystra in Asia Minor, during Paul's second missionary journey.[50] The townsfolk immediately mistook them for the Greek gods Hermes and Zeus respectively and attempted to offer sacrifices to them.[50]
Master Qing Shui
 
 1047–1101 Chan Buddhist monk during the Northern Song in Anxi County, Quanzhou. He is said to have saved the town of Anxi during a period of drought, bringing rain as he went from place to place. In reverence, the villagers built temples dedicated to him and hence became a Deity in Chinese folk religion.[51]
Zheng He
 
 1371–1433 Worshipped by some Chinese and South East Asians.[52]
Kumari
 
 ~17th century–present These are little girls who are worshipped by both Hindus and Buddhists as the incarnation of the Hindu Goddess Durga (Nepali Taleju) in Nepal. They are picked when they are prepubescent and are worshipped until they reach puberty. Their cult is in South Asian countries, especially in Nepal.[citation needed]
John Nicholson
 
Brigadier-General John Nicholson
 19th century–present Inspired the cult of Nikal Seyn.[citation needed]
Jiddu Krishnamurti
 
 1909–present Renounced the status of messiah and Maitreya incarnation given him by the Theosophical Society.[citation needed]
Haile Selassie I
 
 1930s–present Among most followers of the Rastafari movement, Haile Selassie is seen as the second coming of Jesus Christ, God incarnate, the Black Messiah and "Earth's Rightful Ruler" who will also lead African peoples to freedom. Rastas say that his imperial titles (i.e. King of Kings, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and Root of David) were prophesied as belonging to the returned Messiah in Revelation 5:5. Their faith in his divinity first appeared in Jamaica, soon after his 1930 coronation in Addis Ababa.[53] Before his coronation he was called Ras (meaning Prince) Tafari.
Mary Baker Eddy
 
 1947–present Founder of Christian Science, Eddy was first deified with the private publication of The Destiny of The Mother Church by Bliss Knapp. Although the book is distributed in Christian Science reading rooms, it is not considered authorised literature, and Eddy herself denied any comparison to Jesus and allegations of her being the Second Christ.[citation needed]
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
 
 1950s~1960s–present Considered a god in the village of Yaohnanen, a cargo cult in Vanuatu.[54] See Prince Philip movement.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
 
 1990s–present While considered the messiah by most of his followers following his death in 1994, one group has deified him.[55]
Chiang Kai-shek
 
 1975–present Worship in Japan: On the day Japan surrendered and the Second World War ended, Chiang Kai-shek, the supreme leader of the Republic of China, issued a "Victory Message to the Nation's Military, Civilians and People Around the World", stating that "our Chinese compatriots must know 'not to remember the evil of the past' and 'to be kind to others.'" for our nation The traditional supreme and noble virtue", that is, "repaying evil with kindness", allowed more than 2 million Japanese soldiers and civilians to return to Japan safely, prevented the great powers from carving up Japan like they cared for Germany, retained the emperor system, gave up the right to claim war compensation, and dealt with Japan leniently. These policies made a huge substantial contribution to Japan's postwar recovery. On April 5, 1975, Chiang Kai-shek passed away. The Japanese were grateful for Chiang Kai-shek's lenient treatment of Japan and the concept of world peace of repaying evil with kindness. In the 1970s and 1980s, they built Chiang Kai-shek Shrine (中正神社) in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and later moved it to Koda Town, Nukada-gun, Aichi Prefecture.

Worship in Taiwan: After the Nationalist Government retreated to Taiwan in 1949, it still occupied many coastal islands. However, after 1953, the Communist army continued to invade and Yijiangshan Island was captured. The United Nations and the US military intervened, and the CCP suspended bombing. Tachen Island and surrounding islands were completely abandoned. In 1955, with the assistance of the US Seventh Fleet, about 16,000 island residents retreated to Taiwan. This operation was called "King Kong Plan." When Chiang Kai-shek passed away in 1975, the Tachen people set up a mourning hall on the coast of Cijin. Later, they raised funds to build a temple and enshrine the Guanyin Bodhisattva, which was originally the main enshrinement. It was rebuilt in 1983 and renovated in 2007. This temple is called Chiang Kai-shek Thanksgiving Hall (蔣公感恩堂).

