Back when scriptures were written, the universe was a much smaller place.

When I was younger, learning about the size and complexity of the cosmos, I theorized that it seemed a lot more likely that God was a cosmologically “local” phenomenon, restricted to this solar system or maybe even to this planet. It would make a lot more sense for God to be involved with humanity and life on this planet under those circumstances. Might explain the Fermi paradox, too, if intelligence were engineered. Although C.S. Lewis believed in a God of the Universe, he also wrote about “local” planetary gods in his space trilogy.

Would that mean God is a space alien? Something else? If God were real, and able to do the things advertised even only on a planetary scale, what’s the difference between god and omnipotent space alien when it comes down to it?

In Niven and Pournelle’s “Inferno,” a science fiction writer dies and wakes up in a modernized version of Dante’s hell. He spends a lot of time rationalizing the place as some form of alien experiment, while his guide talks about God.

After witnessing miracle after miracle, justified with theories about biological engineering, hyperspace, matter transmutation, antigravity, and many other SF standards, he suddenly realizes, “what can God do that the owner of this place can’t?” Then his thinking moves on to motivations, and things get interesting.

This theory (and of course, it’s just a theory) opens up huge vistas of speculation.

If God is local, the question then becomes, where does God’s jurisdiction actually end? I think there has been at least one science fiction movie that dealt with space travelers going out far enough to be where God isn’t, and the ramifications, but I haven’t seen it.

If God were God of the whole Solar System, why not set up life on other planets here, too? It would be a lot more fun, wouldn’t it? Is it too much work, or is one planet enough to work with? Are even planetary distances a problem to work across?

How many of these beings are there scattered around the universe? If God is satisfied with nursing one planet and its inhabitants along, maybe other gods are too. Or maybe it’s that distance problem. Just because you’re God doesn’t mean you can go faster than light, or as Aslan once said, “do you think I would not obey my own rules?” Probably fortunate, when you think about it. Imagine getting caught up in a territorial war for our world.

Are we a project? A hobby? Do gods compare their worlds at conventions?

Are we actually being watched over? I got over the problem of God watching millions of people at once after computers started being able to talk to thousands of people at once. Is something out there tweaking asteroid trajectories? Balancing climate with biological tricks?

Or are the project rules “hands off?” Natural growth, not bonsai? Is intelligence only a successful work of art if it can run on its own? God watches every sparrow fall, but there’s nothing there about him catching it.

Whoa. Head’s going off in too many directions at once. There’s a lot of book ideas in this.