Anti-Theists

The Anti-Theists are defined by a strict opposition to any and all divine figures, including those of good and law. They are distinct from real world atheists in that while they accept that the pantheon of gods in Agnesia are real and alive, they see the gods as selfish liars abusing mortals and claiming infinite power over them. Anti-Theists are not to be confused with non-religious or otherwise secular people. While those people often do not care for the dealings of the divine or focus more on their own lives, Anti-Theists actively despise all gods and seek for the deconstruction of divine hierarchy of power.

Philosophy

Many Anti-Theists disregard that gods have the power they claim to, believing instead that it is a lie made to keep mortals in their place. They believe that if mortals were to realize this on a large scale, they could easily overthrow the gods and create a better future for mortals free from divine exploitation. The base logic of the Anti-Theists is as follows:

1) The Gods did not choose to become Gods, and the mortals did not choose to be born as mortals,
2) The Gods claim to be of more power or knowledge than that of mortals,
3) Therefore they should know better than to abuse the use of mortals (i.e they should have empathy),
4) However they do not, and claim that there is knowledge above the intellect of mortals that justifies this,
5) However they do not try to explain this knowledge, and having supposedly created mortals chose not to allow mortals to understand this,
6) Therefore, they chose to allow themselves to exploit mortals
7) Furthermore, the gods have (supposedly) had an infinite amount of time to solve their petty squabbles,
8) However they have not and choose to use mortals as pawns for their own goals.
9) Therefore, and most importantly, mortals have infinitely less time to solve their problems than gods, and succeed far more often.
10) The gods are only as powerful as mortals allow them to be,
It follows then that mortals (as a whole) are superior to gods, and are kept in their place out of fear from the gods.

An extension of this philosophy can be stated as the following:

If the gods are more intellectually capable than mortals, then it follows that the gods should be able to understand more than the mortals. However, any arbitrary god follows their code and only their code, and believes their way to be correct. It follows then that (in the eyes of the gods) there cannot be more than one truth. However, mortals often attribute multiple truths to different scenarios (in fact, many mortals argue that there is no single truthful solution to certain problems), so it logically follows that mortals are of a higher understanding than any arbitrary god and thus are more intellectually capable than any god.



Often when debating or otherwise considering the ideology of the Anti-Theists, people may bring up the question "What of the good gods who care for and nurture the mortals?"
The Anti-Theist answer goes as follows:
If a god is good, cares for mortals, and is powerful, then mortals should not be subject to pain and exploitation under their control. However, this is not the case, so the good gods are either not good, don't care for mortals, or are not powerful. It doesn't logically follow that a god can be evil and still care for mortals, so the main point of interest is whether the gods are powerful (enough to create the world for mortals that reflects their care for them). This then begs the question "if a good god is not powerful, and mortals are what give a god their power, then should we be supporting the good gods so that the evil ones do not triumph?" Anti-Theists reply by arguing that should the wellbeing of mortals be the primary goal of good gods, they would all work together for this goal. However, they do not, so the wellbeing of mortals is not their primary goal, and it is not in mortals' best interest to support a god who only cares for their wellbeing as a secondary goal.

The Anti-Theist Movement

The final words from adamant Anti-Theist Rach Glowen who was executed for destroying religious monuments are often carved into or otherwise put on monuments destroyed by Anti-Theists, and thus are seen as a battlecry of sorts for the Anti-Theists

You kill me in the name of gods who have done nothing for you but use you for their own gains. I am on your side, you are my brothers and sisters, we are bonded together in our fight for answers. The gods lie to you. Ask yourself, do you have a goal in your praise of the gods other than infinite labor for the fruits you will never see?
If the gods reward you it is giving you one apple from the entire orchard you harvested. Resist the gods, you are not their pawn.

Anti-Theists are not evil, they are against harming and often follow the same moral code as many of the "good" gods. They accuse those gods as being liars, creating a moral code that is perhaps mostly logical but adding in selfish desires and claims to trick (and scare) the mortals into staying in their place.

