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EntityQ5319573· pop 13· linked from 240 articles

Also known as evil god

Dystheism (from ; ) is the belief that a god is not wholly good and can even be considered evil. Definitions of the term somewhat vary, with one author defining it as "where God decides to become malevolent".

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Encyclopedic overview

4 sections
Contents
  • Background and details
  • Usage in popular culture
  • See also
  • References

Dystheism (from ; ) is the belief that a god is not wholly good and can even be considered evil. Definitions of the term somewhat vary, with one author defining it as "where God decides to become malevolent".

The broad theme of dystheism has existed for millennia, as shown by tricksters found in ethnic religions and by various interpretations of the Supreme Being of monotheistic religions. For example, the Abrahamic creator deity is an evil god according to gnostic traditions.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Dystheism” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.