Raj Patel
 
 2010–present In January 2010 some adherents of Share International, following an announcement by Benjamin Creme, concluded that Patel could be the Maitreya.[56] Patel has denied being the Maitreya.[56]

Self-deification

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Main article: Self-deification
Further information: Maitreya claimants, Buddha claimants, and Messiah claimants
Who Image When Notability
Naram-Sin
 
 2255–2119 BCE The first Mesopotamian king to claim divinity.[57] He marked himself with the dingir symbol, a determinative for a divinity. After him, his son Shar-Kali-Sharri and then later Mesopotamian Kings would carry the tradition onwards. These kings included Shulgi, Amar-Sin, Shu-Sîn, and Ibbi-Sîn of the Third Dynasty of Ur; Shu-Ilishu, Iddin-Dagan, Ishme-Dagan, Lipit-Ishtar, Ur-Ninurta, Būr-Sîn, Lipit-Enlil, Erra-imitti, Enlil-bani, Zambiya, Iter-pûsha, Ur-dukuga, Sîn-magir, Damiq-ilishu of the Isin dynasty; and Rim-Sîn I and Rim-Sîn II of the Larsa dynasty.[58]
Shulgi
 
Portraits of Shulgi from his Nuska seal.
 2037–2028 BCE Brought back self-deification during the Ur III Period.[58]
Amar-Sin
 
 2046–2037 BCE Succeeded Shulgi[58]
Shu-Sin
 
Seal of Shu-Sin: "Shu-sin, the Great King, King of Ur, King of the four world quarters..."
 2037–2028 BCE Built Temples for himself.[58]
Empedocles of Acragas
 
 c. 490 – c. 430 BCE Empedocles of Acragas was a Pre-Socratic philosopher from the island of Sicily, who, in one of his surviving poems, declares himself to have become a "divine being... no longer mortal",[59] followed by descriptions of him performing activities normally reserved for the gods.[59] The later historian Diogenes Laërtius claimed that Empedocles committed suicide by jumping into Mount Etna in order to persuade people that he was an immortal god,[60] a legend which is also alluded to by the Roman poet Horace.[61]
Pharnavaz I of Iberia
 
 326–234 BCE Iberian king (r. 299–234 BCE)
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
 
 215–164 BCE Seleucid ruler (r. 175–164); the only Seleucid king to claim divine honors, calling himself Theos Epiphaneus "God Manifest" and Nikephoros "Bringer of Victory." Nearly conquered Ptolemaic Egypt, the primary rival of the Seleucids among the Diadochi states. Famously attempted to impose ancient Greek religion on the Jews by persecution, leading to the Maccabean Revolt; remembered as a major persecutor in Jewish tradition.[48]
Antiochus I
 
 c. 86 BCE–38 BCE King of Commagene who instituted a cult for himself and several syncretistic Graeco-Persian deities at Mount Nemrud and elsewhere.[62]
Jesus of Nazareth
 
 1st century–present
Further information: History of early Christianity, Incarnation (Christianity), Christology, and Dating the Bible § Table IV: New Testament

There is debate among scholars whether Jesus claimed to be divine, or whether divinity was attributed to him progressively by his followers. There are passages in the New Testament suggesting that Jesus implied he was God Incarnate and the Son of God (see Mark 14:62 for example). Therefore, he was rejected by the Jews (see John 10:22–39 for example). The First Council of Nicaea of 325 CE crystallized this notion in the Nicene Creed and verified Jesus as God Incarnate. Early Christian denominations with different christologies such as the Ebionites fell in popularity, and he is now considered divine in most Christian views of Jesus (God the Son in Trinitarian Christianity).

