History Main / GodIsEvil

* ''{{Oglaf}}'' [[http://oglaf.com/howtheygetyou/1/ proves the point]]. (SFW page on site where most pages are NSFW.)

* The stageplay ''J.B.'', based on Job, takes it a little further: Satan's last attempt to corrupt Job is to paint the bit at the end -- where J.B. gets all his fortunes back -- as actually the cruelest torment of all; that God could ruin his life, and then just put it all back together again because the whole "Take away your fortunes, kill your children and cover you in boils" thing was just a bit of a lark. When J.B. points out that his children are ''dead'', Satan dismissively says, "You'll have better ones!", mocking the notion that everything could really be put right just like that.

[[caption-width-right:321:"'''I created you and I will be your END!'''"]]

[[caption-width-right:321:"'''I grow '''''weary''''' of you, my son...'''"]]

*** This is probably based in the fact that, in real life, Buddhist scriptures establish that [[http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebdha068.htm God himself recognized Buddha’s superiority]]. Although the God in question is the Hindu deity of Maha Brahma who, in Buddhist canon, has a role as cosmic ruler of the material Universe similar to the Demiurge in Gnosticism, but many Buddhist scholar think that Maha Brahma and the God of the Judeo-Christian religions is the same being.

-->The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: [[{{Yandere}} jealous and proud of it]]; [[EvilIsPetty a petty]], [[DisproportionateRetribution unjust]], [[ThisIsUnforgivable unforgiving]] ControlFreak; a [[PayEvilUntoEvil vindictive]], {{blood|Knight}}thirsty [[ANaziByAnyOtherName ethnic cleanser]]; [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain a misogynistic, homophobic, racist]], [[WouldHurtAChild infanticidal]], [[KillEmAll genocidal]], [[PaterFamilicide fili]][[OffingTheOffspring cidal]], [[EvilIsVisceral pestilential]], [[ItsAllAboutMe megalomaniacal]], sadomasochistic, [[MoodSwinger capriciously]] [[EvilIsPetty malevolent bully.]]

In some works, this being is the [[TopGod supreme deity]] of a FantasyPantheon, while in others, the being is a powerful monotheistic deity, with some works casting the [[{{God}} Big Guy]] himself -- or his [[CrystalDragonJesus nearest fantasy analogue]] -- in the role. Sometimes, the being [[AGodAmI calling itself a god]] isn't one (often to lessen the offense that religious readers might obviously feel when this trope comes in play); [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien its powers are just so close to omnipotent that it makes no difference]].

-->The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: [[{{Yandere}} jealous and proud of it]]; [[EvilIsPetty a petty]], [[DisproportionateRetribution unjust]], [[ThisIsUnforgivable unforgiving]] ControlFreak; a [[PayEvilUntoEvil vindictive]], {{blood|Knight}}thirsty [[ANaziByAnyOtherName ethnic cleanser]]; [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain a misogynistic, homophobic, racist]], [[WouldHurtAChild infanticidal]], [[KillEmAll genocidal]], [[PaterFamilicide fili]][[OffingTheOffspring cidal]], [[EvilIsVisceral pestilential]], [[ItsAllAboutMe megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic]], [[MoodSwinger capriciously]] [[EvilIsPetty malevolent bully.]]

* Part of the backstory of CliveBarker's novel ''{{Imajica}}'' is that ages ago, the one, singular male god named "Hapexamendios" defeated all the various separate minor female goddesses and became the God of all realms. Hapexamendios has been trying to bring about "The Reconciliation" which will reconnect Earth to the other four "Dominions" [[spoiler:which will then allow him to destroy them all]].
* In the CliveBarker short story ''TheMidnightMeatTrain'', it's implied that the EldritchAbomination that leads the race of immortal cannibals who secretly rule New York from hidden tunnels underneath it, or others of its kind, are the original inspiration for all myths of Gods throughout human history.

The supreme deity of a given setting is not just a mere [[JerkassGods jerkass]] -- he is actively malevolent, a callous, sadistic, monstrous tyrant who created the world or universe to be such a miserable CrapsackWorld, preparing DisproportionateRetribution and an EasyRoadToHell for everybody else.

* In NickPerumov's ''Keeper of the Swords'' series of books, the local CrystalDragonJesus, called "The Saviour", is evil. And, he is depicted very similar to the actual Jesus. Creepy.

* In CharlesStross's ''[[TheEschatonSeries Singularity Sky]]'' series, there is a God-like entity called the Eschaton, which spread humanity over three thousand years of space and responds to any attempts at TimeTravel by almost completely destroying the offending planet. Slightly subverted, however, because the Eschaton specifically states that it is ''not'' God. Also, the Eschaton is not evil - it acts only from self-preservation (ensuring that the timeline leading to its own creation takes place correctly), not from sadism. This doesn't stop some people in-Universe from seeing it as evil, but they tend to the villains in-story.

