# The God-Emperor



## Captain Forrix (Nov 10, 2009)

The Emperor is the pivotal character in Warhammer 40000. Whenever we open a 40k novel he's the 1st character "It is the 41st millenium. For more than a hundered centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth..."
He is the driving force of the 40k mythos. He is the creator of the Imperium, Arch-enemy of the Chaos Gods, Father of the Primarchs, Patriarch of the Astartes, God of the masses. Without Him Warhammer 40000 would not exist.

But you all know that. ^^ The sheer number of topics and posts about Him is staggering. He is a controversial figure, not unlike the Judeo-Christian God.
His supporters paint him as a benevolent savior, Lord of The Imperium, a father, a God and even a myth. His detractors paint him a devil, a tyrant, a monstrous overlord or an abomination against nature itself. 
His origins are not truly shrouded in mystery. The old texts speak of shamans who guided Man's destiny. When confronted with the abomination of Chaos they committed a mass suicide in a ritual that bound their souls into one being, the Emperor. But perhaps this is a lie forged by the powers that be to keep us guessing. 
He denied his Divinity, but how does one truly define a God? He was the father of the Primarchs, yet how could he be so blind to their weakness? He destroyed religion, but he knew of Chaos, that begs the question of the nature of Chaos itself. Are the "Chaos Gods" gods at all? 
The Emperor represents what we can never truly understand. 
Is he God incarnate? Is he lord of the universe as the Ecclesiarchy believes. Or is he merely a powerful psyker in a universe devoid of divinity and meaning? Lorgar believed he was the Empyrean made flesh. The Empyrean itself seems similar to the eastern concepts of Eternal Creation and Rebirth. Perhaps the warp is the Omniverse, the eternal ocean of universes and dimensions that is speculated to the ultimate structure of reality. 

Or perhaps the Emperor is something else entirely. 
I end with a quote from The First Heretic 
'If a man gathers ten thousand suns in his hands... If a man seeds a hundred thousand worlds with his sons and daughters, granting them custody of the galaxy itself... If a man guides a million vessels between the infinite stars with a mere thought... Than I pray you tell me, if you are able, how such a man is anything less than a god.'
-Lorgar Aurelian, Primarch of the Word Bearers


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## BlackGuard (Sep 10, 2010)

While normally I am a die-hard Chaos supporter, as I read the Horus Heresy, especially Mechanicus and I see the Emperor's True Plan attempted at every turn and often failing because of weak mortal minds ... I find myself admiring him more and more.

Is this because of my warped view of our own world (Real-Life) or perhaps because I see the same path he, the Emperor, saw for Humanity. A path so narrow, so rigid, that to vary from it for even a moment meant Humanity's damnation at the hands of uncaring, eternally malevolent gods. Humanity in the year 30k was far better off for his presence.

His united Terra, weather it is truly united or not, he brought an end to senseless wars and created something from the wasteland of Humanity's homeworld.

He forged the Mechanicum of Mars, the only organization that retained at least some of Humanity's lost knowledge. No doubt the Emperor planned this(SPOILER), as is seen in Mechanicus, the book, to lead Humanity to the stars.

He went before the very gods of the warp, the Ruinous Powers themselves in Humanity's name and made deals and bargains he knew would probably come back to haunt him. He took from them the arcane knowledge necessary to advance Humanity. From this destructive bargain he forged the Primarchs and from them, the Legio Astartes. He spat in the eyes of the Dark Gods, beings who were not to be trifled with, he laughed in the face of and conquered the galaxy to rid all Creation of their taint.

The Emperor led inexhaustible armies across the void of space, from system -to- system conquering the remnants of Humanity. He did this with total ruthlessness, for to show any compassion when the Ruinous Powers were watching and waiting, was to ensure Humanity's damnation. 