Simon Magus
 
 1st–4th century Considered a god in Simonianism. According to Irenaeus, he "was glorified by many as if he were a god; and he taught that it was himself who appeared among the Jews as the Son, but descended in Samaria as the Father while he came to other nations in the character of the Holy Spirit. He represented himself, in a word, as being the loftiest of all powers, that is, the Being who is the Father over all, and he allowed himself to be called by whatsoever title men were pleased to address him."[63]
Veleda
 
 1st century Germanic prophetess considered a deity during her lifetime.[citation needed]
Ismail I
 
 16th century Self-claimed to be an emanation of God and was considered such by the Kızılbaş-Safaviya order, Qizilbash-Turkman subjects and Alevis.[64][65]
Danila Filippovich 1700 He believed that he was God and started the Khlysts. (There are various transliterations of his name including Danila Filipov, Danila Filipich, and Daniil Filippovich.)[66]
Kondratii Selivanov
 
 1780s Kondraty Selivanov proclaimed himself both as the late Peter III of Russia and Christ himself, and started the Skoptsy.[67]
Hong Xiuquan
 
 19th century Chinese man who claimed he was the younger brother of Jesus, and thus a son of God. Led the Taiping Rebellion, conquering a large part of China before defeat and suicide.[citation needed]
Dios Buhawi ~1887 Philippine shaman who called himself "God Whirlwind."[citation needed]
Father Divine
 
 ~20th century His followers considered him God in the flesh.[68]
Taher Saifuddin
 
 20th century Claimed to be Ilah'ul-Ard (God on Earth) in Bombay High Court.[69][70]
Lou de Palingboer
 
 20th century A divorced Dutchman named Louwrens Voorthuijzen who proclaimed himself "Lou the Eel Vendor", this being the translation of his proclaimed name "Lou de Palingboer". He was a figure who mixed marketing European eels with proselytism. His followers also considered him a living God on a mission against evil.[71]
Jehovah Wanyonyi 21st century "I am the one who created Adam and Eve. I made their bodies and their blood", [...] "I still use human beings by speaking through them, like I spoke through Jesus Christ until he went to Heaven." There are between 120 and 1000 followers who consider him to be God.[72][73]
Sathya Sai Baba
 
 20th century Hindu guru that followers believed was a reincarnation of an avatar of Dattatreya. He alleged that he had the ability to heal, raise the dead, appear in more than one location at the same time, materialize objects, such as jewellery, etc.[citation needed]
Yahweh ben Yahweh 20th century He was born as Hulon Mitchell, Jr. and his self-proclaimed name means "God, Son of God." He could have only been deeming himself son of God, not God, but many of his followers clearly consider him God Incarnate.[74][75]
Mitsuo Matayoshi
 
 20th century In 1997 he established the World Economic Community Party (世界経済共同体党) based on his conviction that he is the God and Christ.[76]
Meher Baba
 
 ~1930 An Indian spiritual master who said he was the Avatar,[77][78][79] God in human form.[80][81]
Mita
 
 ~1940 According to the Mita faith, Mita (Peraza) was the incarnation of the Holy Ghost on earth.[82]
Jim Jones
 
 1955 Founder of Peoples Temple, which started off as a part of a mainstream Protestant denomination before becoming a personality cult as time went on. One of Jones's devotees claimed that Jones said "If you see me as your savior, I'll be your savior. If you see me as your God, I'll be your God";[83] however Jones also described himself as atheist.[84]
Vissarion
 
 1961 Claims to be Jesus Christ returned, which, he says, makes him not "God" but the "word of God".[citation needed]
François Duvalier
 
 1960s–1970s Haitian Dictator claimed that he was the physical embodiment of the island nation. Duvalier deliberately modeled his image on that of Baron Samedi, one of the lwa, or spirits, of Haitian Vodou. He often donned sunglasses in order to hide his eyes and talked with the strong nasal tone associated with the lwa. The regime's propaganda stated that "Papa Doc was one with the lwa, Jesus Christ and God himself".[85] The most celebrated image from the time shows a standing Jesus Christ with a hand on the shoulder of a seated Papa Doc, captioned, "I have chosen him".[86] Duvalier declared himself an "immaterial being" as well as "the Haitian flag" soon after his first election.[87] In 1964, he published a catechism in which the Lord's Prayer was reworded to pay tribute to Duvalier instead of God.[87][88]
Nirmala Srivastava
 