* ''Videogame/XenobladeChronicles'' has the BigBad [[spoiler: Zanza, the God of Bionis]]; a complete and utter bastard who, [[spoiler: after destroying the ''entire universe'', has led the world he created to an apocalypse multiple times so that his creations, which he relies on to exist, don't leave the world and expand to the stars]].

** ''Maltheism'' (from ''mal'', meaning bad/sickness and ''theism'' [[CaptainObvious meaning theism]]) is the belief that a God or Gods exist, but they are malevolent or incompetent. Few religions have a wholly maltheistic view of the world, though several include maltheistic strands - for example, gods of evil, such as Ate (the Goddess of Evil, Folly, and Destruction) in Hellenistic mythology. Abrahamic belief in the Devil can be seen as a variant - although the exact nature (or even his existence) of the devil is not universally agreed on in Abrahamic theology, he is often construed as a supernatural agency with malicious intentions for humans. A related concept is ''Hypothetical Maltheism'', used as a criticism of religion by agnostics and atheists (see Richard Dawkins quotation below), which holds that, if God exists, he would be unworthy of worship due to the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil Problem of Evil]]'' (which asks how and why a benevolent, omnipotent God allows evil to exist) and the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell Problem of Hell]]'' (which calls into question the justice or necessity of eternal torment as punishment in the afterlife, and how it reflects on God). [[CaptainObvious Unsurprisingly]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Annihilationism several]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Free_will religious]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Universal_reconciliation responses]] exist to such a line of thought.

** ''Maltheism'' (from ''mal'', meaning bad/sickness and ''theism'' [[CaptainObvious meaning theism]]) is the belief that a God or Gods exist, but they are malevolent or incompetent. Few religions have a wholly maltheistic view of the world, though several include maltheistic strands - for example, gods of evil, such as Ate (the Goddess of Evil, Folly, and Destruction) in Hellenistic mythology. Abrahamic belief in the Devil can be seen as a variant - although the exact nature (or even his existence) of the devil is not universally agreed on in Abrahamic theology, he is often construed as a supernatural agency with malicious intentions for humans. A related concept is ''Hypothetical Maltheism'', used as a criticism of religion by agnostics and atheists (see Richard Dawkins quotation below), which holds that, if God exists, he would be unworthy of worship due to the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil Problem of Evil]]'' (which asks how and why a benevolent, omnipotent God allows evil to exist) and the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell Problem of Hell]]'' (which asks why {{Hell}}, the land of eternal torment for one's sins, is just or necessary). [[CaptainObvious Unsurprisingly]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Annihilationism several]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Free_will religious]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Universal_reconciliation responses]] exist to such a line of thought.

** ''Maltheism'' (from ''mal'', meaning bad/sickness and ''theism'' [[CaptainObvious meaning theism]]) is the belief that a God or Gods exist, but they are malevolent or incompetent. Few religions have a wholly maltheistic view of the world, though several include maltheistic strands - for example, gods of evil, such as Ate (the Goddess of Evil, Folly, and Destruction) in Hellenistic mythology. Abrahamic belief in the Devil can be seen as a variant - although the exact nature (or even his existence) of the devil is not universally agreed on in Abrahamic theology, he is often construed as a supernatural agency with malicious intentions for humans. A related concept is ''Hypothetical Maltheism'', used as a criticism of religion by agnostics and atheists (see Richard Dawkins quotation below), which holds that, if God exists, he would be unworthy of worship due to the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil Problem of Evil]]'' (which asks how a benevolent, omniscient, omnipotent God allows evil to exist) and the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell Problem of Hell]]'' (which asks why {{Hell}}, the land of eternal torment for one's sins, is just or necessary). [[CaptainObvious Unsurprisingly]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Annihilationism several]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Free_will religious]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Universal_reconciliation responses]] exist to such a line of thought.

** ''Maltheism'' (from ''mal'', meaning bad/sickness and ''theism'' [[CaptainObvious meaning theism]]) is the belief that a God or Gods exist, but they are malevolent or incompetent. Few religions have a wholly maltheistic view of the world, though several include maltheistic strands - for example, gods of evil, such as Ate (the Goddess of Evil, Folly, and Destruction) in Hellenistic mythology. Abrahamic belief in the Devil can be seen as a variant - although the exact nature (or even his existence) of the devil is not universally agreed on in Abrahamic theology, he is often construed as a supernatural agency with malicious intentions for humans. A related concept is ''Hypothetical Maltheism'', used as a criticism of religion by agnostics and atheists (see Richard Dawkins quotation below), which holds that, if God exists, he would be unworthy of worship due to the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil Problem of Evil]]'' and the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell Problem of Hell]]''. [[CaptainObvious Unsurprisingly]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Annihilationism several]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Free_will religious]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Universal_reconciliation responses]] exist to such a line of thought.

