God is just. God is merciful. God is benevolent.

We are all brought up to believe that there are forces beyond our control and that these forces can be channelled in our favour, provided we are good, honest and god-fearing people. But what no one seems to notice is that every belief in the world describes God as either a jerk or a bloodthirsty hound.

For instance, let us look at the God the Bible graciously provides us with: all-forgiving and just. There are numerous instances of His Grace throughout the Bible to drive home His aforementioned qualities. There are also numerous instances of him being a massive jerk. For example, when God sent Moses to free the Jews from the then Pharaoh of Egypt, He steeled the Pharaoh’s heart to ensure he would not comply with His wishes. God then unleashed ten plagues on the good people of Egypt to prove how powerful he was. You can read more about His terrible fury here.

The Islamic God shares quite a few stories with the One described in the Bible, and is just as bad as him. You can check out His worst moments here.

Yet the Abrahamic God is almost humane compared to the Greek Gods. Anyone who has read a book in the Percy Jackson series or is even mildly interested in Greek mythology knows what we are talking about. Greek mythology is one of the most interesting depictions of the Gods, mainly because every God is a colossal jerk to someone at some point in the epic. Read up on the particularly vile ones here and here.

If we go farther back in time, the Gods only get crueller and more blood thirsty. The Mayans and Aztecs Gods, in particular, were really fond of any form of sacrifice. For instance, the worst aspect of Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec God of war, isn’t his name. It’s how his worshippers would sacrifice humans in His name. The sacrifice would be placed on a sacrificial stone and the priest would cut his heart out with a blade. He would then raise it to the skies as an offering. While it was still beating. You can find out more on Aztec sacrifices here, here and here. Click here to read up on Mayan customs.

Closer to home, Indian Gods and Goddesses are just as cruel. Both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata describe incredibly painful curses and deceptions. The Jains do not believe in a formal God, but that doesn’t stop them from believing that starving themselves to death will grant them Moksha.

Uncle Ben once told Peter Parker, “With great power comes great responsibility.” If only the Gods had a mentor as wise.