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All began in darkness, and all to darkness will return. I really enjoyed this wicked little exploration. I had given up on theology before this read, but it's beginning to make sense again! Using only the "logic and wisdom" of theists and evidence present in the real world, Zande argues (quite convincingly) the case for an Omnimalevolent Creator. His use of exaggeration, ornate language, and the circular reasoning often attributed to those convinced of the divine deemed this a delightful satire. However, by the end, I wasn't so convinced that it was a satire after all. Zande made some scary philosophical observations that were just a little bit too accurate to be dismissed as mere comedy. Without revealing too much, I was particularly absorbed by the final chapter. It had me creating my own hypotheses of the nature of God and the universe. Whether you're a theist looking to understand why many of us don't accept the standard arguments for the existence of God, or an atheist who enjoys a great read, or a thinker who is open to a great "what-if," I highly recommend this unique read!
In this book, the author presents an alternative thesis for the creator. Not the benevolent God that most religions are built on, but a malevolent entity that takes gratification from inflicting suffering on its creation. If the initial argument is a little thin, the subsequent analysis is impressive and it leaves us with the initial question: if there is a God, why indeed would it be necessarily benevolent. The evidence presented for an evil origin of the universe and the deliberate deep suffering of its ultimate pinnacle of evolution, the human, is comprehensive, eloquent and at times almost scientific.
The book is written from the perspective of a neutral witness. It begs the question what a neutral witness is in a thesis of a malevolent creator. It can’t be a theist since this is a theist thesis. Neither can it be an atheist since that would be a hostile witness. In a sense as a reader, we are the neutral witness and are required to leave our weapons at the door. If we do, we come out enriched at the end of the book. Either because we are theists and have been challenged to genuinely motivate our own theist thesis, or because as atheists we read the thesis as a parody, or worse, a ridicule of religion. The author stays away from taking sides and leaves us to make up our mind although at times we wonder if he is poking fun at us.
This little book certainly deserves to be in the personal library of genuine theologians. The thesis of a malevolent creator is presented articulately and without resort to dogma or higher arguments. Can the genuine theologian refute these observations? At the very least, the book is highly quotable even without any context. Regardless of your own thesis, this is a well written and enjoyable if at times uncomfortable read.
One of the many five-star reviews of this book that has been published here opens simply: “This is a beautifully written, terribly uncomfortable book to read.” I couldn’t better that summary. This is, indeed, a beautifully written book. Yet it is also a book that will forever change the way you think about species: Homo sapiens.
Zande offers a powerful argument that, “Following then the Principle of Sufficient Reason, the observer concludes with a level of argued certainty that a Creator must exist.” Then sets out to demonstrate that this Creator, far from being an expression of universal love, is fundamentally an expression of universal suffering. Reminding the reader that, “This world was never good. It was never peaceful, and never without suffering.”
For the first time in my life, Zande’s words had cause for me to reflect on something that, hitherto, had never dawned on me. That if there is a God, why have I, and countless others, assumed that this God be necessarily benevolent. The evidence presented in Zande’s book is comprehensive: that there was an evil origin to the universe and, more directly, that the deep, and growing, suffering of the pinnacle of evolution, us humans, can be traced back to that evil origin. Better than that, frequently the book is almost scientific. And in the best of scientific traditions, Zande adopts the position of a neutral witness.
Whether or not you are relaxed about that previous paragraph, and I suspect many readers will not, it is impossible not to be in awe of the beauty, the power, and the eloquence of Zande’s words. Take this opening paragraph of Zande’s chapter titled A SIGHTLESS CREATION.
"It is a basal vagary, a question that screams for attention and if left unresolved – if left problematic – could invalidate all practicalities of a functioning Creation lorded by a maximally wicked Creator: Would sentient, attentive, self-respecting life choose to live in a world underwritten by evil? Could self-aware life endure a thoroughly hopeless reality?"
Whether one is a believer in a religious god or not, it will also be impossible not to have one’s deepest emotions and beliefs about the nature of humankind stirred very deeply around. No-one who reads this book will be left unchanged.
If you have ever pondered about the way the world is heading, or more accurately put, about the way that we humans are managing our existence on Planet Earth, then you need to read this book. Period!
Poe's Law states that "without a clear indicator of the author's intent, parodies of extremism are indistinguishable from sincere expressions of extremism."
As a citizen of the internet, I have read many parodies and many more sincere expressions of extremism. Both parodies and genuine articles tend to be reductive and uninteresting in their absurdity. This is not true of Zande's work. The effort and thought that has gone into this work is staggering. The prose is eloquent and persuasive, even when it is illogical. May the insanity of the arguments for belief in the Owner of All Infernal Names persuade others from their beliefs in less infernal beings.
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This item: The Owner of All Infernal Names: An Introductory Treatise on the Existence, Nature & Government of our Omnimalevolent Creator
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