 1970 Guru and goddess of Sahaja Yoga, has proclaimed herself the incarnation of the Holy Ghost (Adi Shakti), claimed that all other incarnations (e.g., Krishna, Christ, etc.) were aspects of her.[89][90]
Francisco Macías Nguema
 
 1970s His party used the slogan, (officially decreed by him in 1974): "There is no other God than Macias". Catholic clergy were also required to preach that "God created Equatorial Guinea thanks to Macias."[91][92][93]
Apollo Quiboloy
 
 1985 Calls himself as the "Appointed Son of God" in his own Restorationist church called the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.[94]
Ayah Pin
 
 1980's-2010's Founder of the sky kingdom cult, he claimed to have direct contact with the heavens. Claiming to be the reincarnation of Jesus, Buddha, Shiva, and prophet Muhammad,[95] he was regarded as the king of the sky and the supreme object of devotion for all religions.[96] His teachings attract followers ranging from approximately 23 to 22,800 individuals.
Joseph Kony 1987 Proclaims himself the spokesperson of God and a spirit medium, and has been considered by some as a cult of personality, and claims he is visited by a multinational host of 13 spirits, including a Chinese phantom.[97]
Ryuho Okawa
 
 1986 Founder of Happy Science, worshipped by his followers as 'El Cantare' and a reincarnation of Elohim, Odin, Thoth, Osiris, and Buddha.[98][99]
Amy Carlson c. 2006 – 2021 Founder of Love Has Won. Proclaimed herself to be God, as well as Jesus, several secular historical figures, St. Joan of Arc, and the Indigenous Hawaiian goddess Pele. Followers call her "Momma God" and were found to have mummified her in order to continue to worship her.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The rulers of Egypt, first the kings and later the pharaohs, were gods as well as men who ruled by divine right. Each king was 'the son of god', who at the point of death became one with his father, a god in a cosmic Heaven." Christopher Knight, Robert Lomas (2001). The Hiram Key: Pharaohs, Freemasons and the Discovery of the Secret Scrolls of Jesus, 100. ISBN 978-1931412759. Fair Winds publish.
  2. ^ "The king had a superhuman role, being a manifestation of a god or of various deities on earth. The king's principle original title, the Horus name, proclaimed that he was an aspect of one of the chief gods, Horus, a sky god who was depicted as a falcon. Other identifications were added to this one, notably, "Son of Re [the sun god]" and "Perfect God," both introduced during the 4th dynasty (c. 2575–2465 BCE), when the great pyramids were constructed. The epithet "Son of Re" placed the king in a close but dependent relation with the leading figure of the pantheon."Merriam-Webster (1999). Encyclopedia of World Religions). Merriam Webster, Inc. ISBN 978-0877790440.
  3. ^ Hirohito denied being himself a living god, but the mythical ancestry is still the foundation of the Shinto worship, including the ceremonies and prayers done by the current emperor. Imperial Household Agency
  4. ^ Hirohito's 1945 Declaration in Japanese and English: "The ties between Us and Our people have always stood upon mutual trust and affection. They do not depend upon mere legends and myths. They are not predicated on the false conception that the Emperor is divine, and that the Japanese people are superior to other races and fated to rule the world."
  5. ^ Mote, F.W. (1999). Imperial China: 900–1800. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674012127.
  6. ^ The community leader would be called the Great Sun. Natchez social organization was based on the relationship of community members to the Great Sun. In the 17th century, French explorers and colonists met this leader, who lived in a large house on the top of a platform mound at the site that is now preserved by the State of Mississippi as the Grand Village of the Natchez. The Great Sun enjoyed the status of a living god [1]
  7. ^ Coedès, George (1968). Walter F. Vella (ed.). The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. trans. Susan Brown Cowing. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0824803681.
  8. ^ "Patrons of Buddhism, the Sailendras during the height of their power in central Java constructed impressive monuments and temple complexes, the best known of which is the Borobudur on the Kedu Plain" (quoted from Hall 1985: 109).