** ''Maltheism'' (from ''mal'', meaning bad/sickness and ''theism'' [[CaptainObvious meaning theism]]) is the belief that a God or Gods exist, but they are malevolent or incompetent. Few religions have a wholly maltheistic view of the world, though several include maltheistic strands - for example, gods of evil, such as Ate (the Goddess of Evil, Folly, and Destruction) in Hellenistic mythology. Abrahamic belief in the Devil can be seen as a variant - although the exact nature (or even his existence) of the devil is not universally agreed on in Abrahamic theology, he is often construed as a supernatural agency with malicious intentions for humans. A related concept is ''Hypothetical Maltheism'', used as a criticism of religion by agnostics and atheists (see Richard Dawkins quotation below), which holds that, if God exists, he would be unworthy of worship due to the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil Problem of Evil]]'' and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell Problem of Hell]]''. [[CaptainObvious Unsurprisingly]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Annihilationism several]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Free_will religious]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_hell#Universal_reconciliation responses]] exist to such a line of thought.

* UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}} holds that the God of the material universe is a petty, [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centered]] tyrant who believes himself to be the absolute God, when he's in fact the creation of a greater (and more benevolent) being known as Sophia, who is herself a wayward angelic servant of the true God of the spiritual universe. Of course, opinions differ somewhat on whether the Demiurge *really* qualifies for this or TheDevilIsALoser, and whether he can be qualified as truly malicious rather than just really, really misguided and really, really, ''really'' stupid.

** In ''VideoGame/StrangeJourney'', however, the [[ThatOneBoss Demiurge]] [[ThatOneSidequest sidequest]] ''very'' heavily implies the Demiurge is, in fact, YHVH, and that the Demiurge fella is still very much this. While it's implied he becomes somewhat more reasonable after [[spoiler: you defeat him and allow Metatron (actually another piece of YHVH) to merge with him, he's still more or less an AxCrazy KnightTemplar who has you take him to Mem Aleph so he can participate in killing her in the Law Path and warns you ''very'' severely there will be consequences for not choosing his way in the other paths. He's also flat-out mentioned to have forgotten his love for humans and trampled the Goddess-worshipping world, implying he's still an attention-hungry bastard.]] [[UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}} The name is a bit of a giveaway]].

* The last episode of [[YondemasuYoAzazelSan Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san]] seems to indicate that in the universe of that series, the god of the bible rules, and he is clearly depicted as every bit as loathsome as atheists usually contend that he is; vengeful and petty, with unreasonable standards and demands on others. And also he likes to subject people to really, really bad dirty jokes, but since he surrounds himself by irredeemable toadies who pretend that his jokes are funny, isn't aware that they aren't.

* On top of this, the supplementary D&D book "Lords of Madness" takes this even further. Drawing heavily from the [[CthulhuMythos Lovecraftian mythos]], the book heavily implies that the evil aberrations known as Aboleths predate the existence of the universe and the D&D deities themselves. Not only is the world born of this primal evil, but the book takes it a step further and goes on to explain that Mindflayers, Cthulhu-looking psychic humanoids that teleport between dimensions at will, see in complete darkness, paralyze opponents with sound, [[BrainFood eat the brains of their victims]], and procreate by enslaving other [[strike:humanoids]] organisms and infecting them with a parasitic larvae that takes control over an augment of the body, are the ultimate stage of evolution at the end of the universe. In fact, their existence in the medieval-like D&D era is explained as occurring simply because they utilized all of the resources by the end of the universe and reduced it to a cold barren wasteland. Afterwards, they decide to go back in time so they can fuck the universe over all over again. One of their goals is to destroy the sun, partially to fuck over the other species that rely on it but also because they just like it better that way.

* Creation is also used as a prison for evil gods in Monte Cook's d20 setting ''Ptolus''. At least there, the Chaos Gods are also [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away in a pocket dimension]] contained within our larger universe, thus making mankind not involuntary fellow inmates but instead involuntary ''prison guards''.
* God in WhiteWolf's ''TabletopGame/DemonTheFallen'' is a psychotically ungrateful megalomaniac. Then again, the entire point of that RPG is that [[SatanIsGood Lucifer is a sympathetic protagonist]]. What the Demons say about God in that game comes from an obviously biased source. God's actual intentions and motivations are far more ambiguous in the game as a whole; the whole Reconciliationist faction of Demons believes that God must have been good after all, mysterious as Her ways may seem... and Lucifer himself expresses doubts about his rebellion and a desperate desire to be reconciled with God at the end of the Time of Judgment game fiction.

