Ok i am gonna be as bias as i possibly can with out getting flamed by Imperial fan boys, and Getting Chaos starting a riot

Let start nice and simple

The Emperor is Immortal age wise, he almost died at the hands of Horus
He Is not a god, He cant protect anyone from the Demons of Chaos, as far anything goes he cant even lift a finger at the moment, the only thing hes doing is being a galactic light house for the Imperium
Yes when he was "ALIVE" he "WAS" badass, he basically united all humanity from years of infighting, and if it hadn't been for a certain legion of space marines that was corrupted by chaos which later corrupted Horus, Humanity my actually be a function member of the galaxy and not be the xenophobic, fantic killers we all know and love to hate

So the point of the story is The Emperor is not a God and he cant save anyone "at his current state", He "WAS" extremely powerful.
So why does everyone think hes a god?

well for one thing without that "lighthouse" humanity cant use warp-travell which is a pretty big deal secondly its the one thing that truly unites and binds them (or should i say us?) thirdly its despuited how limited the emperor truly is and no i dont no myself but i thought i should mention it

In the warhammer univers the only thing that constitutes a god is being worshiped by enough beings that at some point to get power from it. A good example of this is the Ork gods Gork and Mork or the spontaneous coming to being of slaanesh which came from the eldar's decadence. In other words Gods are the reflections of peoples minds in the warp. As for the origin of the emperor. In reality he is immortal. Back in the day there were a bunch of powerful pykers that repeatedly got reborn into the world (of man). They noticed that they were dieing off tho because when they die the stay in the warp and the strengthening chaos gods were trying to kill them off. To prevent this they all committed mass suicide so that they could be reborn in one being. hence the Emperor of Man. This also gave man one being to focus their religion. Doing this created the Starchild which is the Emperor's god like presence within the warp...at least it was back in old codexes... Now for the Astronomicon. In reality the emperor does not power this 'lighthouse' other pykers do, but only the emperor has the abuilty to cast his mind over most of the galaxy, so he guides those pyker's power...btw they slowly die.

It is sometimes guessed at that if the emperor does die he would be reborn instantly or that he could basically go kill gods in the warp as the starchild, but by doing this he would leave the Imperium defenseless for how ever long he is gone.

By why do people think he's a God, do you mean the people of the Imperium or us the fans?

From the people of the Imperium point of view the history of his deeds like uniting humanity and the foes that he defeated, like imprisoning the Void Dragon in Mars (who is a God itself) is the obvious point, plus they are considered a heretic if they dont believe in the God-Emperor.

And as for us fans, well, i suppose we would just end up arguing semantics, but when you have a being of that magnitude of power he might as well be a God, its an appropriate word for the sheer strength of his will and pyschic ability.

Even when Chaos call him the "Corpse God" i think the Corpse part is mocking but i honestly think they mean the God part.

The Emperor isn't REALLY a god. He actually told a group of Space Marines not to worship him and that he isn't a god which caused them to turn to Chaos.

The point I was trying to make was that what consists of 'goddom' or being or becoming a god in Warhammer. By the looks of things there are no gods present within the material plane, but on the other hand there are gods in the Warp. It just so happens that one of those gods in the warp 'is the god emperor's soul'


By being reborn they actually mean when his spirit is put back into a body so that it may lead man again. So basically the God Emperor was a god in the materium. Got killed and split his god soul from his normal body. And now the Starchild, his god soul, is waiting for man to will it back from the immarium into a body once again.

Also apparently I was wrong in how I was saying that he is/was immortal cause he would be reborn... hes just strait up immortal.

That wording makes you wonder how he had sons.

edit: also Vathrin your a heretic...
Heresy
Any soldier who speaks ill of the Emperor, the Imperium, cites his loyalty to any entity besides the Emperor, defaces holy artifacts or buildings, incites heretical thoughts or actions, talks openly about forbidden subjects and generally behaves in a manner disrespectful to all that is holy and good will have his extremities removed and left to bleed to death, for the Emperor's pleasure. The body will then be burned to ensure no taint remains. (Art 6741/09a)

Simply put and in a nutshell; Cult of Personality.

The Emperor, enthroned upon the Golden Throne, is a focal point for humanity. The Adeptus Ministorum, otherwise known as the Ecclesiarchy, spreads the Imperial Cult by telling everyone how the Emperor saves them, guides them, protects them and the common citizen of the Imperium, whether from a Hive slum or from an Agriworld, want to cling on to that shred of hope and belief that they are being protected and looked after - after all, as the Adeptus Ministorum is quick to point out, they are in constant danger from the Mutant, the Heretic & the Alien. Only by believing in the immortal glory of the God Emperor they will be saved. Apparently.

Citizens of the Imperium are steadfast and undoubting in their belief in the God-Emperor because the alternative may lead to a -very- short life... you never know if anyone connected to the dreaded Inquisition is nearby. Even the slight whiff of heresy and the Inquisition have absolutely no concerns about 'rooting out' heretics & blasphemers, and on planets where 'heresy', basically speaking out against or doubting the God-Emperor, takes root and 'spreads' then the black ships of the Inquisition will viral-bomb the planet until not a single person remains. Such is the fear of 'heresy' in the Imperium.

On the battlefield it's easier to get soldiers to charge the enemy or hold their ground if you can convince them that their God-Emperor is watching over them and protecting them - why have fear when you have faith in your immortal Emperor? And if your faith falters then a Commissar will be more than happy to restore your faith. With a bolt pistol.

The Emperor brought humanity together and through a common belief in the 'God-Emperor' humanity holds it together long after the Horus Heresy. The belief keeps humanity living, gives Imperial citizens the will to face the next day. Soldiers at the bottom of bloody, gore filled trenches with shells hammering their lines can take comfort in the belief that their Emperor is with them and when they go over the top that he'll protect them all the way.
Through their common faith in the Emperor humanity survives and clings on against external and internal threats.

Well said...

Basically this. If you consider the chaos gods to be actual gods, then the emperor is too.

does this look like a god 2 u?