YHVH as a bad guy

satyesu

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My WIP is strongly based on Gnostic beliefs. They believed the god of the Old Testament was an evil creature created by (the) Sophia, an emanation of the real​ god, and had trapped human souls in material bodies. Could I get in trouble if he was my bad guy? Would it be interpreted as anti-Semitic?

I kind of have to include him in some way or other, because one of my leads is a sorcerer in the Golden Dawn tradition, and Qabalah is heavy on the YHVH.
 
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Kjbartolotta

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I think you're referring to the Valentinian tradition here, where he devised some pretty amazing spiritual descents. There are a lot of other traditions, and they don't necessarily make Yahweh into the bad guy. It's really like herding cats with gnosticism, you're not going to fit them all into one box. As for the Golden Dawn and Qabalah, the version of Qabalah they use is kind of its own thing and not really the same as in the Jewish mystical tradition. I don't think Qabalah in the modern day hermetic tradition demands Yahweh specifically to work properly.

I wonder if referencing IRL belief systems or organizations is necessary at all, tbh. If you're going to use the Judeo-Christian God, then you're stepping on hot coals. But one of the things that's so fascinating about the Gnostic traditions is the way everyone seems to come up with their own personal theogony, and it leads to wacky times. But you can create your own belief system and complex hierarchy in your story, and everyone will get what you're talking about. I mean, it worked for The Matrix, right? Not necessarily trying to suggest changing your setting, just a thought.
 

frimble3

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I just wouldn't mention Him by name. It's fantasy based on history - call him 'the Dark God', 'the Evil One', and 'the Nameless One', 'He Who Must Be Nameless', I imagine people who know your source material will get the hint, without being overt about it.
 

Brightdreamer

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People have used the "real" Judeo-Christian god as the baddie before. Heinlein's The Number of the Beast had the Devil as the MC's friend and God as a jerk who wound up being called to task by his boss for what he was doing to the MC, IIRC... And I think the graphic novel series Preacher doesn't have a flattering portrayal of God, either.

So obviously you can.

Will some people take it personally? Of course some will. They were never going to be your audience anyway. And there are people who will find offense in anything, even a blank page. It's up to you if you're going to let them stop you from writing. (That said, I suggest doing your research and telling a story where the entity known as God happens to be bad, not selling a message about the merits of Judeo-Christian theology thinly wrapped in a story.)

It's your story; only you can decide how to tell it, and if it's worth telling. And you do not need our permission to do so. Just write it. Polish it. Finish it. Submit it and/or self-publish it. Then write something else. That's how it's done.
 

AwP_writer

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The "Incarnations of Immortality" series by Piers Anthony had YHVH as a sort of bad guy. More the negligent father who went off for smokes and never came back than a true villian, but still... As Brightdreamer said, you'll offend people no matter what, so don't worry about it. Just know your audience and don't schedule a book tour at a bunch or churches or anything.
 
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Kjbartolotta

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I'm sure most of us remember who the big bad in His Dark Materials was. Of course, I always hated that reveal but wasn't particularly offended by it. Despite Pullman coming from an atheist's perspective, I'd say the setting has some pretty heavy gnostic overtones. And of course, there was the video game Xenogears where the final boss is point-for-point the Valentinian demiurge. My first introduction to gnosticism, and a heck of a ride.
 
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themindstream

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I think the important thing to keep in mind is that while you're taking shots at the deity you avoid taking cheap shots at their believers. You can probably get away with calling out hypocracies, etc, especially if you have any of those characters on the antagonistic side, but avoid the usual pitfalls like sterotyping, etc.

(I've dabbled with the idea of a story telling the Old Testament, post-Exodus conquests of the tribes of Israel from the point of view of the conquered peoples. It's interesting to me how these stories, told as the exploits of heroes, could be read through the modern lens of 'hey, this holy war is actually pretty awful stuff to be celebrating'.)