  9. ^ Stein 1972, p. 84
  10. ^ Das, Sarat Chandra. Contributions on the Religion and History of Tibet (1970), p. 82. Manjushri Publishing House, New Delhi. First published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. LI (1882).
  11. ^ Геше Джампа Тинлей. Практика необычной Гуру-Йоги, 2003, с. 76 (in Russian)
  12. ^ Charles Haviland (9 May 2005). "Nepal and the divine monarchy". BBC. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  13. ^ a b c Dalley, Stephanie (1989), Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 40, ISBN 0192835890
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h Black, Jeremy; Green, Anthony (1992), Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, The British Museum Press, pp. 89–71, ISBN 0714117056
  15. ^ Brandon, S. G. F. (Samuel George Frederick) (2014). Beliefs, rituals, and symbols of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Fertile Crescent. Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1627125697. OCLC 862222059.
  16. ^ Virgil, Aeneid 1.446f, Silius Italicus, Punica 1.81f
  17. ^ Livy i.4.2. From the Founding of the City.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Bk XIV: 805-828 The deification of Romulus. "Metamorphoses (Kline) 14, the Ovid Collection, Univ. of Virginia E-Text Center". ovid.lib.virginia.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Carandini. La nascita di Roma. Dèi, lari, eroi e uomini all'alba di una civiltà (Torino: Einaudi, 1997) and Carandini. Remo e Romolo. Dai rioni dei Quiriti alla città dei Romani (775/750 – 700/675 a. C. circa) (Torino: Einaudi, 2006)
  20. ^ Zhmud, Leonid (2012). Pythagoras and the Early Pythagoreans. Translated by Windle, Kevin; Ireland, Rosh. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 1–3. ISBN 978-0199289318.
  21. ^ a b Riedweg, Christoph (2005) [2002]. Pythagoras: His Life, Teachings, and Influence. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0801474521.
  22. ^ Porphyry, Vit. Pyth. 20; Iamblichus, Vit. Pyth. 31, 140; Aelian, Varia Historia, ii. 26; Diogenes Laërtius, viii. 36.
  23. ^ "Not the least of the many extraordinary facts about Alexander is that both in his lifetime and after his death he was worshipped as a god, by Greeks and Ancient Macedonians as well as, for example, Egyptians (to whom he was Pharaoh). The episode that led to Callisthenes' death in 327 was connected to this fact. Greeks and Ancient Macedonians believed that formal obeisance should be paid only to gods. So the refusal of his Greek and Macedonian courtiers to pay it to Alexander implied that they, at any rate, did not believe he genuinely was a living god, at least not in the same sense as Zeus or Dionysus were. Alexander, regardless, did nothing to discourage the view that he really was divine. His claim to divine birth, not merely divine descent, was part of a total self-promotional package, which included the striking of silver medallions in India depicting him with the attributes of Zeus. Through sheer force of personality and magnitude of achievement he won over large numbers of ordinary Greeks and Macedonians to share this view of himself, and to act on it by devoting shrines to his cult."Cartledge, Paul (2004). "Alexander the Great". History Today. 54: 1.
  24. ^ Murray, Sheanna (2022-09-13). "Becoming a God: The Deification of Julius Caesar". Walks Inside Rome. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  25. ^ Block, Corrie (2013-10-08). The Qur'an in Christian-Muslim Dialogue: Historical and Modern Interpretations. Routledge. p. 186. ISBN 9781135014056.
  26. ^ "People worship Emperor Guan not merely as a law-protecting heavenly deity, but also as god of war, god of wealth and god of righteousness. They pray to Emperor Guan for many reasons…"Emperor Guan
  27. ^ L. Esposito, John; Moosa, Matti (1995). "Alawiyyah". The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World vol. 1. New York, USA: Oxford University Press. p. 64. ISBN 0-19-509612-6.
  28. ^ "Po Chiak Keng: Only Tans could pray here before 1982". straitstimes.com. 2017-02-16. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  29. ^ Brett, Michael (2001). The Rise of the Fatimids: The World of the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the Tenth Century CE. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV. p. 470.
  30. ^ Frischauer, Willi (1970). The Aga Khans. Bodley Head.
