Dystheism

Dystheism (from Ancient Greek: δυσ-, romanized: dus-, lit. 'bad' and θεός theos "god") is the belief that a god is not wholly good and can even be considered evil, or one and the same with Satan. Definitions of the term somewhat vary, with one author defining it as "where God decides to become malevolent".^[1]

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]