*** There is/was also Malal/Malice who is considered too dangerous [[EvenEvilHasStandarts even by Chaos Gods.]]

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', all the major gods are addicted to the Games of Divinity. What the Games are is left up to the individual ST but it is known that they are incredibly addictive. Thus a common Internet meme states "The Unconquered Sun is on Celestial Crack". Then again, so are Luna, the Five Maidens, several of the head divisions, many God-Blooded (children of major gods, minor Gods don't get access) and even '''anyone has seen the Games of Divinity Form of the Prismatic Arrangement of Creation Style of Sidereal Martial Arts.'''
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'', the [=PCs=] are half-human offsprings of various deities from (mostly) abandoned mythologies. While their divine parents have an aspect of all-too-human dickery about them (the game is quite faithful to how mythology originally presented them), only a couple of them are outright evil. The Abrahamic deity is not ''explicitly'' present, but the sole avatar of one of the evil Titanic Primordial Forces is a shining bearded guy who wants everything in existence to sacrifice their free will and be absolutely devoted to him. ''Scion Companion'' presents, as a possible antagonist, a group of people who are manipulating Fate to force all gods into an Abrahamic mold. It's heavily suggested that if they pulled it off, it would fit this trope.
* ''TheDarkEye'' at first glance has a "gods = good; demons = evil" divide. Apart from the Nameless God, who was a traitor to the good gods. Then you find out about some more obscure (demi)gods, particularly the bloodthirsty Kor, who is the patron of mercenaries and likes to get cut off fingers of slain foes as sacrifice. Of course the fact that some misguided people worship demons as gods doesn't mean anything. Until [[spoiler:you get deeper into the ancient history/mythology and find out that at least some of the Archdemons that rule Hell used to be gods, and are only demons now because their number of worshippers diminished and they were supplanted by newer, more popular gods. Or they just did it ForTheEvulz]]
** Plus, the gods really only care about the existence of creation. Mortals are only interresting for them for their effect on creation and for reaping their souls (every god gets the souls of mortals that live by his ideals) to strengthen the armies of creation in the last battle when the aforementioned Nameless God rips the outer sphere open, letting in the hordes of uncreated demons. Some of them seem to be curious about mortals that live by their ideals, like Phex (essentially god of tricksters) or Hesinde (goddes of wisdom and art), but that could be a ruse to get more souls. Others, the hard liners, were ready to nuke a region to stop a renegade from damning all mortals (signing their souls over to the demons), even if it meant reaping tens of thousands of souls prematurely. Luckily the largest army of mortals in the last age [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome stopped the renegade before that]]
** The "evil" (demi)gods are implied to be falling gods, going over to the demon side. The Nameless God didn't go over to the demons side, he just weakened creation, letting the demons in more easily, gaining control of some of them, and taking creation for himself.

* The HarlanEllison short story ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'' features [[MasterComputer the computer]] ''AM'' with a severe [[AGodAmI God complex]]. Originally named the ''Allied Mastercomputer'', subsequently renamed ''Aggressive Menace'' when it developed intelligence, it went all Skynet and killed almost the entire population of Earth. It then used its near omnipotence and omniscience to give the five surviving humans immortality, [[AndIMustScream so that it may continue to physically and psychologically torture them indefinitely]].
* HarlanEllison plays with this trope (again) in his short story "Hitler Painted Roses." Another of Ellison's short stories, "The Death Bird" portrays the "Satan" character as a misunderstood savior and "God" as a malevolent alien bent on control. The main character, a reincarnation of Adam, is revived and sent to defeat "God" in order to bring Earth to an end and achieve rest for himself and humanity.

* {{IAMX}}'s I Salute You Christopher - which is dedicated to ChristopherHitchens - "Control yourselves,/ 'cause the man in the sky is a tyrant and a lonely psychopath/ Dreamed up to steal your minds."

* "The Sect of the Idiot" actually opens with a quote regarding Azathoth (see above).[[note]]From the [[TomeOfEldritchLore Necronomicon]], no less![[/note]]

** Even the angels are pissed off at him! The Archangel Michael is running ThePlan which basically saves the heavenly host while pointing an army of absolutely enraged humans at Yahweh, and eventually kills him himself, having killed off all of Yahweh's powerful supporters by stealth or by human. Except Jesus, really called Elhmas, who is mostly presented as a stoned out of his brains idiot, until it is revealed he faked his own death and is keeping an eye on Michael to prevent him from turning into another Yahweh.

The classic [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil problem of evil]] tends to be invoked in this trope, along with the irrationality of [[TheFundamentalist religious extremism]]. People foolish enough to try a ReligiousRussianRoulette to get a god like this to answer their prayers are unlikely to like the result.