Even in when all his plans came crashing down around him. As Horus virtually killed him and the Imperium teetered on the brink of absolute collapse, he found faith in Humanity and faith in the Imperium he had created. To stop the tide of demons from flowing threw the Human Webway he permitted himself to, instead of dying and probably residing in the warp and possibly reincarnating eventually, to be placed upon the torture machine of the Golden Throne. To exist for all time in eternal torment, and to endure this in the name of the creatures he so dearly loved -- Humanity.

He failed. He damned us all, but he rose to heights most humans of his day could not comprehend. He challenged beings that none of us would ever dare confront. And even in defeat, he fights on, ever protective, ever vigilant.

That being said. The Emperor Protects!


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## BrotherArcadius (Jan 3, 2011)

Short and sweet for you, the Emperor is a God. Let's look at Slaanesh, she/he/it was created via the warp, by soooo many Eldar that indulged themselves with material pleasures. Is the Emperor so different? Does humanity not constantly pour it's hope, needs, and prayers into Him through the Warp? Are we not guided by him via the Golden Throne? I leave you with this, a few excerpts from The Inquisition War (SPOILERS) :

In "The Inquisition War", the Emperor speaks directly to Inquisitor Jaq Draco and stops time so he may safely approach his throne without interference by his Custodes.


"WE ARE CURIOUS," came a mighty anguished thought which itself transcended time. "WE HAVE FOLLOWED YOUR INTRUSION INTO OUR SANCTUARY, OUR ANTRUM AND ADYTUM.

"My lord." Jaq sank to his knees. "I beg to report to you before I am destroyed. I may have uncovered a major conspiracy-"

"THEN WE WILL STRIP YOUR SOUL BARE. RELAX, MORTAL MAN, OR YOU WILL SURELY DIE IN SUCH PAIN AS WE ALWAYS ENDURE."

-Jaq is subsequently soul-stripped and then restored-

"WE HAVE PUT BACK WHAT WE TOOK AND TASTED, INQUISITOR"

"WE ARE MANY, INQUISITOR"

"HOW ELSE COULD WE ADMINISTER OUR IMPERIUM-"

"AS WELL AS WINNOW THE WARP-"

"HOW ELSE?"

"SO DOES THE HYDRA THREATEN US?"

"IMPERILLING OUR GREAT AND AWFUL PLAN TO STEER HUMANITY?"

"DID WE OURSELVES DEVISE THE HYDRA?"

"PERHAPS IN A PART OF US, SINCE THE HYDRA PROMISES A PATH?"

"SURELY A MALEVOLENT PATH; FOR HOW COULD HUMANITY EVER FREE ITSELF?"

"THEN WE MUST BE MALEVOLENT TOO. FOR WE HAVE EXPELLED OUR SENTIMENTALITY LONG AGO. HOW ELSE COULD WE HAVE ENDURED? HOW ELSE COULD WE HAVE IMPOSED OUR RULE?"

"YET BY VIRTUE OF THAT WE ARE PURE AND UNCONTAMINATED BY WEAKNESS. WE ARE GRIM SALVATION."

"NOTHING THAT SAFEGUARDS HUMANITY CAN BE EVIL, NOT EVEN THE MOST STRENUOUS INHUMANITY. IF THE HUMAN RACE FAILS IT HAS FAILED FOREVER."

"WHEN WE CONFRONTED THE CORRUPTED, HOMICIDAL HORUS WHO ONCE USED TO SHINE LIKE THE BRIGHTEST STAR, WHO USED TO BE OUR BELOVED FAVOURITE - WHEN THE FATE OF THE GALAXY HUNG BY A THREAD - WERE WE NOT COMPELLED TO EXPEL ALL COMPASSION? ALL LOVE? ALL JOY? THOSE WENT AWAY. HOW ELSE COULD WE HAVE ARMOURED OURSELVES? EXISTENCE IS TORMENT, A TORMENT THAT MUST NOURISH US. EVIDENTLY WE MUST STRIVE TO BE THE FIERCE REDEEMER OF MAN, YET WHAT WILL REDEEM US?"

