There Is No God

Bad things tend to happen. Some things, though, are so bad that when they happen some characters can't refrain from concluding that there just can't be a God in this universe, or if there is he's insane or malevolent.

May be used in three common ways.


 * 1) Played for drama: a character loses his faith after something bad happens.
 * 2) Used semi seriously: "Man, this world sucks".
 * 3) Played for Laughs.

Please note that this trope is about questioning a benevolent God's existence because of a single bad event, which is pretty much a fallacy. If God is actually confirmed not to exist in this particular universe, it's Religion Is Wrong.

See also Crisis of Faith. The direct opposite is, of course, There Is a God. Compare A God I Am Not, where a godlike being refuses to be called "God".

Many a Hollywood Atheist uses this fallacy as a justification, while a Nay Theist believes he exists but still doesn't like the guy.

Comic Books

 * One of the story beats in Warren Ellis's run on Stormwatch, which carried over into The Authority a few years later, was that God does not exist. The Doctor mentions it offhandedly in Ellis's final arc, and earlier, a "villain" called the Eidolon had come back from beyond the grave to try to convince people to make the most of their lives.

Film

 * In Caddyshack, one of the club members (who happens to be a bishop) has his perfect game of golf ruined (by his being struck by lightning) and then proclaims that there is no God.
 * In the latest film version of The Count of Monte Cristo, the despairing title character gives up all hope in God, having been incarcerated in a harsh French prison for several years.

Live-Action TV

 * The Mr. Bean movie, when David is trying to get Mr. Bean to act professionally.
 * There was an throwaway gag in one episode of Frasier where he learnt that a radio show he hated had received national syndication. Frasier's response was something along the lines of "Well, that's great news for her - and also for the millions of atheists who will be thrilled by this vindication."

Oral Tradition

 * One of the oldest arguments against a benevolent omnipresent God's existence is "If God is so and so, how does he let bad things happen?". It's pretty close to this trope, but isn't such an obvious fallacy; in fact, theodicy, a big branch of theology, exists to counter this argument.

Web Comics

 * Justin in El Goonish Shive upon seeing Susan's "kitty face", thinks to himself that there is no god.

Web Original

 * Cracked.com loves this trope. Especially in lists of Top X Things That Are Somehow Unpleasant To Even Read About.
 * One episode of Atop the Fourth Wall that involved mention of religion in a comic had Linkara joke that the comic's existence is a pretty good argument against the existence of God.
 * One article in The Onion had a Straw Loser whose very existence was an affront to both the theory of evolution (what purpose can this guy possibly serve?!) and the existence of a kind and loving god (If we're made in God's image, well...), with each side parading him around as the ultimate argument against the other.

Western Animation
"Kyle (looking up, smiling): You are up there!"
 * In the Simpsons episode "Last Exit to Springfield," when the school photographer gets Lisa to smile for her school photo and sees the horrible 19th century style braces she's wearing (because there's no dental plan at the Power Plant where Homer works) he gasps out "There is no god!"
 * The infamous Family Guy episode "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven" has Brian using Meg's unattractiveness as evidence of God's nonexistence.
 * One episode of South Park sees Cartman inheriting a million dollars and buying his own private theme park. Kyle is dumbfounded at the idea that God would reward such a rotten person, and ends up getting a hemorrhoid. As things get better for Cartman, Kyle's condition worsens and he renounces his faith. At the point where Kyle is on the verge of death (yes, from a hemorrhoid), Stan brings him to the theme park in time to see Cartman's dream destroyed by his own greed, at which point Kyle makes a miraculous recovery.


 * The episode also has Kyle lampshade the story of Job by asking how the God who would punish a decent man just to prove a point to Satan could possibly be considered benevolent. It doesn't help that his parents forgot the last part of the story where God rewards Job,and gives him more than what Job had before he lost everything.