Dystheism
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Dystheism (from
The broad theme of dystheism has existed for millennia, as shown by tricksters found in ethnic religions and by the view of other representations of what the various belief systems regard as the Supreme Being, such as the creator deity as conceived in Abrahamic religions, through an irreligious lens as angry, vengeful, smiting, and hypocritical. The modern concept dates back many decades, with the Victorian era figure Algernon Charles Swinburne writing in his work Anactoria about the ancient Greek poet Sappho and her lover Anactoria in explicitly dystheistic imagery that includes cannibalism and sadomasochism.[2]
Background and details
The concept has been used frequently in popular culture and is a part of several religious traditions in the world. Tricksters found in ethnic religions often have a dystheistic nature. One example is Eshu, a trickster in Yoruba religion who deliberately fostered violence between groups of people for his amusement, saying "causing strife is my greatest joy."[citation needed] Another example is Loki in old Norse religion, though Odin has these qualities as well.
Dystheists may themselves be theists or
One particular view of dystheism, an atheistic approach, is summarized by the prominent
Political theorist and activist Thomas Paine similarly wrote in The Age of Reason, "Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that we called it the word of a demon, than the word of God." He added, "It is a history of wickedness, that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind; and, for my part, I sincerely detest it, as I detest everything that is cruel."[4] Unlike Bakunin, however, Paine's condemnation of the purported nature of the divine from his time did not extend to outright atheism and disbelief in all spirituality: Paine stated that he accepted the deistic notion of an almighty mover behind all things.
Usage in popular culture
Dystheism as a concept, although often not labeled as such, has been referred to in many aspects of
See also
- Argument from morality
- Atenism
- Comparative religion
- Conceptions of God
- Creationism
- Demiurge
- Deus absconditus (Christian theology)
- Deus otiosus
- Ethical monotheism
- Evil God challenge
- False god
- Gnosticism
- God and the State
- God in Abrahamic religions
- Holocaust theology
- Misotheism
- Moralistic therapeutic deism
- Names of God
- Outline of theology
- Problem of evil
- Problem of Hell
- Satanic Verses
- Theistic Satanism
- Theodicy
- Urmonotheismus (primitive monotheism)
- The Bible and violence
- Violence in the Quran
References
- Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 25.
- ^ a b Algernon Charles Swinburne (Nov 17, 2013). Delphi Complete Works of Algernon Charles Swinburne (Illustrated). Delphi Classics.
- Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin (Jan 1, 2009). God and the State. Cosimo, Inc. p. 28.
- ^ Paine, Thomas (1877). The Age of Reason. Citadel Press.
- ^ Michael Okuda; Denise Okuda; Debbie Mirek (May 17, 2011). The Star Trek Encyclopedia. Simon & Schuster.