  31. ^ Ismail K. Poonawala (1999). "Review – The Fatimids and Their Traditions of Learning". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 119 (3): 542. doi:10.2307/605981. JSTOR 605981.
  32. ^ Gamal Nkrumah (10 December 2009). "The crazed caliph". Al-Ahram Weekly Online. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  33. ^ Elkamel, Sara (24 August 2010). "Caliph of Cairo: The rule and mysterious disappearance of Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah". Egypt Independent. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  34. ^ Szonyi, Michael (1998). "The Cult of Hu Tianbao and the Eighteenth-Century Discourse of Homosexuality". Late Imperial China. 19: 1–25. doi:10.1353/late.1998.0004. S2CID 144047410.
  35. ^ "Encyclopedia of Shinto : Special Topics : Shrines and Hawaiians of Japanese descent". Eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  36. ^ "When I sat cross-legged by myself just like the great statue of the Buddha in Nara, I felt that the earth, about the size of a watermelon, was underneath me and I could see the other me walking about on it. I experience the real "me" looking down at the other "me" on this small planet. I was and understood everything on this earth (Shinreikyo History: 5). Religious movements home page on the website of the University of Virginia. This entry was written by Jeffrey Hadden.
  37. ^ Karas, Marcin. "Mateczka – Boska Parakletka, Zbawicielka Świata" (PDF).
  38. ^ "Comments". varpho.livejournal.com. August 24, 2007. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  39. ^ "Kultong Rizalismo (Sanaysay ni Jon e. Royeca) | FilipinoWriter.com". www.filipinowriter.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  40. ^ "Rizalist cult (Filipino religion)". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  41. ^ "The Honorable Elijah Muhammad identified the Master as being the answer to the one that the world had been expecting for the past 2,000 years under the names Messiah, the second coming of Jesus, the Christ, Jehovah, God, and the Son of Man."NOI.org quoting Elijah Muhammad Archived 2010-12-07 at the Wayback Machine
  42. ^ "Savitri Devi: The mystical fascist being resurrected by the alt-right". www.bbc.com. 29 October 2017. It isn't hard these days to find discussions of Savitri Devi's books on neo-Nazi web forums, especially The Lightning and the Sun, which expounds the theory that Hitler was an avatar – an incarnation – of the Hindu god Vishnu
  43. ^ a b Freedman, Samuel G. (December 1, 2007). "Sunday religion, inspired by Saturday nights". The New York Times. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  44. ^ Polatnick, Gordon. "The Jazz Church". Elvispelvis.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2006.
  45. ^ Encyclopaedia Judaica, Volume 6, Encyclopedia Judaica Jerusalem, p. 1108
  46. ^ Brueggemann 2002, pp. 75, 144.
  47. ^ The New Encyclopedia of Judaism, Ezra
  48. ^ a b Harper’s Bible Dictionary, San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1985
  49. ^ Köstenberger, Andreas J.; Kellum, L. Scott; Quarles, Charles (2009). The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament. Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Academic. p. 400. ISBN 978-0805443653.
  50. ^ a b Barclay, William (2003). The Acts of the Apostles. The New Daily Study Bible. Louisville, Kentucky and London: Westminster John Knox Press. pp. 126–128. ISBN 978-0664226756.
  51. ^ "Chin Swee Caves Temple – The Founder". chinswee.org. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  52. ^ "郑和研究专题". Jllib.cn. Archived from the original on 2013-05-18. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  53. ^ Rastafarians regard Haile Selassie I as God, in part because Marcus Garvey's prophecy – "Look to Africa where a black king shall be crowned, he shall be the Redeemer" – was swiftly followed by the ascension of Haile Selassie as Emperor of Ethiopia. BBC
  54. ^ "Is Prince Philip an island god?". BBC News. June 10, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  55. ^ "The Lubavitcher Rebbe as a God". Haaretz. 2007-02-11. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  56. ^ a b Scott James (4 February 2010). "In Internet Era, an Unwilling Lord for New Age Followers". New York Times. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  57. ^ Kleiner, Fred (2005). Gardner's Art Through The Ages. Thomson-Wadsworth. p. 41. ISBN 0534640958.