"Great Lord of All, did you know of the Hydra before now?" Jaq asks.

"YET SURELY WE KNEW. HOW COULD WE NOT KNOW?"

"ONCE WE HAVE ANALYSED THE INFORMATION WITHIN THIS SUB-MIND OF OURS."

"HEAR THIS, JAQ DRACO: ONLY TINY PORTIONS OF US CAN HEED YOU, OTHERWISE WE NEGLECT OUR IMPERIUM, OF WHICH OUR SCRUTINY MUST NOT FALTER FOR AN INSTANT. FOR TIME DOES NOT HALT EVERYWHERE WITHIN THE REALM OF MAN. INDEED TIME ONLY HALTS FOR YOU."

"WE ARE AN EVER WATCHFUL LORD, ARE WE NOT? DID YOU HOPE TO GAIN OUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION?"

"HOW ELSE SHOULD WE SOUL-BIND PSYKERS AND OVERVIEW THE WARP AND BEAM THE ASTRONOMICAN BEACON AND SURVIVE AND RECEIVE INFORMATION AND GRANT AUDIENCES ALL AT ONCE, UNLESS WE ARE MANY?"

"AND YET STILL WE MISS SO MUCH, SO VERY MUCH? SUCH AS THAT WHICH GUIDED YOU HERE"

"OUR SPIRIT GUIDED YOU."

"NO: ANOTHER SPIRIT, A REFLECTION OF OUR GOODNESS WHICH WE THRUST FROM US."

"WE ARE THE ONLY SOURCE OF GOODNESS, SEVERE AND DRASTIC. THERE IS NO OTHER SOURCE OF HOPE THAN US. WE ARE AGONISINGLY ALONE."

-After which Jaq Draco and his retinue flee and time resumes-


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## MEQinc (Dec 12, 2010)

The Emperor is not a god. Not as defined in 40k and not in the judeo-christian sense either. 

40k defines a god (as in the Chaos gods) as sentient pools of emotion coalesced in the warp. What about that applies to the Emperor? He isn't sentient (since he's brain-dead), he isn't emotion, indeed the HH books suggest that he doesn't experience very many emotions at all, and he doesn't exist in the warp. 

Boom. Not a god.


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## Child-of-the-Emperor (Feb 22, 2009)

MEQinc said:


> The Emperor is not a god. Not as defined in 40k
> 
> 40k defines a god (as in the Chaos gods) as sentient pools of emotion coalesced in the warp. What about that applies to the Emperor? He isn't sentient (since he's brain-dead), he isn't emotion, indeed the HH books suggest that he doesn't experience very many emotions at all, and he doesn't exist in the warp.
> 
> Boom. Not a god.


40k lore doesn't objectively define what the term _'god'_ means or what it can be applied to. 

You may not define the Emperor as a _god_ (and that's fine), but that doesn't mean others are wrong to do so. Going by your definition of - _"sentient pools of emotion coalesced in the warp"_ - means that the C'tan (commonly known as _star gods_) are not gods, the Emperor isn't, and very potentially the Eldar Pantheon (including the Dark Muses) and neither Gork & Mork are (depending on your interpretation of the latter two). As well as countless other _'deities'_ throughout the 40k universe.


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## BlackGuard (Sep 10, 2010)

SPOILER!!!

In Thousand Sons, Magnus confronts what eventually becomes known to be Tzeetch, or at least a servant of the Changer of Ways. It is in these visions that Magnus reveals to us that the Warp is nothing more than a mirror of our own emotions given life. Therefore if we think it, the Warp manifests it.

Now grasp that concept for a moment. The Emperor during the Horus Heresy was by no means a god -- but the Lectitio Divinitatus was introduced by Lorgar, and most likely the Emperor was worshipped long before his departure from Terra. This means that emotions precieving the Emperor as a god of light, purity, and salvation already began to form within the warp.

