In slang nowadays, it’s very common to call someone a god, such as “he’s such a god at this game” or “I’m such a god at baseball.” Is this considered Avodah zarah and/or assur, or is it permitted since it’s obvious that he’s not actually being compared to Hashem
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Referring to one as a god can refer to anyone that demonstrates exceptional ability or is adored as such. An atheist may exclaim about Michael Jordan that he was a god of basketball, and no one would think he intends that Jordan has supernatural/divine abilities. It's not much different than referring to "heroes" (classically in Greek mythology humans of descent from gods). By this point you can even find shi'urim about our "rabbinic heroes". Oxford has as its third definition of god "an adored, admired, or influential person."– DeuteronomyCommented Jan 9 at 14:45
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its 100% pure evil– setszuCommented Jan 11 at 5:13
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1In the Hebrew Bible, God Himself calls other humans Gods when they have power or a mission. God tells Moses that Moses will be a god to Pharoah, and Aaron will be Moses's prophet. So if you are using it in this context of denoting power, skill, rulership, or judgment I don't think it's Avodah Zarah. That's different than whether or not this is a good thing overall– AaronCommented Feb 9 at 22:27
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@Aaron interesting point, thanks for the insight– Curious YidCommented Feb 11 at 0:05
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The title of this Chabad article would suggest that they believe its ok