God is evil

What if the Abrahamic religions were based on the belief that God, the creator of the universe is evil? Or just not necessarily all good? How would such religions influence our society?
 
What if the Abrahamic religions were based on the belief that God, the creator of the universe is evil? Or just not necessarily all good? How would such religions influence our society?

I think a religion akin to Gnosticism is unlikely to emerge by itself without being a reaction.
 
What if the Abrahamic religions were based on the belief that God, the creator of the universe is evil? Or just not necessarily all good? How would such religions influence our society?
I'm not sure the god of the ancient Jews was perceived by them as being "all good".
 
How would these religions work? I once met a roleplaying guy who invented a similar religion (polytheistic though - and these gods really existed in his world). Of course you could pray to these gods to spare you, or screw your enemies instead... but would they stick to their end of the deal?
 

Skallagrim

Banned
Religions only work if people have a reason to believe. The creator god being evil isn't an obstacle, but you'd need a way to escape evil and a reason to keep obeying the evil god in the meantime. The Gnostic idea, in most cases, was generally that the creator god was evil, and that this physical world was therefore evil, but that there was a "pure", non-physical divinity beyond the world. The only way to reach that divinity (which is the aforementioned escape) is to suffer through this veil of tears and actively refuse its false pleasures. That is, to live ascetically and find a true, spiritual godliness within yourself. Some Gnostic denominations even believed in something akin to re-incarnation, and figured that those who lived pure lives would have their souls transmigrated into a new life-- which would be better suited to be even more pure. This cycle of the soul would continue until the soul in question reached absolute purity, becoming one with the true, non-physical god/divinity. The goal, then, was to "escape creation by suffering through its horrors".

I do believe that a religion like that could become quite successful.
 
Are you allowing forthe possibility that there is another non-creator god who is good?
It'd be an almost certainty.
The rough evolution of theism has been basically been animism -> polytheism -> henotheism -> monolatrism -> monotheism.
Early Abrahamism was basically henotheistic - belief in many gods with one supreme - before going monolatric - belief in many gods but worshipping one. If the supreme god is held to be evil rather than capricious then while the Abrahamists would try appeasement they'd avoid worshipping them instead worshipping one who could save them. This would then evolve into a special form of monolatrism, dualism - where you worship the good supreme god against the evil supreme god.
 
It'd be an almost certainty.
The rough evolution of theism has been basically been animism -> polytheism -> henotheism -> monolatrism -> monotheism.
Early Abrahamism was basically henotheistic - belief in many gods with one supreme - before going monolatric - belief in many gods but worshipping one. If the supreme god is held to be evil rather than capricious then while the Abrahamists would try appeasement they'd avoid worshipping them instead worshipping one who could save them. This would then evolve into a special form of monolatrism, dualism - where you worship the good supreme god against the evil supreme god.

Like Zoroastrianism?
 
I hold the belief so I can imagine others having it. I mean if the Devil was created by God, and the Devil is is the embodiment of evil, then God created evil. This should probably be in chat.
 

Philip

Donor
I mean if the Devil was created by God, and the Devil is is the embodiment of evil, then God created evil.

This assumes that evil exists rather than merely being the absence of good (or some other explanation). This assumption is not universal within the Abrahamic faiths. Or without as well.
 
Some forms of it yes. In others Ahriman is more a super-satan than a god him/itself.
It's probably worth noting that most current monotheisms aren't entirely monotheistic with no other beings bar God itself.

Creative powers are attributed to Ahriman in the later Pahlavi text "Bundahishn". He made frogs, lizards, snakes, and scorpions according to that creation story.
 
Well He was perceived as being good to the Jews when they weren't going all heathen, but being bad news for his enemies.

Except when the Jews/Israelites/Hebrews are being bad. For instance an interpretation of Elijah and the widow of Zarepath story I heard recently was that "if Israel won't keep their end of the bargain and be faithful, Adonai will take away the blessings He promised them and bestow them on some non-Israelite(s) who IS worthy of them".

Another case is Him sending various foreign countries to take over Israel (Assyria, Babylon etc) when they were apostasizing.

But as to God being evil, is this the Supreme Creator you're suggesting (in which case wouldn't that be in line with the Gnostic demi-urge, evil creation/Marcionites distinguishing between the "evil" God of the Old Testament and the "good" Jesus of the New?)

Or a Satan type figure who doesn't create the world but somehow winds up at the top of the theoi food chain? I.e. the world is good just god is evil. And if that, why would you even worship such a god? Egyptians banished Set to the desert for a reason (although I learned recently he's also the god associated with thunderstorms, so go figure).
 
Possibly relevant:

2012-02-28-804evil.gif


Mouseover: Maltheists believe that the Bible is both literally true AND a mean-spirited prank

2012-03-01-805evil2.gif



2012-03-02-806evil3.gif


http://wondermark.com/804/
 
What if the Abrahamic religions were based on the belief that God, the creator of the universe is evil? Or just not necessarily all good? How would such religions influence our society?
God and Satan basically swap places, and very little else changes apart from their origin stories?

Kinda solves the problem of evil. The good god would like to do more to makethe world better, but the more powerful evil god keeps getting in the way.

Though it depends on how evil, and especially Yahway 's evil, gets defined exactly. Was forbidding Eve to eat of the fruit of knowledge, or kicking them out of paradise, or the various things in the old testament considered evil? Is the old testament still part of Abrahamic tradition? Possibly more as testimony of wrongdoing? Was Jesus Satan's son, who committed the sin of suicide to damn all humanity forever more, thus sending to hell where nice!Satan can protect them from Yahway? This gets twisty very quickly.
 
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