When the Emperor was placed upon the Golden Throne he was eternally connected to the warp, thus his soul more than likely bonded instantly with the Warp-Manifested God-Emperor. Now how much of the original Emperor remains and how much is really the Warp-Manifested God-Emperor is unknown. What is known is that the God-Emperor exists, for he has been worshipped for well over 10,000 years, and most of that time by trillions upon trillions of souls.

Simply put -- the Emperor may have died 10,000 years ago, but the God-Emperor endures.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

@BrotherArcadius: It is a common theory that the Emperor has divided his mind into many in order to become more aware of everything around him and to do everything he does. That`s how he guides the Astronomicon, performs "miracles" across the Imperium and generally watches his galaxy falls apart. 

Simultaneous multiple personality disorder does not make someone a god. If it did, I would demand worship. :crazy:

@MEQinc: The Imperium when they call him a god do not hold to those definitions, and I am not aware of any race that does. The Eldar pantheon were aware of themselves, able to act and think beyond their nature, perhaps due to the nature of their worship. 

Bear in mind that the Chaos Gods to begin with were not openly worshipped, they simply fed on raw emotion and deed.

@Blackguard: Magnus considered himself superior to the machinations of Warp creatures, and we all know he was proven wrong.

The Golden Throne in no way connected the Emperor to the warp any more so than he already was. It is a stasis device, nothing more, designed to keep him from dying. It is through his own (divided) psionic might that he guards the terran webway, directs the astronomicon, and performs miracles across the Imperium.


CotE also had a good point regarding the difinition of gods in 40k. Depending on your own views, and knowing what we do (as we exist ouside and above the 40kverse) one could argue that by true definition none of these entities could be called gods at all.


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## BrotherArcadius (Jan 3, 2011)

Webster's Dictionary defines God as the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism. God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent". 

The Emperor is all of these definitions, he is both Corporeal(His body is still on Terra) and incorpreal(As his mind exists within the Warp). Read Inquisition War, and my excerpt above, which gives the best hint that he is indeed the Fod-Emperor.


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## nate187 (Feb 2, 2009)

I think he is a god. With all the fluff to back it up it seems the emperor has been amongst us since we first stood up right, reincarnated in and out through time, guiding us, teaching us, warning us against our own doom and faults. 

It is that with his last incarnation he seemed to be his most powerful both physically and psychically so far. Unfortunately he was struck down by treachery of the worse kind, that of kin.

I now believe that the dream he had for an eldar like rule of the galaxy is over. Come the wolf time I consider he will be reincarnated once more in a form powerful enough to overcome the chaos gods or at least stop there influence over mankind. Then setting things right, we can forge our own destiny once more. Albeit a smaller and more robust sustainable dream.

My two cents worth cheers


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## Warsmith40 (Feb 8, 2010)

All humans, save blunters (such as Wistan Frauka [sp?] from the _Eisenhorn_ series), have a presence in the warp and contribute emotionally to it, feeding respective powers. In the case of the Emperor, the more souls that lend their thoughts and emotions to him, the more power is directed his way.

I'll argue this point using a similar situation. Grey Knights are capable of channeling their psychic power through one of their own, manifesting their total power through an individual. Wouldn't the same be true for the entire Imperium through the Emperor? Whether or not this makes him a god, it certainly provides him an amount of psychic power on a godlike scale. 

Each human is a tiny candle. But shove billions of billions of candles in a room and it gets hot very quickly.

In a sense, the Emperor is simply the epitome of the human psyker, the greatest manifestation of our most powerful traits. Yet he also extends his influence beyond any other human or superhuman in 40k. Not even the primarchs had his scope of vision and power. So he could easily be construed as a god.

