Death to Culture provides the following simple tests to determine whether what you worship is the Devil God or the real God.

If the god you worship has a “chosen people,” you worship the Devil God. Though the Devil God’s followers have never reached consensus about whom exactly the “chosen people” are, they’re all sure they’re it and everyone else isn’t. Tribal deities have chosen people. God does not.

Indeed, if your god teaches you to discriminate among people based on race, gender or any other similar characteristic, the Devil God is tricking you into hating the children of the real God. And yes, discrimination is hatred, even when it wears the clever disguise of pride, chivalry and the like.

If your god’s will requires you to inflict suffering, you worship the Devil God. Suffering is part of the world. Some suffering is a byproduct of natural phenomena such as storms or earthquakes. Of the suffering created by humans, some may prevent greater suffering. Some suffering is merely expedient. Some suffering isn’t even that dignified, being produced by ignorance or deliberate wrong action. But under no circumstances is it either the will or the commandment of God. Tornados and tsunamis may be part of God’s “mysterious ways,” but everything caused by humans can be prevented by humans.

Specifically, if your god orders you to picket other people’s funerals or burn other people’s churches, you worship the Devil God.

If your god seems more interested in your money than your soul, that would be the Devil God. Donations that keep your church alive in the material world are fine, but the real God’s churches aren’t meant to be repositories of wealth. Nor should God’s ministers be rich from money gathered in God’s name.

If something sounds hateful or stupid, it probably is. Any guesses where that sort of thing comes from?

Got more ways The Devil God can be detected? Send ’em in.