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A '''shaggy God story''' is a minor [[science fiction]] [[genre]] characterized by an attempt to explain [[Biblical]] concepts with science fiction tropes. The term was coined by writer and critic [[Aldiss|Brian W. Aldiss]] in a pseudonymous column in the October 1965 issue of ''[[New Worlds (magazine)|New Worlds]]''.<ref name="Bibliography Blues">[http://www.ansible.co.uk/sfx/sfx120.html Bibliography Blues<!-- bot-generated title -->] at www.ansible.co.uk</ref> The term is a pun on the concept of a [[shaggy dog story]]. A typical example of a shaggy God story would feature pair of astronauts landing on a lush and virgin world and in the last line their names are revealed as [[Adam and Eve]]. The television show [[The Twilight Zone]] utilized several versions of this, the most notable being [[Probe 7, Over and Out]]. Another classic example is Isaac Asimov's 1956 short story "[[The Last Question]]" which ends with the protagonist supercomputer exclaiming "[[Let there be light]]!"
The creation of the term is often misattributed to [[Michael Moorcock]]. Moorcock edited the issue of ''New Worlds'' where Aldiss [[Neologism|coined]] the term in a pseudonymous column. It has been suggested that many assumed Moorcock to be the author of the column. The issue was cleared up in an August 2004 [[David Langford]] column in ''[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]'' magazine.<ref name="Bibliography Blues"/>
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