As a whole, Anti-Theists are disorganized and have no clear power structure or political pull. This is mainly due to the fact that most (if not all) of those in power praise or otherwise "slave for" the gods. Thus, Anti-Theists see power hierarchies even in the mortal plane as divine exploitation and seek the deconstruction of them. The problem lies in their moral code, while many people fighting against the current system are fighting for a god or for selfish reasons, the Anti-Theists fight for a different reason. Because of this, it's difficult for them to recruit new members.
This isn't to say they are non-existent, however. Small groups of Anti-Theists exist in many different places of population. This then leads to their most powerful influence: they do not fight for the power of any specific mortals, they fight for the power of all mortals. No matter if the group is in the Mallowhurstian Empire, the Dormount Union, the Green Horde, or anywhere else they can put aside political dislikes and focus on the true goal. To them, wars between mortals and political power struggles are nothing more than an attempt by the gods to keep mortals as inferiors.

Groups

The current population of Anti-Theists split themselves into two main categories, Nihilists and Truth-Seekers.

Nihilists

The Nihilists are characterized by their belief that since the gods currently do exploit the mortals, and the mortals are not currently fighting against it, a life of a mortal is then inherently meaningless if not wasted for the divine. This does not mean they wish to end their lives, or are completely distressed at all times, it simply means that nobody defines their life but them. There is no reason to avoid feeling good if it does not harm anyone else, and there is no reason to avoid fighting for a noble cause. Their life is entirely defined by them, and thus (perhaps contrary to idea the name gives) the Nihilists are often the most jovial of Anti-Theists. One may even find Nihilist Anti-Theists fighting on the same side as gods, albeit not for the god itself but for the moral that the god says (or lies that) they stand for.
To them, finding peace with oneself through your own works and not through the lies of gods is one of the best protests against the divine. For if one is happy with themself and not wishing for the power of gods, the gods will have very little power over them. To Nihilists, true happiness comes from oneself and nothing else.
Nihilists are often the more direct fighters against religion, often found destroying monuments, preaching against the gods and fighting against hierarchical structures.

Truth-Seekers

The Truth-Seekers are characterized by the belief that mortal life does have meaning, and there is some sort of Truth that the gods are hiding from mortals. Thus, Truth-Seekers put much of their energy into academia and place it at a high priority in the life of a mortal. To them, reality is not what it seems to be and the perception of reality has been distorted and given to mortals by the gods, likely to make them seem more powerful. Should mortals discover this Truth, they could easily end the exploitation from the gods. However, the gods are going to defend it with great force, so it is the duty of a mortal to push forward in academia to discover the inner workings of the gods and to preach against their praise so as to limit their power. Because of this, many Truth-Seekers are involved with religious research often having to hide in plain sight.

Perhaps surprisingly, many Truth-Seekers throughout history have played the role of loyal priests tricking even the highest in power (and perhaps even the gods). To them, this is evidence of their ideology, that one can act in the morality of a god without really serving the god. Indeed, while hiding as priests they do not ever pledge their allegiance to the god they follow, they simply follow the morals set in place by that god. This is proof to them that the mortals don't need the gods, only (most) of the laws set by the gods.







Unsurprisingly, Anti-Theists face great opposition. Often they are executed, outlawed, or otherwise pushed away from society. Anti-Theists do not often want to group up and start their own society as they see that as hurting progress toward their goal, it would simply move their power from where it needs to be to somewhere where it doesn't.
Many scholars disagree with Anti-Theists and argue that the gods generally are working for the mortals against terrible evils, and it is in the mortals' best interest to ally with the gods rather than fight off the only protection against the horrors of the divine plane that they have. Anti-Theists retort that there is no evidence of this, and that every bad event in mortal history has been directly linked to the workings of the gods. Whether this is true or not is up for debate.

Type

Religious, Other