History Main / NayTheist

*** That's old Catholic dogma, actually - the modern Catholic dogma has accepted that salvation is possible to non-Catholics and non-Christians; it would be hell to cooperate with other religions, otherwise.

* Hrafnkell from NorseMythology concludes that "I think it is folly to have faith in gods," after his temple to Freyr is burnt and he is enslaved.
* In some versions of Buddhism, gods are acknowledged to exist, but that they're part of the same cycle of reincarnation as humans and animals, and they're a distinctly secondary concern to the enlightenment taught by Buddha.
** This could also qualify as NoSuchThingAsSpaceJesus as the difference between humans and gods is simply one of degree, not kind, and theoretically both can move either way up and down the karmic ladder.
* While there are various opinions on the matter, much of TheBible appears to confirm, rather than deny, the existence of 'false (polytheistic) gods', only stating that worshiping them is pointless/evil.
** Some Christian theology supposes that anything supernatural which isn't God or an obedient angel is a rebellious angel, now known as a demon. This usually includes ghosts, NewAge spirit guides, and any aliens that might contact us, with TheSpaceTrilogy by CSLewis being a fictional fantasy exception.

TheOtherWiki calls this ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misotheism misotheism]]''--hatred of God or the Gods--and ''[[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Dystheism dystheism]]''--belief that the Monotheistic God is [[TheGodsMustBeLazy not good]], or [[GodIsEvil outright evil]]. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henotheism Henotheism]] is also related--you believe Horus exists, but that the worship of him is not for you; you just stick to Zues. Also see ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apatheism apatheism]]'', which considers the question of God's existence irrelevant and meaningless.

The Nay Theist is ''not'' an atheist or agnostic -- he is well aware of the existence of the gods (or {{God}}), and freely admits it; he just refuses to worship them, or to "believe" in them in any strong spiritual sense beyond merely acknowledging the fact of their existence. Perhaps he has some personal grudge against the gods for something they did; perhaps he refuses to accept the gods' judgment because [[GodIsEvil they don't measure up]] to ''his'' moral standards; perhaps he's just the independent type by nature; or perhaps he simply thinks there is always a bigger fish, making the search for an "all powerful" creator a pointless venture.

He may go through the motions of worship, but if so, it's only to avoid getting struck by lightning or stoned by an angry mob, not out of any sincere religious feelings.

TheOtherWiki calls this ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misotheism misotheism]]''--hatred of God or gods--and ''[[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Dystheism dystheism]]''--belief that the monotheistic God is [[TheGodsMustBeLazy not good]], or [[GodIsEvil outright evil]]. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henotheism Henotheism]] is also related--you believe Osiris exists, but that only Jupiter is worthy of worship. Also see ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apatheism apatheism]]'', which considers the question of God's existence irrelevant and meaningless.

->''"I don't hold with paddlin' with the occult," said Granny firmly. "Once you start paddlin' with the occult you start believing in spirits, and when you start believing in spirits you start believing in demons, and then before you know where you are you're believing in gods. And then you're in trouble."\\

* Emperor Palpatine from ''StarWars'' fits this trope in spades; the Empire's official religion is atheism. Mostly to prevent [[IncrediblyLamePun the return of the Jedi]].
** Atheism isn't a religion. For future reference: Atheism is to religion as ''baldness'' is to hair color.

** Atheism isn't a religion.

* Many theists get this confused with atheism and will often accuse genuine atheists (especially ones who are ex-theists) of being NayTheists.

** Current Christian theology supposes that anything supernatural which isn't God or an obedient angel is a rebellious angel, now known as a demon. This usually includes ghosts, NewAge spirit guides, and any aliens that might contact us, with TheSpaceTrilogy by CSLewis being a fictional fantasy exception.

* Kratos from ''GodOfWar'' becomes this, after he realizes too late his [[DealWithTheDevil deal with Ares]] set him up as the god's XanatosSucker. His contempt for the Greek Pantheon deepens after the [[WhatAnIdiot deal he brokered with them to exact vengeance on Ares and cleanse him of his sins]] fell through, turning his vengeance on ''them''. I guess Kratos never learned the invaluable lesson that you DoNotTauntCthulhu if you value your life.

* In "Hell is the Absence of God" by Ted Chiang, angels routinely and overtly intervene, causing both good and bad results. People are therefore split between the "devout" and "non-devout".

** She's more of a {{Flat Earth Atheist}} in the first parts, since you cant hate something you dont beleive exists.

* There actually are people out there who insist that God is real, he's the ultimate force of evil in the entire universe, and the Westboro Babtist Church are his most loyal followers.

The Nay Theist is ''not'' an atheist or agnostic -- he is well aware of the existence of the gods (or {{God}}), and freely admits it; he just refuses to worship them, or to "believe" in them in any strong spiritual sense beyond merely acknowledging the fact of their existence. Perhaps he has some personal grudge against the gods for something they did; perhaps he refuses to accept the gods' judgement because [[GodIsEvil they don't measure up]] to ''his'' moral standards; perhaps he's just the independent type by nature; or prehaps he simply thinks there is always a bigger fish, making the search for an "all powerfull" creator a pointless venture.

***The Christian God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-merciful, and all-loving according to the Bible. Such a being seems far more cruel than a clearly confused and fallible human being who just did what she thought was the right and moral thing to do: Send her daughter to Heaven rather than risk her going to Hell (God's invention, by the way). Instead of helping this woman and her daughter, the Christian God just sits back and watches as she and her daughter suffer. If that isn't cruelty, I don't know what is.