  58. ^ a b c d Frayne, Douglas R. A Handbook of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Near East: Three Thousand Deities of Anatolia, Syria, Israel, Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, and Elam. Penn State University Press, 2021.[ISBN missing][page needed]
  59. ^ a b Gregory, Andrew (2013). The Presocratics and the Supernatural: Magic, Philosophy and Science in Early Greece. New York and London: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 178. ISBN 978-1472504166.
  60. ^ Diogenes Laërtius, viii. 69
  61. ^ Horace, Ars Poetica, 465–466
  62. ^ International Nemrud Foundation (2015). "The Nomos: The Holy Law of King Antiochos". Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  63. ^ Irenaeus, Against Heresies Book I Chapter XXIII. Justin Martyr states: "There was a Samaritan, Simon, a native of the village called Gitto, who in the reign of Claudius Caesar, and in your royal city of Rome, did mighty acts of magic, by virtue of the art of the devils operating in him. He was considered a god, ..." Justin Martyr, First Apology Chapter XXVI.
  64. ^ The Dervish lodge: architecture, art, and Sufism in Ottoman Turkey, Raymond Lifchez, p. 35
  65. ^ The Shiites of Lebanon under Ottoman rule, 1516–1788, Stefan Winter, p. 13
  66. ^ His teaching of Twelve Commitments stated, "I am God predicted by the prophets; I descended on the earth to save the human souls; there is no God but me. There is no other teaching. Do not seek for it."St. Petersburg State University article Archived 2012-07-09 at archive.today(A bit of dispute here as there are sites that indicate he taught any and all Khlysts could mystically become God incarnate through him)
  67. ^ Smith, Douglas (2016-11-22). Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs. Macmillan. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-374-24084-4.
  68. ^ Father Divine: A General Overview, Timothy Miller, 1999, Retrieved June 6, 2007, "Followers of Father Divine proclaimed him God in the flesh, and for most Americans nothing could have been more ridiculous than a small African-American deity."
  69. ^ The Milli Gazette. "Bohra: an Islamic sect reduced to a cult". Milligazette.com. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  70. ^ "Bohra dissenters challenge oppressive priesthood". Rediff.com India News. 2011-03-05. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  71. ^ De God die Lou heette (Dutch language) "The God that was called Lou" VPRO TV programme.
  72. ^ International Cultic Studies Association (2001). "Kenya – "God" and 400 Followers Living in Kenya". Cultic Studies Journal. 18 (4).
  73. ^ BBC News (November 12, 2001). "Kenyan 'God' sent Aids as 'punishment'". Retrieved December 29, 2004.
  74. ^ "He identified himself as the 'grand master of the celestial lodge, the architect of the universe'."Crimelibrary Archived 2008-04-17 at the Wayback Machine
  75. ^ Miami Herald(October 15, 2001). "The old message of self-esteem has been crowded out by one that elevates their leader to Grand Master of All, the God of the Universe, the Grand Potentate, the Everlasting Father and the persecuted Messiah."
  76. ^ "After the Upper House Election, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi should hand the seat of the Prime Minister to Jesus Matayoshi, the one true God." : cgunson.com : Matayoshi Archived 2005-11-25 at the Wayback Machine
  77. ^ Awakener Magazine, Volume 9, Number 4, 1964, p. 15
  78. ^ Awakener Magazine, Volume 4, Number 2, 1956, p. 27
  79. ^ Kalchuri (1986) p. 2324
  80. ^ Baba (1987) p. 269
  81. ^ Awakener Magazine, Volume 11, Number 1, 1966, p. 9
  82. ^ Essay in Latin American Issues Volume 13 states she taught that, "when a shooting star moving in the distance suddenly approached her and landed on her forehead, filling the room with light (Cruz). She had become the living incarnation of the Holy Spirit, who at that moment revealed to her the name of God in this new era: 'MITA'" or "Spirit of Life."
  83. ^ Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple Archived 2009-03-14 at the Wayback Machine. American Experience, PBS.org.
  84. ^ Jones, Jim in conversation with John Maher, "Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 622." Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple. Jonestown Project: San Diego State University.
