Why are there Dytheists?

[jaded_revenge]

I know a guy who wholly believes there is a god, but hates him. Quite simply, this person believes that god is quite evil and sick. He may be slightly dillusional with what he comes up with, but it got me to ask...

Why are there Dytheists?
I'm taking the word dytheist to simply mean a person who belives god exists but is not wholly good, and usually, evil. I can understand how somebody would believe the god of the bible is evil, but how could that same someone believe in the existance of a god.

Is it simply an atheist who decided that they will choose god as their creation story, or to explain the unexplained?
Is it a theist who has come to realize that any god who is in charge of this world must be evil, but can't take the step to question the existance of god itself.

I understand where a theist comes from... Its comforting and usually what your peers/parents believe... But what could be comforting about believing there is an evil god out to get everyone?

[Izmir Stinger]

But what could be comforting about believing there is an evil god out to get everyone?

In a free society, people are bereft of many opportunities to really stick it to the man. If "the man" is an evil god, then everyday you survive, all the success and happiness you experience, sticks it to God. Its not really a matter of comfort, its a matter of self aggrandizement.

Just a hypothesis. He could also be a self hating atheist.

[Anat]

Or just someone who refuses to take the 'God works in mysterious ways' non-answer to the POE (or refuses to accept that the price paid on the way to realising 'the great plan' whatever it may be is justified or unavoidable), but does not see randomness in the universe, thus has to invoke an intervening intelligence.

[OldYgg]

I have many reasons that I am an atheist; however, if I was presented with incontrovertable evidence of god's existence (and as the god of the bible or other mythological work) (yes, I'll ignore the fact that evidence for god may be a contradictory concept - even an impossible one and just say - whatever that evidence is - it is as good as the evidence I have for the existence for the physical universe) I would have to believe that god is evil.

God of the bible does not have the best interests of humanity in mind. God has his own interests in mind. The fundamentalist knows this best as 'god is sovereign' - to justify all the bad things god has done in the past.

Consider the evidence for god's existence to be - the second coming a la 'Left behind' series.

I would consider it my duty as an atheist to defend humanity against god - even though it is a useless fight against an omnipotent deity, as that deity is immoral.

I consider it better to believe that life is what it is and we have to deal with it than some malicious god created everything and has the fault/blame for all the problems in the universe.

Old Ygg

[Ojuice5001]

(I use the word "maltheism" rather than "dystheism" because I think the word sounds better. I regard the two terms as interchangeable.)

Is it a theist who has come to realize that any god who is in charge of this world must be evil, but can't take the step to question the existance of god itself.

This seems the most likely...although your way of putting it is quite unsympathetic. "Can't take the step to question the existence of god itself," indeed. I'd imagine that the majority of maltheists have given at least some consideration to atheism, and ended up thinking that this world seems more like a world where (mal)theism is true than like the godless world posited by atheism.

I understand where a theist comes from... Its comforting and usually what your peers/parents believe... But what could be comforting about believing there is an evil god out to get everyone?

Maltheists probably think that their maltheistic beliefs "make sense," in the sense of fitting the world that we live in. There's no reason to be surprised that maltheism makes sense to some people. Unless you think that anyone who disagrees with you is either ignorant, unreflective, or a wishful thinker.

I believe in the gods, but I'm neither a maltheist nor a "theophile" (as the maltheists call the mainstream religionists who believe in God's goodness). It seems as if the maltheists have fallen prey to a false dichotomy; they have assumed that either the gods are paragons of love and justice, or they're "an evil god out to get everyone." There are other options. For one thing, as you point out, there could be no gods at all. Or the deists could be right. Last but not least, the kind of polytheism I believe in could be right.

I think that the gods are very interested in influencing the course of events on Earth, but that doesn't mean that most of their actions spring from either benevolence toward man, or the kind of malevolence that is implied by the maltheists. A god might be interested in creating a harmonious society among humans. He might only care about a few particular humans, rather than all of them. He might be more interested in making bets with his fellow gods about the stock price of Target Stores, and use his influence toward the cause of raising--or lowering--said stock price. He might enjoy the sight of a nice flock of seagulls, or a vacant lot full of weeds, and therefore he will base his preferences for the world on the welfare of the seagulls or weeds, rather than that of humanity. He might be interested in the flow of magical energy through this world, rather than in any of the visible entities. The maltheists and the theophiles alike are too anthropocentric to consider the possibilities toward the end of that list...

The gods are more disposed to the impulses of benevolence than to malign motives like spite or anger. In that sense, theophilia has more truth in it than maltheism. Still, I welcome maltheism as a corrective; this way of seeing the gods does pose a challenge for the doctrines of both naturalistic atheism, and the theophilic religions like Christianity.

[Tom Sawyer]

The God posited in the Bible is a homicidal maniac. If someone reads the Bible and considers it to be a true account of the actions of this being, then there's little choice for a moral person other than to be a maltheist.

[dug_down_deep]

I know a guy who wholly believes there is a god, but hates him. Quite simply, this person believes that god is quite evil and sick. He may be slightly dillusional with what he comes up with, but it got me to ask...

Why are there Dytheists?
Maybe because he believes in god, and he's angry at him. Ever see the movie "Signs"?

I understand where a theist comes from... Its comforting and usually what your peers/parents believe... But what could be comforting about believing there is an evil god out to get everyone?
You may understand where some theists come from, but not all. Some are not comforted by god at all. Some struggle with god regularly. Remember the story of Jacob, who became Israel after he wrestled with god?

[atonal chaotic]

I know a guy who wholly believes there is a god, but hates him. Quite simply, this person believes that god is quite evil and sick. He may be slightly dillusional with what he comes up with, but it got me to ask...

Why are there Dytheists?
I'm taking the word dytheist to simply mean a person who belives god exists but is not wholly good, and usually, evil. I can understand how somebody would believe the god of the bible is evil, but how could that same someone believe in the existance of a god.

Is it simply an atheist who decided that they will choose god as their creation story, or to explain the unexplained?
Is it a theist who has come to realize that any god who is in charge of this world must be evil, but can't take the step to question the existance of god itself.

I understand where a theist comes from... Its comforting and usually what your peers/parents believe... But what could be comforting about believing there is an evil god out to get everyone?I don't see why it must follow from "God is evil," that "God must not exist." It is not difficult to imagine the possibility that someone might be persuaded by arguments that a God exists, but not by arguments for total awestruck obeisance to a superbeing, and so conclued that God exists and is evil.

I don't consider the Problem of Evil a strong endorsement of atheism. While the PoE can be worded to prove quite damning of God, it can't be worded to disprove the existence of God, only the existence of an all-good God.

Also, some people derive great masochistic pleasure and personal validation from feelings of persecution and victim status. Belief in an evil god would be one way to arrive at such feelings.