History Main / GodIsEvil

* In PhilipPullman's ''HisDarkMaterials'' trilogy, the Authority is [[spoiler:a feeble, senile old man who has been usurped by a more malevolent foe, and he's not even really the creator of the universe anyway]].

The video game variants of this trope, however, lean on LovecraftLite and RageAgainstTheHeavens, offering a hope of the [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu ability to kill this "omnipotent"]], probably thanks to [[AppliedPhlebotinum narrativium]] that somehow serves to [[AntiMagic negate the Omnipotent's omnipotence]], or with help from a good opposite. If GodIsEvil, then TheAntiGod may well be the BigGood.

!!Examples:

** The times when {{Thanos of Titan}} has acquired omnipotence (Heart of the Universe, Infinity Gauntlet, the Cosmic Cube) the situation is similar to this. "How can you cope with a universe where God is truly mad."

** The times when {{ComicBook/Thanos?from=Main.Thanos Thanos of Titan}} has acquired omnipotence (Heart of the Universe, Infinity Gauntlet, the Cosmic Cube) the situation is similar to this. "How can you cope with a universe where God is truly mad."

Compare and contrast UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}}[[note]]In short, Gnostics believed that the God worshiped by Jews and by the other early Christian sects was evil...but that he also wasn't really God, just a lesser celestial being with delusions of godhood.[[/note]], EverybodyHatesHades, GodOfEvil, GodIsInept and GodIsFlawed. The flip side is SatanIsGood. See Also: DevilButNoGod, NeglectfulPrecursors, JerkassGods for when the deities are not really evil but just neglectful. Definitely the polar opposite of GodIsGood.

* In James Kammo's ''Jehovah Contract'' and exploration of the nature of God, Goddess and the Devil through the eyes of a man hired to kill God by the Devil both of them are shown as equally negative.

Narratives about a God that is both omnipotent and malevolent, and how we puny humans can cope with its abominable existence, can result in a CosmicHorrorStory, which is based on the complete helplessness and {{despair|EventHorizon}} of us PunyEarthlings under the powers of an alien reality-warping madness-inducing entity. But while the EldritchAbominations and strange gods of your average CosmicHorrorStory care little to nothing about humanity, leave them to their own devices and allow them their freedom, a malevolent supreme god can be an absolute nightmare, [[BigBrotherIsWatching scrutinizing people's every thought]] and [[CosmicPlaything toying with them against their will]], with the humans having [[YouCantFightFate little to no hope in doing anything about it]]. The video game variants of this trope, however, lean on LovecraftLite and RageAgainstTheHeavens, offering a hope of the [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu ability to kill this "omnipotent"]], probably thanks to [[AppliedPhlebotinum narrativium]] that somehow serves to [[AntiMagic negate the Omnipotent's omnipotence]], or with help from a good opposite. If GodIsEvil, then TheAntiGod may well be the BigGood.

* In ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'', God orders Isaac's mom to take away all of Isaac's possessions, clothes included, and lock him in his room. He then orders Isaac's mom to kill Isaac. Finally, God [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope kills Isaac's mom and frees Isaac]]. Given the game is a WholePlotReference to [[TheBible Genesis chapter 22]], the subversion is rather fitting if a bit obvious.]]

** Gork, Mork, and the Emperor of Mankind, who are slightly less bad. Slightly. To be fair, Gork and Mork are mostly better because they don't actually ''do'' anything except be an object of worship by Orks in the 40K setting and fight each other. They're more active in ''Fantasy'', and not nearly as nice there. The Emperor was a good guy while he was alive, the intolerance and all that were the actions of his followers. If he were to come back in all his glory, odds are he would flip out at how far his Imperium has strayed from what he set out for.

* ''{{Bayonetta}}'''s Jubileus [[spoiler:is a goddess who intends to destroy the earth upon resurrection so that she can remake it into a perfect world.]]

* ''AsurasWrath'' has [[spoiler: The Golden Spider[=/=]Chakratarvin. The omnipotent ruler of Gaea, he makes every one in the world to suffer just to find his next heir. He thinks this is saintly of him, but Asura calls him out on this while punching him in the face repeatedly.]] The Seven Deities are a less powerful example of this. Of them, only Yasha, Deus and Augus are not outright sadistic, violent, arrogant beings who look down upon mortals and use them as they see fit, and Augus only because he cares not for domination but simply [[BloodKnight a good fight]]. And even Yasha and Deus was willing to be NecessarilyEvil.

** Creator/WilliamBlake was a bit of an odd one. Whilst he was devoutly religious, he hated the authority and moral dictates church. His {{mythopoeia}}ic character Urizen strongly resembles the traditional Demiurge (Blake was heavily influenced by {Gnosticism}), and is often used to represent the oppressive God of the Church. It's no surprise Creator/PhilipPullman cites Blake as one of his biggest influences.