  85. ^ Wright, Giles. "François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier". TheDictatorship.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  86. ^ Nicholls, David (1996) [1st pub. 1979]. From Dessalines to Duvalier: Race, Colour, and National Independence in Haiti (Revised ed.). New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. pp. xvi. ISBN 978-0813522401. LCCN 95-8893. OCLC 32396546. OL 8025482M. Thousands of posters appeared as the Péligre dam was about to be opened proclaiming that 'Duvalier alone is able to harness the energy of Péligre and give it to his people'. Others had Jesus with his hand on Duvalier proclaiming 'I have chosen him'.
  87. ^ a b Kofele-Kale, Ndiva (2006). "The Cult of State Sovereignty". The International Law of Responsibility for Economic Crimes (2nd ed.). Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing. p. 261. ISBN 978-1409496090. LCCN 2006006433. OCLC 64289359. OL 7991049M. Not satisfied with being the Haitian flag, . . . Duvalier also declared himself 'an immaterial being' shortly after he became 'President-for-Life', and issued a Catechisme de la Révolution to the faithful containing the following version of the Lord's Prayer: 'Our Doc, who art in the National Palace for Life, hallowed be Thy name by present and future generations. Thy will be done in Port-au-Prince as it is in the provinces. Give us this day our new Haiti and forgive not the trespasses of those antipatriots who daily spit on our country; lead them into temptation, and, poisoned by their own venom, deliver them from no evil . . .'
  88. ^ Fourcand, Jean M. (1964). Catechisme de la révolution [Catechism of the Revolution] (PDF) (in French). Port‑au‑Prince: Edition imprimerie de l'état. p. 37. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 September 2015. Notre Doc qui êtes au Palais National pour la Vie, que Votre nom soit béni par les générations présentes et futures, que Votre Volonté soit faite à Port‑au‑Prince et en Province. Donnez‑nous aujourd'hui notre nouvelle Haïti, ne pardonnez jamais les offenses des apatrides qui bavent chaque jour sur notre Patrie, laissez‑les succomber à la tentation et sous le poids de leurs baves malfaisantes: ne les délivrez d'aucun mal. Amen.
  89. ^ Judith Coney, Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement (1999) p. 27 "She began her mission of salvation in earnest, establishing a reputation as a faith healer ... Then, on December 2nd 1979, in London, she unequivocally declared her divinity to her followers: '[Today] is the day I declare that I am the One who has to save the humanity. I declare, I am the one who is Adi Shakti, who is the Mother of all the mothers, who is the Primordial Mother, the Shakti, the purest desire of God, who has incarnated on this Earth to give meaning to itself...' Since then, she is most often understood by her followers to be the Devi, the Goddess of Indian mythology, returned to save the world."
  90. ^ "::Sahaja Yoga-Tamil : Adi Sakthi By Thirumoolar". March 6, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-03-06.
  91. ^ Sundiata, Ibrahim K. (1988). "The Roots of African Despotism: The Question of Political Culture". African Studies Review. 31 (1): 9–31. doi:10.2307/524581. ISSN 0002-0206. JSTOR 524581. S2CID 154948219.
  92. ^ Bayart, Jean-François (2005). The Illusion of Cultural Identity. C. Hurst. ISBN 978-1850656609.
  93. ^ "Macias Nguema: Ruthless and bloody dictator". Afroarticles.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  94. ^ "Evangelist Quiboloy backs Duterte". The Philippine Star. February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  95. ^ "Ayah Pin, pemimpin kultus Kerajaan Langit selamat dikebumi". ProjekMM. 23 April 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  96. ^ "Ingatkan Kerajaan Langit dah hapus, rupanya pengikut Ayah Pin masih ada". AmazingNara. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  97. ^ Howden, Daniel (8 November 2008). "The deadly cult of Joseph Kony". The Independent. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  98. ^ Kestenbaum, Sam (16 April 2020). "Inside the Fringe Japanese Religion That Claims It Can Cure Covid-19". The New York Times.
  99. ^ "Happy Science Is the Laziest Cult Ever". 3 October 2012.
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