History Main / DevilButNoGod

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', which has the "God Hand", a group of five powerful demons as the closest thing to gods. The only other set of deities, the Four Elemental Kings, are said to be loving and protective of humanity, but only seem to help out if consciously summoned. [[spoiler: The Idea of Evil]], who the Godhand answer to, seems to be the closest thing to a God in the ''Berserk'' universe, but it's only (so far) been seen in a semi-canon chapter that was cut for spoilering the plot . However, it's both {{God|OfEvil}} [[GodIsEvil AND the devil]] ([[spoiler:it stated it basically existed because humans want a supernatural explanation for why they live in a CrapsackWorld, nd obliges by making the world an even shittier place]]). It, however is only God in the sense that it influences and controls people. It is not the creator of the universe itself and only seems to have a limited (if any) control over physical reality itself and it can only influence the physical through humanity (it can't summon storms or cause earthquakes).

* ''Film/{{Krampus}}'' has variant, in that the titular demon freely terrorizes Max and his family, but FatherChristmas is nowhere to be seen, essentially "Krampus, But No Santa". This may be because this version of Krampus targets those who have lost their faith in Christmas. [[spoiler:However, the ending, among other things, has led some viewers to believe that Santa '''is''' Krampus!]]

** Zig-zagged in ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' and ''VideoGame/DoomEternal''. The Slayer Testaments of ''2016'' talk about how the Doom Slayer recieved his enchanced speed and strength from a "Seraphim", and there's a tablet depicting an angelic-looking hooded figure watching him beat up on some demons. However, ''Eternal'' reveals that the closest thing to angels in ''Doom'', the Maykrs of the realm of Urdak, are actually in cahoots with Hell [[spoiler:in order to sustain their own civilization, with the Seraphim himself being a rogue Maykr]]. That said, it's also revealed that [[spoiler:the Maykrs do have a progenitor they call "[[TopGod The Father]]", who is said to be the creator of all life in the universe, including Hell itself, but his time outside of the physical realm left the Maykrs to maniuplate humans and many other species throughout the multiverse and lead to them developing their conceptions of heaven based on their maniuplations]].

* In ''Film/TheWitch'', the teachings of the Bible and prayers performed by the protagonists prove ineffective to repel the evil of the Witch haunting them, [[spoiler:meanwhile Satan appears in various forms and successfully makes the FinalGirl join his cult of witches]].

** Zig-zagged in ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' and ''VideoGame/DoomEternal''. The Slayer Testaments of ''2016'' talk about how the Doom Slayer recieved his enchanced speed and strength from a "Seraphim", and there's a tablet depicting an angelic-looking hooded figure watching him beat up on some demons. However, ''Eternal'' reveals that the closest thing to angels in ''Doom'', the Maykrs of the realm of Urdak, are actually in cahoots with Hell [[spoiler:in order to sustain their own civilization, with the Seraphim himself being a rogue Maykr]]. That said, it's also revealed that [[spoiler:the Maykrs do have a progenitor they call "The Father", but it isn't suggested that they had any role on creating humanity, merely that humans and many other species throughout the multiverse developed their conception of heaven based on the Maykrs' manipulations]].

*** The [[OurElvesAreBetter Dunmer (Dark Elves)]] have an interesting take on this. In general, they acknowledge that the Daedric Princes that they do revere - Azura, Boethiah, and Mephala - are actually ruthless, vicious and brutal entities; even Azura, the most benevolent of those Princes, still cursed the whole species for the actions of the Tribunal. At the same time, the Dunmer view everyone else, Aedra and Daedra alike, as either [[TricksterGod lying tricksters]], [[GodIsInept ineffectually weak]], or [[GodOfEvil uselessly malicious]]. (By comparison, Boethiah and Mephala are ''[[TrainingFromHell usefully]]'' malicious, as they [[HadToBeSharp taught the Dunmer how to survive in a harsh environment through their maliciousness]].) It's not really surprising that the only gods the Dunmer truly revered as benevolent were [[DeityOfHumanOrigin ALMSIVI]], or the Tribunal, a trio of {{Physical God}}s who were a major part of Dunmer culture from the mid-1st Era to end of the 3rd Era 4000 years later. [[spoiler:All of whom are depowered and two of whom die as a result of the events of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'']].

Compare BlackAndGrayMorality, where there is no good yet evil exists, and the best you can hope for are utterly flawed characters who are [[ALighterShadeOfBlack (barely)]] better than their foes.

* Parodied in Creator/EoinColfer's ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' sequel ''H2G2/AndAnotherThing'', in which the same philosophers who use the existence of the Babel Fish to prove God doesn't exist also use the existence of the Silver-Tongued Devil to prove Satan ''does'', even though this ruins their original argument.

