Is God Dead? The Megalomaniac

 

Is God Dead? The Megalomaniac

“The greatest enemy of the Christian faith is not the world, but a false image of God that we have created in our own minds.”— A.W. Tozer

Throughout popular culture, the megalomaniac is a recurring character archetype—a figure who desires absolute power, control, and unchallenged authority. These characters are often larger-than-life, operating with a single goal in mind: to dominate everything and everyone around them. The megalomaniac doesn’t just want influence or wealth; they crave adoration, unquestionable loyalty, and the complete submission of others. Think of villains like Lex Luthor in Supermanor Thanos in The Avengers, characters who view themselves as saviors of the world, reshaping it in their image, convinced that they alone have the wisdom and power to lead. Their motivation is clear: they want to be supreme, to rule, to be worshipped. These figures, at their core, believe that their vision for the world is the only one worth following—no matter the cost.

In the midst of this portrayal, it’s easy to see the human desire for power and control reflected in the fictional world. After all, don’t we all want to feel significant, to be in charge of our own destiny? In a way, the megalomaniac archetype is a distortion of a universal human experience: the desire to be seen, heard, and revered. But here’s the catch—this desire for power can often mirror an unhealthy need for validation, one that eventually causes harm to both the self and others. And when this is projected onto God, it can lead to a distorted image of who God really is.

God as a Megalomaniac: A Misunderstanding of Sovereignty

When we look at God through the lens of a megalomaniac, we make a grave error. This is the version of God that many people struggle with or even reject. A God who demands worship not out of love, but for the sake of His ego. A God who rules not with mercy, but with an iron fist. A God whose ultimate aim is to be the center of attention, to make the world revolve around Him in a way that serves only His needs. This portrayal is problematic because it reduces God to something He is not—an insecure tyrant whose power is more about self-aggrandizement than selflessness.

The idea that God is a megalomaniac has been perpetuated by misconceptions of His nature. These ideas have often been shaped by the distorted ways in which we, as humans, operate. Just as the megalomaniac in fiction is driven by insecurity and a need for control, so too have we misrepresented God as being driven by a need for constant worship and adoration. The assumption here is that if God is truly supreme, He must want to be worshipped in a way that reflects a need for praise and glory—similar to how a megalomaniac would demand attention. But nothing could be further from the truth.

In Scripture, God’s sovereignty is not an expression of a narcissistic desire for power, but a reflection of His perfect, unconditional love. He is the Creator of all things, and His authority is an extension of His goodness, wisdom, and justice. God does not need our worship to fulfill something lacking in Him. Instead, He invites us into relationship with Him because, in His nature, He knows that worshiping Him is what leads to the fullness of life. It is not a self-serving act for God—it’s an invitation for humanity to experience purpose, peace, and hope. Worshiping God is not about meeting a divine need, but about us responding to the Creator who gave us life and breath.

The God We Make: A False Image of Convenience

However, in our culture, we have a tendency to project our human desires and flaws onto God. This leads to the creation of a false version of God—a God that fits our own needs, desires, and comfort zones. This version of God is molded to accommodate our preferences, our ideologies, and our struggles. Just like in pop culture where the megalomaniac seeks to shape the world in their image, we try to make God into something that suits our desires. We might want a God who is all-loving but not all-powerful, or a God who’s okay with our lifestyle choices without requiring any real change from us. This version of God doesn’t challenge us. It doesn’t ask us to confront our flaws or make sacrifices. It simply affirms our own beliefs and comforts, without calling us to grow or transform.

This false image of God is a product of our own desire to make Him more palatable—to make God someone we can control or manipulate. We create a version of God that fits into our narrative, one that doesn’t demand anything too difficult or too uncomfortable. Just as the megalomaniac believes the world should be bent to their will, we often desire a God who will conform to our wishes. This idea leads us to say things like, “My God wouldn’t send anyone to hell,” or “My God would never condemn anyone.” What we’re really saying is that we’ve crafted a God in our own image, one who validates our choices and preferences, rather than the God who calls us to holiness and righteousness.

The problem with this is that when we remake God into our image, we diminish His greatness. We turn the Creator of the universe into a mere reflection of our own desires, reducing Him from the infinite, all-powerful Being to something far smaller and more manageable. When we create a God in our own image, we kill the true God, the one who stands as both sovereign and loving, holy and just.

God is Not a Megalomaniac—He’s a Loving Father

The reality of God’s nature couldn’t be further from that of a megalomaniac. Yes, God is sovereign—He is supreme over all things, but His sovereignty is rooted in love, not in a desire for adoration. His power is a force of good, not self-centeredness. The true God does not need our worship to feel validated; He is complete and whole within Himself. Rather, He invites us to worship because it is in worship that we find our purpose and fulfillment. He invites us into His presence not because He is insecure, but because He knows that when we align our lives with His will, we experience true joy and peace.

We must be careful not to reduce God to a false image that reflects only our desires or the negative aspects of human nature. God is not a megalomaniac. He is the Creator, who, out of love, offers us the gift of eternal life. He is the Father who desires to be in relationship with us, not as a tyrant demanding our submission, but as a loving figure who calls us to be transformed into His likeness.

Is God Dead? Or Have We Killed Him with Our False Ideals?

As we look around at the world, we may ask ourselves: Is God dead? The answer depends on how we see Him. If we’ve made God into something He is not—if we’ve shaped Him into a being who demands our worship for His own ego or as a mere affirmation of our own beliefs—then, yes, we’ve effectively killed God. We’ve erased the true God and replaced Him with a hollow, distorted version that serves only our own needs. But the true God is not dead. He is alive, and He continues to call us into relationship with Him. The challenge for us is to strip away the false versions of God we’ve created and rediscover the God of Scripture, the God who is sovereign, loving, and just.

So, is God dead? Only if we refuse to see Him as He really is.