Maltheism/misotheism
Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 3:19 pm
The first is the idea that the divine nature is somehow corrupt or depraved. The second is more of an attitude, of negativity from resentment to outright contempt or hatred towards the divine nature.
Now one could be a maltheist without being a misotheist, and vice versa. For example, although I am a Trinitarian (more than less) who believes that God the Father is the Author of Sin, I also believe (A) that the innocence/purity of the Second and Third Persons of the Trinity fixes a reference-point for divine value regardless, (B) that something is fit to be worshiped depends on aesthetic and not moral grounds (here "worship" means "intentional awe," i.e. I worship God if and only if I think of God as the most beautiful and sublime of all things, not if I think of God as morally pure), and (C) forgiveness is a universal duty in some way such that even if we think that God has sinned somehow, we ought to forgive Him (and not in a way that sets us up as judges over Him---I mean if we are obligated to forgive, then when we do so, we are not in a position of absolute authority over the forgiven). ---And contrariwise, one might think that God is the ultimate, perfect good, but due to one's own iniquity this would provoke a negative attitude (think one classical picture of Satan, say).
Now one could be a maltheist without being a misotheist, and vice versa. For example, although I am a Trinitarian (more than less) who believes that God the Father is the Author of Sin, I also believe (A) that the innocence/purity of the Second and Third Persons of the Trinity fixes a reference-point for divine value regardless, (B) that something is fit to be worshiped depends on aesthetic and not moral grounds (here "worship" means "intentional awe," i.e. I worship God if and only if I think of God as the most beautiful and sublime of all things, not if I think of God as morally pure), and (C) forgiveness is a universal duty in some way such that even if we think that God has sinned somehow, we ought to forgive Him (and not in a way that sets us up as judges over Him---I mean if we are obligated to forgive, then when we do so, we are not in a position of absolute authority over the forgiven). ---And contrariwise, one might think that God is the ultimate, perfect good, but due to one's own iniquity this would provoke a negative attitude (think one classical picture of Satan, say).