* Inverted in ''VideoGame/RhythmHeaven''. The titular place has been seen multiple times throughout the series, angeks exist nearby, and one minigame (Donk-Donk) is specifically about going there. In ''Megamix'', there's even a separate location known as Heaven World, whose inhabitants become castle-like "guardians" when they grow up. While ghosts and demons have been shown in several minigames, nothing resembling the underworld nor Hell is visited in the series.

* After the death of Jack Chick, author of the infamous ''ComicBook/ChickTracts'' comic booklets, cartoonist George Pfromm posted [[https://media2.fdncms.com/stranger/imager/u/large/24649780/stranger_jack-chick-new_mag.jpg a cartoon]] where Jack Chick went to Hell for publishing his fundamentalist comics and is mocked by the Devil, who tells him that God doesn't exist and enver did.

* Not technically God and Satan, but almost every ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona'' game has the main characters fight a very proactive AnthropomorphicPersonification of a negative aspect of humanity (humanity's greed, humanity's desire to self harm, humanity's grief, humanity's dissatisfaction, humanity's apathy). Meanwhile, no AnthropomorphicPersonification of the positive aspects of humanity show up to help out. There is one guy who represents a vague "best of humanity", but he is [[TheGodsMustBeLazy infuriatingly hands-off]], and has only shown up in two games.

* ''{{TabletopGame/Pathfinder}}'': [[SatanicArchetype Asmodeus]] is the LawfulEvil [[EvilCounterpart Counterpart]] to [[CrystalDragonJesus Ihys]], his ChaoticGood brother. Naturally, [[CainAndAbel Asmodeus killed Ihys]]. Of course, given that Asmodeus isn't known for being a particularly honest deity, [[UnreliableNarrator it's possible that he made the whole thing up]]. The point is that the closest equivalent to the Abrahamic God doesn't exist, but the closest equivalent to the devil does.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Chill}}'' is about the players belonging to a [[TheOrder a secret society]] that investigates and hunts down monsters, who it believes come from some singular evil source. There is no such thing as a good supernatural being in its setting, or any evidence of benevolent supernatural powers. The players are able to tap the same supernatural energies for more benign effects, but using it too much can lead to agents falling to TheDarkSide.

* ''Videogame/{{Doom}}'' has this trope. It seems the only force of Good in the Doom-verse is our Berserker Packin' man-and-a-half, the Space Marine/Taggert, and his trusty shotgun (and {{chainsaw|Good}}), taking on the forces of Hell. There's not even a holy weapon around, unless you count the Soul-Cube used by the Martians against the Hellions.
* ''VideoGame/{{DOOM 2016}}'': Subverted. While we only ever see demons and Hell in the game, Doomguy is the last survivor of a world called Argent D'nur, which was filled with holy energy. We don't get much detail on it, but it sounds like a particularly militant Heaven. [[CrapsackWorld Of course]], the demons conquered it millennia ago and corrupted its Argent Energy into Hell Energy.
** According to the Slayer's Testaments found in hell the Doom Slayer got his power and speed from a seraphim (an angel). However, ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' reveals that [[spoiler:the "seraphim" was actually part of an angelic-looking alien species known as The Maykrs whose leader has made a deal with the demons in order to keep their species alive. They do have a creator they call "The Father", but it isn't suggested that they had any role on creating humanity, merely that humans and many other species throughout the multiverse (including the Sentinels/Argenta themselves) either conflated them with their own gods or were convinced to worship them upon seeing their powers]].

* Thoroughly averted in Literature/TheBible, where Satan gets far less screen time than God. This trope is actually inverted in most of the Old Testament. Satan appears only in the First Book of Chronicles, [[Literature/BookOfJob Job]], and Psalm 109. [[Literature/BookOfGenesis The serpent in the Garden of Eden]] is never stated to be Satan nor is Satan physically described until the Literature/BookOfRevelation, from the New Testament.

* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'', the indirect picture provider, has several bad guys mention "Hellgates", and one of them drops the name of Vulpuz, some sort of evil deity. The good guys have an afterlife called Dark Forest, and earlier in the series at least the appearance of having actual religion, although it is never discussed. (This is pretty odd for a series whose title location is an ''abbey,'' populated by what was clearly, in the beginning, a monastic order. The not-quite-religion fades as the series continues.) There is also the fact that in the original "Redwall" book, the giant adder is named Asmodeus, which one in-universe character identifies as "the name of the devil himself". In real world mythology, Asmodeus is depicted as various kinds of demon king, depending on which version one reads, but is certainly a very high ranking lord of Hell. The same book also has Cluny casually killing someone and saying "Tell the devil Cluny sent you". Satan or the Devil is also mentioned a few other times, while God never is.

* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'':
** {{Dracula}} is described as the being opposite to God; God does not make an appearance. Demons are commonplace, but while several angels appear in the story, all have fallen to the side of evil. (Significantly, this includes [[TheGrimReaper the angel of death]].) While several main characters are religious, all explanations of their abilities have been traced back, canonically or otherwise, to poltergeists, dhampirs or alchemy. Even then, the one visible sign of divine intervention in the series ([[spoiler:Rosa's resurrection]]) may have been {{retcon}}ned! On the brighter side, [[ChurchMilitant the church]] has yet to be portrayed as {{corrupt|Church}}.
** The Order was separate from the Church of our Holy Lord.
** God isn't directly brought up, but there are a lot of crosses everywhere. A crucifix, with a carving of Jesus included, makes an appearance as Richter's item crash when he's equipped with the cross/boomerang.
** In several games, the Vampire Killer and several "light" weapons give off a distinctly cross-shaped flash of light upon impact with an enemy.
** Justified in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'', where most religious discussion is with the main character's {{Miko}} friend, who naturally discusses things in Shinto terms, not Christian.

* Played with in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII''. The final battle between God and the Demon Lord ended with both MIA, but most of the world was still sealed away by evil, so that only a single island remains intact when the game begins. As you progress, the question of whether or not the Demon Lord ''won'' is repeatedly raised. Oh, sure, it looks like God [[CrazyPrepared planned for this]] by setting up a ritual to reawaken him... [[spoiler: But when the ritual's performed, the 'God' who's summoned [[GodIsEvil ain't the nicest]] [[FakeKing guy around]].]] Then post game [[spoiler: where you do find the real God, it turns out he decided to let humanity sort out the Demon Lord and restore the sealed world themselves while he just watched]]. Even more telling is that [[spoiler: When you call him on it he proves both stronger then the Demon Lord and able to drop in on the DL's throne room at will]].

* Sort of an inversion in ''Film/InChinaTheyEatDogs''. [[spoiler:After the climatic shoot-out at the end, God Himself shows up to collect the souls of the deceased and take them to Paradise. Satan, however, doesn't show up in flesh, but instead sends a lower-ranking devil as a representative to collect the souls going to Hell.]]

* In ''Film/ThisIsTheEnd'', which takes place during the apocalypse, [[spoiler: the Devil is shown in detail, but God is not shown. This is despite the fact that two of the main characters ascend to FluffyCloudHeaven at the end of the movie and become angels]].

* In ''Film/TheWitch'', the teachings of the Bible and prayers performed by the protagonists prove ineffective to repel the evil of the Witch haunting them, [[spoiler:meanwhile Satan appears in various forms and successfully makes the FinalGirl join his cult of witches.]]

* Subverted in Creator/Charles Williams's ''War In Heaven'' where the devil worshiping (and empowered wizards) trying to destroy the Holy Grail, but fail because Prestor John, the Grail's supernatural protector gives aid to the people trying to save the Cup. Also, in his ''Descent into Hell'', ''Place of the Lion'' there is subtle supernatural help, which is appropriate as the supernatural danger is more subtle than most stories of this kind.

* ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker'': Unlike in the book series, the Creator ''does'' show up... maybe. And like in ''Literature/TheSalvationWar'', ''everyone'' who dies goes to a FireAndBrimstoneHell. However, Darken Rahl implies at one point that it's only because the veil has been torn that everyone who dies goes there -- in the normal course of things, only bad people go there, while good people go to some unspecified but presumably much nicer place to "bask in the Creator's light forever".[[note]]In the books it's explained that the underworld has levels of a sort, with the righteous becoming "good spirits" that dwell on the top near the light, while the wicked plunge down into the depths where they're tormented.[[/note]]

* On ''Series/{{Lost}}'' both Jacob and MIB have been said to be the Devil, but neither has been said to be a god. Though Jacob is described by Mark Pellegrino as a Jesus analog.

** According to the Slayer's Testaments found in hell the Doom Slayer got his power and speed from a seraphim (an angel). However, ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' reveals that [[spoiler:the "seraphim" was actually part of an angelic-looking alien species known as The Maykrs whose leader has made a deal with the demons in order to keep their species alive. They do have a creator they call "The Father", but it isn't suggested that they had any role on creating humanity]].

** According to the Slayer's Testaments found in hell the Doom Slayer got his power and speed from a seraphim (an angel).

* ''Franchise/{{Onimusha}}'': With the Genma running rampart in the world and especially Japan, it might make you think just where the hell are the good deities like Amaterasu to protect mankind. The answer: [[spoiler:She didn't exist in this verse. The world wasn't created due to Izanagi and Izanami shaping it and then forming the Shinto Pantheon, but Fortinbras, the creator of Genma just popped up out of the primordial chaos, sired the Genma race and then was in need of a SlaveRace for his race to consume... so he made mankind for that purpose. So he's basically an example of GodIsEvil that acts more like a Devil thanks to his legions of demons and making no pretenses of being angelic, with the exception of his title being [[LightIsNotGood God of Light.]]]]

* In ''Film/ThisIsTheEnd'', which takes place during the apocalypse, [[spoiler: the Devil is shown in detail, but God is not shown. This is despite the fact that 2 of the main characters ascend to FluffyCloudHeaven at the end of the movie and become angels]].