The BRB actually has a section after the rules describing the Emperor actually fighting in the warp, his psychic form still together even though his physical body is a half-dead corpse. It's also mentioned in the AoBR book's little fluff blurb. (I'd give page numbers for both references, but I don't have the two handy at the moment )

Anyway, it is true in any case that various heroes of the Imperium have drawn immense power from their faith in the Emperor. Whether this is from deep within their own willpower or an actually boon from the Emperor we can never know (the whole mystery of faith thing). Just as the eldar called on Khaine for skill in battle and the forces of Chaos gain the blessings of their gods. In all three cases, sometimes the help in unsolicited, the Chaos gods bestowing mutations or power to individuals, Khaine calling eldar to become exarchs, or the Emperor providing an Inquisitor or Imperial Guardsmen with that little bit of might they need to triumph.

If I were a normal human in the Imperium, I probably would worship the God-Emperor. Even if he isn't, he's the best we have at that point :king:


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## RIVALBLACKWELL (Dec 13, 2010)

He's Jesus. (just had to say that)
But yeah he is a very cool character to see and I think he is a god but just a little tired.


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## Dishwatat (Jan 15, 2011)

I'm surprised nobody has brought the point up that he could just be a corpse strapped into a machine. Is it not possibly that the Astronomican is either a byproduct of humanity's mutations up to this, point, a phenomina due to the rise of psykers, a psyker beacon that The Emperor only set up (seeing as how it still needs "a choir of psykers" to operate), or maybe even part of the Golden Throne's technology itself? The Adeptus Mechanicus already discovered that the Golden Throne's machinery was damaged beyond their repair, is it not unbelievable that he is just a dead body? After all he has ahd no contact with anybody since his placement on the Golden Throne, except through "visions" and the like that people claim to have in modern day religions in our lives today. I think that one of the most interesting points of 40k is the religion associated with someone who may very well have been just a man.


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

Dishwatat said:


> I'm surprised nobody has brought the point up that he could just be a corpse strapped into a machine.


*Heresy!* Do not insult the most holy God-Emperor by calling Him... Him... That... Thou I declare you an Excomunicate Traitor! Burn for your heresy! 

He is a God, and you can not prove me wrong!


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## Phoebus (Apr 17, 2010)

I suppose it comes down to how much stock you place on earlier fluff. One poster already cited one of the Inquisition War novels, wherein it's demonstrably proven the Emperor is aware and active.


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## Fire Lord (Feb 15, 2009)

A theory that I came up with, and have wanted to put before COTE is this. What if the emperor is really not human. Imagine he is one of the last old ones. That would explain his insanely long life. It would also explain his powers and knowledge of genetics and machinery. It is written in several books, that he hid his true identity. Supposedly, he showed someone, who was shocked of who he was. The only discredit I can think of, is the hatred for the xeno. Unless he was using it to guide the humans to become the maximum of their potential. But like I mentioned, it's just a thought.


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## Phoebus (Apr 17, 2010)

Where what you mention is concerned, I'm familiar with the fact that the Emperor has withheld his name...



... in "Prospero Burns", it's stated by a character that this is because names possess power, and knowing someone's name affords power over said person.


Similarly, I recall that, in "Legion"...



... John Grammaticus looks at the Emperor and is shocked at what he perceives...


... but it's not stated that this is due to his identity, etc.

The oldest of the fluff has the Emperor being a fusion of the surviving shaman population of Terra in the ancient years of our history (several millennia B.C.). It does not mention him being an Old One, but then it could be contended that the fluff I'm mentioning is not currently championed by GW.

The Imperium is certainly xenophobic, but I would contend that the Emperor himself is neither phobic nor racist. For him, it seems to simply be a matter of numbers and prioritizing the survival of one of the most numerous--if not THE most numerous--and Warp-resonant species in the Galaxy.


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## Dishwatat (Jan 15, 2011)

If you go by the old fluff Space Marines are also science worshiping drugged up maniacs. The fluff has changed, and the "proof" might have been imperial lies anyway. As for The Emperor being not a human, totally possible. I declare my position now though, and cast off your imperial dogma THE EMPEROR IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE CHAOS!


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## sethgabriel1990 (Sep 21, 2010)

The false emperor was killed by Horus! the true Emperor of mankind! don't you see that??

:wink:


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