A Theory of God: the Great Animator

"In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God"

- John 1:1

What is man but God's fiction? Let us consider the relationship between an author and his writing. If he wills a character to die, they die. If he wants to revive them, they may rise from the grave. If he wishes to rewrite the laws of physics so that gravity were to cease functioning and all creation were to fly off the earth, he could do so with a single sentence.

Novels leave many undefined grey areas to the reader's imagination so let us instead consider the comparatively despotic world of animated cartoons. The artist is master of his fiction, both omniscient and omnipresent. Mickey Mouse doesn't blinks unless the artist takes the time to make him blink. The sun does not shine unless the animator places it in the sky and decides where it will cast its light. Nothing happens without him willing it. He knows everything that happens in every inch of his world because he is behind it. Everything is deliberate, no matter how small the detail.

The laws of physics do not operate automatically in an animated world. If an apple were to drop from a tree, it does not land unless the artist draws it doing so. Presumably, the artist will try to mimic the physics of the real world in his fictional one but there is nothing to make sure he gets them right or even keeps them consistent. If the artist says it takes an apple two seconds to fall ten feet, it does--even if in the real world it would take one second or three. The operation of physics is illusory, and persists only on the continued goodwill of the artist.

Yet the artist faithfully emulate rules of physics. In fact, his job is maintaining consistency and believability. Better artists make fewer mistakes, their worlds are internally cohesive. The larger the scale, the more work they must do to make sure everything operates predictably. Every tree that falls must make a sound. There can be no shortcuts. This is the great duty the artist owes his world, to keep sun rising every morning.

Now consider where free will fit into this picture. Characters take on personalities, they have quirks and mannerisms and opinions. Like physics, there are patterns behind their behavior. If Micky Mouse were too cease smiling, if Buggs Bunny ceased being a trickster or Goofy stopped being Goofy, people would stand up and take notice. They would say they have acted out of character. The artist much yield to the personality just as he yields to the laws of physics.

So what does this analogy tell us about God? First of all that he is a great rule maker and vigilant enforcer of them. It is skeptical of miracles and divine intervention because God's role is enforcing the laws of physics not breaking them. Enforcing laws of physics is 99.99% of what he does. Of course, the theory doesn't say he can't suspend or sidestep the rules of the universe (in fact the theory demands that he retain this power) but suggests that it would be "out of character" for him to do so.

Secondly, it challenges his perfection. Just because Walt Disney possess omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence in Snow White's world does not mean he lacks character traits, and even flaws, in the real world. While God must be the sovereign master of our world, there is nothing to suggest he is anything more than a humble painter in his. Perhaps he has a name, and a wife, and a scratchy beard. Maybe he IS Jesus. Or maybe he is the only being in his universe and created us for company or out of boredom. There's simply no way to know unless he tells us. This theory only roughly sketches out God's power and tells us about our reality, not his.

Since this post has been pretty heavy, let's end by applying the theory to a 'lighter' situation:

comic provided courtesy of Bob the Angry Flower

Is this possible under the great animator theory? yes and no, God could make one of his characters behave like him and he could behave like one of his characters (he authors their thought process after all so knows them perfectly) but he couldn't actually switch realities with them anymore than L. Frank Baum could physically enter the land of Oz (or pull the Tinman into our world). Hence, the 'swap' would just be an exercise in method acting that God could stop at any moment. Even when his hand isn't on the wheel, God still has a foot on the brake. But would God use his veto power or would that conflict with his commitment to the rules? Likely answer: he wouldn't get in this predicament to begin with.