Qualified misotheism

 

What if the gods are real, but are a real bunch of jerks? I suppose you *could* describe the Buddhist position that way, since the devas are unenlightened and unaware of their own mortality. And then there are the asuras, who constantly fight the devas...and constantly looses. 

Astral (and actual) traveler Cyrus Kirkpatrick comes close to this position in this clip. He argues that most higher-dimensional beings (i.e. what most people would call gods) are indifferent towards humanity, or even treat us as some kind of experiment. Although they might not be actively malign, these beings might nevertheless come across as callous. Only a few are compassionate and caring towards humanity (these would presumably be the bodhisattvas). 

Of course, every other pagan religion probably sees the gods this way, so my Buddhist parallel comes from the fact that I have done some reading on that particular tradition. Cyrus seems to have reached his conclusions independently, though. And in contrast to the traditional position, he doesn´t see it worth the while to worship such creatures...