Anti-deist religion?

It's an idea I had whereas a religion recognizes the existence of a God or gods, but think that they are all evil. What surrounds the religion is trying to resist these gods or just hating them. It'd be like Christianity without God and only the devil. Has there ever been an account of a religion like this (no, people who just hate God don't count)?
 
the more radical Gnostic sects were like that, as well as some pessimistic Zurvanist sects. basically, the God of this world is evil according to them.

also the point of the ancient Egyptian temples against Apophis. They literally prayed against him, and practiced rituals symbolically exiling him.

though honestly, not even the most deranged OTL religions think that all the gods are evil. at most, they are forces indifferent to man, and who don't care either way about us. and even then there are at least a few spirits supporting mankind.
 
yeah. hehe. :D:D:D:D:D

also, i thought this was going to be about a reaction against Deism.

oh well. by the way, the proper term for the position of god-hatred is misotheism or dystheism. just saying. :):)
 
The thing is. If you recognize the existence of 'gods' (even if you think of them as evil spirits), who are helping your enemies - who do YOU have for an ally in this spiritual warfare?

I don't see it happening (successfully, at any rate) due to human nature.
 
Well, you could argue there is a bit of this in many religions- the devil in Christianity, Apophis in Egypt, etc. Perhaps gods could be viewed as evil, but there are some sort of other deities (protection spirits, maybe?) that help humans.
 
Well, you could argue there is a bit of this in many religions- the devil in Christianity, Apophis in Egypt, etc. Perhaps gods could be viewed as evil, but there are some sort of other deities (protection spirits, maybe?) that help humans.

Deities ARE gods. That's what the word means.

I doubt that 'spirits' can be distinguished from gods without serious hair splitting. And if we go THAT route, then the Persian/Indian inversion of deva/asura (if Ive got the words right) already counts OTL.

The only 'spirits' that I can think of that wouldnt reasonably count as gods would be ancestors.
 
Well, you could argue there is a bit of this in many religions- the devil in Christianity, Apophis in Egypt, etc. Perhaps gods could be viewed as evil, but there are some sort of other deities (protection spirits, maybe?) that help humans.

Mainstream Christianity, and the other Abrahamic religions, are definitely not that. The only opposition to God is a fallen follower who tries to lead man astray and will loses at the end.

Zoroastrianism on the other I think would count. While Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu are opposite forces, one is clearly evil and, again, will lose in the end.
 
Manichaeism had both a good god and an evil one. A religion with only an evil god is, I think, an impossibility, because it would seem to require accepting that the existence of the universe -- and, more to the point, your own existence -- is bad, which, quite frankly, nobody is ever going to think.
 

Sideways

Donor
Satanism is sort of this, the concept of "God" is bad, and people overcome it by becoming Gods themselves. This could be adopted to create a form of Gnosticism which rejects any divinity beyond the evil God, but recognises the social order, and the possibility of beings growing out of it.
 
If I recall correctly, the Itelmen/Kamchadal people of Kamchatka believe in a god named Kutka, but see him as stupid an incompetent; any problems in a person's life or in the world are attributed to Kutka's poor design.
Basically, they believe in a Prime Mover (like Deists), but they think he's a doofus :p
 
The only 'spirits' that I can think of that wouldnt reasonably count as gods would be ancestors.

That might be interesting. A culture that sees itself supported by the spirits of its ancestors and its rivals as pawns of demons calling themselves gods. They might need to imagine that the world has always existed, thus no need for the idea of a creator god.

Was there any culture that had ancestor worship but lacked spirits or gods?

Might not even be necessary, if a nation is invaded and their religion co-oped by the conquers that might leave people feeling that the only supernatural help they have is from themselves and their family. Not sure what combination of states would allow for this possibility. Maybe a hindu state conquering a shinto one? That would be a stretch though.
 
Satanism is sort of this, the concept of "God" is bad, and people overcome it by becoming Gods themselves. This could be adopted to create a form of Gnosticism which rejects any divinity beyond the evil God, but recognises the social order, and the possibility of beings growing out of it.

There is a few forms of Satanism - an atheistic path of self improvement with hedonism and all, a Theistic one(s) with some Gnosticy feel to my mind (the true God is actually Lucifer and all), etc...
 
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