TruthInTelevision: this viewpoint is OlderThanFeudalism. Already Greek philosophers considered the Olympian deities [[JerkassGods to be nothing but malevolent bullies]] and Atheism as a concept is far older than Monotheistic religions. Lucian (2nd C) wrote a lenghty essay on why the Graeco-Roman deities were evil to the boot. Likewise, the Norse sagas were full of description of Vikings who were ''goðlauss'' (godless) - they actively disdained the Norse deities, rather relying on themselves.

Narratives about a God that is both omnipotent and malevolent, and how we puny humans can cope with its abominable existence, can result in a CosmicHorrorStory, which is based on the complete helplessness and {{despair|EventHorizon}} of us PunyEarthlings under the powers of an alien reality-warping madness-inducing entity. But while the EldritchAbominations and strange gods of your average CosmicHorrorStory care little to nothing about humanity, leave them to their own devices and allow them their freedom, a malevolent supreme god can be an absolute nightmare, [[BigBrotherIsWatching scrutinizing people's every thought]] and [[CosmicPlaything toying with them against their will]], with the humans having [[YouCantFightFate little to no hope in doing anything about it]]. The video game variants of this trope, however, lean on LovecraftLite and RageAgainstTheHeavens, offering a hope of the [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu ability to kill this "omnipotent"]], probably thanks to [[AppliedPhlebotinum narrativium]] that somehow serves to [[AntiMagic negate the Omnipotent's omnipotence]], or with help from a good opposite.

In settings that take the controversial stance of God being evil, it is not uncommon for [[SatanIsGood his infernal opposite to be good]]. There can also be a [[TheAntiGod direct counterpart]] to the evil supreme deity who's thankfully good. The existence of either of these offer at least some modicum of hope to the story that the creations' resistance to their God's wickedness is not ultimately futile. This [[GodAndSatanAreBothJerks isn't strictly necessary]], however, especially in darker {{Crapsack World}}s whose authors take a [[BlackAndGreyMorality more humanistic and/or existential stance on things]].

Narratives about a God that is both omnipotent and malevolent, and how we puny humans can cope with its abominable existence, can result in a CosmicHorrorStory, which is based on the complete helplessness and {{despair|EventHorizon}} of us PunyEarthlings under the powers of an alien reality-warping madness-inducing entity. But while the EldritchAbominations and strange gods of your average CosmicHorrorStory cares little to nothing about humanity, leaves them to their own devices and allows them their freedom, a malevolent supreme god can be an absolute nightmare, [[BigBrotherIsWatching scrutinizing people's every thought]] and [[CosmicPlaything toying with them against their will]], with the humans having [[YouCantFightFate little to no hope in doing anything about it]]. The video game variants of this trope, however, lean on LovecraftLite and RageAgainstTheHeavens, offering a hope of the [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu ability to kill this "omnipotent"]], probably thanks to [[AppliedPhlebotinum narrativium]] that somehow serves to [[AntiMagic negate the Omnipotent's omnipotence]], or with [[SatanIsGood help from a good opposite]].

Narratives about a God that is both omnipotent and malevolent, and how we puny humans can cope with its abominable existence, can result in the abyss of horror genres known as the CosmicHorrorStory, which is based on the complete helplessness and {{despair|EventHorizon}} of us PunyEarthlings under the powers of an alien reality-warping madness-inducing entity. Only that this trope ''is many orders of magnitude worse'', because a CosmicHorrorStory at least offers the comfort of apathetic lazy gods who simply ignore your puniness, leave you to your own devices and let you decide your own freedom, if you don't actively seek them out. On the other hand, a malevolent supreme god will [[BigBrotherIsWatching scrutinize your every thought]] and [[CosmicPlaything toy with you against your will]], and [[YouCantFightFate you can do absolutely nothing about your complete misery]]. The video game variants of this trope, however, lean on LovecraftLite and RageAgainstTheHeavens, offering a hope of the [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu ability to kill this "omnipotent"]], probably thanks to [[AppliedPhlebotinum narrativium]] that somehow serves to [[AntiMagic negate the Omnipotent's omnipotence]], or with [[SatanIsGood help from a good opposite]].

Narratives about a God that is both omnipotent and malevolent, and how we puny humans can cope with its abominable existence, can result in the abyss of horror genres known as the CosmicHorrorStory, which is based on the complete helplessness and {{despair|EventHorizon}} of us PunyEarthlings under the powers of an alien reality-warping madness-inducing entity. Only that this trope ''is many orders of magnitude worse'', because a CosmicHorrorStory at least offers the comfort of apathetic lazy gods who simply ignore your puniness, leave you to your own devices and let you decide your own freedom, if you don't actively seek them out. On the other hand, a malevolent God will [[BigBrotherIsWatching scrutinize your every thought]], and [[CosmicPlaything toy with you against your will]], and [[YouCantFightFate you can do absolutely nothing about your complete misery]]. The video game variants of this trope, however, lean on LovecraftLite and RageAgainstTheHeavens, offering a hope of the [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu ability to kill this "omnipotent"]], probably thanks to [[AppliedPhlebotinum narrativium]] that somehow serves to [[AntiMagic negate the Omnipotent's omnipotence]], or with [[SatanIsGood help from a good opposite]].

* Although Christianity holds God as always good, it's worth noting that TheBible contains several verses, such as 2 Kings 6:33, Isaiah 45:7, Lamentations 3:38 and arguably the Genesis story (the idea that the Serpent is responsible actually dates to post-Jesus theologists, though humanity is always held responsible), which either imply or outright state that God is the author of natural and/or moral evil.

* The concept of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination_%28Calvinism%29 double predestination]] in Calvinist doctrine can have quite horrific implications about God and the role that he takes in determining who will go to Heaven and who will go to Hell, particularly since it implies that he may also be responsible for people being virtuous or vicious in turn.

* Although Christianity holds God as always good, it's worth to note that TheBible actually doesn't hold this position (God is merely stated to be love personified). Several verses, such as 2 Kings 6:33, Isaiah 45:7, Lamentations 3:38 and arguably the Genesis story (the idea that the Serpent is responsible actually dates to post-Jesus theologists, though humanity is always held responsible), pretty much outright state that Yahweh is the creator of evil, both in terms of horrible things happening (such as natural catastrophes), and moral evil.
* The concept of [[YouCannotFightFate double predestination]] makes the Christian God in Calvinist denominations simply evil. Double predestination means in nutshell that humans are totally depraved and incapable of even wishing for salvation, and salvation is solely from God and man himself can do nothing for it. God pre-elects those intended to salvation and Heaven before their birth '''and''' actively also pre-elects those intended to perdition and Hell before their birth. ''And they can do nothing to avoid it''. \\
\\
In other words, you can be TheMessiah, ''but if you're not one of the 144,000 Elects, you're going to be fuel forever''. If you're evil, that's because ''God pre-programmed you to be that way''. This makes God as the source of all evil and men only as his [[MeatPuppet marionettes]] or toys to play with. Calvin himself was fully aware of the shortcomings of this doctrine, and he suggested not to think it too much. The basis of this doctrine in Bible can be found at Romans 9:15-27. On behalf of man himself, this concept is nothing short of lottery. 
** The double predestination implies that God decrees that the sinner shall sin while at the same time God commands him not to sin - and condemning him to perdition and Hell for doing what he was determined by God to do. To Calvin this all lies in the secret purposes of God into which we should not peer too deeply.

* Although Christianity helds God as always good, it's worth to note that TheBible actually doesn't hold this position (God is merely stated to be love personified). Several verses, such as 2 Kings 6:33, Isaiah 45:7, Lamentations 3:38 and arguably the Genesis story (the idea that the Serpent is responsible actually dates to post-Jesus theologists, though humanity is always held responsible), pretty much outright state that Yahweh is the creator of evil, both n terms of horrible things happening (such as natural catastrophes), and moral evil.

Narratives about a God that is both omnipotent and malevolent, and how we puny humans can cope with its abominable existence, can result in the abyss of horror genres known as the CosmicHorrorStory, which is based on the complete helplessness and {{despair|EventHorizon}} of us PunyEarthlings under the powers of an alien reality-warping madness-inducing entity. Only that this trope ''is many orders of magnitude worse'', because a CosmicHorrorStory at least offers the comfort of apathetic lazy gods who simply ignore your puniness, leave you to your own devices and let you decide your own freedom, if you don't actively seek them out. On the other hand, a malevolent God will [[BigBrotherIsWatching scrutinize your every thought]], and [[CosmicPlaything toy with you against your will]], and [[YouCantFightFate you can do absolutely nothing about your complete misery]]. The video game variants of this trope, however, lean on LovecraftLite and RageAgainstTheHeavens, offering a hope of the [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu ability to kill this "omnipotent"]], probably thanks to [[AppliedPhlebotinum narrativium]] that somehow serve to [[AntiMagic negate the Omnipotent's omnipotence]], or with [[SatanIsGood help from a good opposite]].

** In ''AMON'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:God has put entire world on a time loop so all humans and demons live and die for nothing over and over, just to make Satan suffer the loss of his beloved repeatedly for all eternity]]. What a ''dick''.

Narratives about a God that is both omnipotent and malevolent, and how we puny humans can cope with its abominable existence, can result into the abyss of horror genres known as the CosmicHorrorStory, which is based on the complete helplessness and {{despair|EventHorizon}} of us PunyEarthlings under the powers of an alien reality-warping madness-inducing entity. Only that God Is Evil ''is many magnitudes worse'', because a CosmicHorrorStory at least offers the comfort of apathetic lazy gods who simply ignore your puniness to your own devices and let you decide your own freedom, if you don't actively seek them out. On the other hand, a malevolent God will [[BigBrotherIsWatching scrutinize your every thoughts]], toy with you against your will, and [[YouCantFightFate you can do absolutely nothing about your complete misery]]. The video game variants of this trope, however, lean on LoveCraftLite and RageAgainstTheHeavens, offering a hope of the [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu ability to kill this "omnipotent"]], probably thanks to [[AppliedPhlebotinum narrativium]] that somehow serve to [[AntiMagic negate the Omnipotent's omnipotence]], or with [[SatanIsGood help from a good opposite]].