You know how some Christians are extremely fond of claiming that we atheists hate their god? It is one of those nonsensical claims we hear quite a bit. The fact that it is not possible to hate something which one doesn't believe exists never seems to occur to them, and this is usually what we find ourselves explaining when faced with this claim. In my experience, they often try to work around this response by insisting that we really do believe in their god and are just mad at it for some reason. Perhaps there is a different line of inquiry that would be interesting to pursue here.To the Christian who is convinced that I hate his or her god, I ask why I might do such a thing. Maybe they suppose I've had bad experiences with this particular god in my past. But who would be responsible for that? If I have had bad experiences, surely this was what their god desired. After all, if I've had bad experiences, that must have been part of the plan their god had for me all along.
Maybe the Christian assumes that I have been misled in some way by others, reaching false conclusions about their god. And yet, their god could certainly make itself known to me if it so desired. What does it mean that it has chosen not to do this? If I have been misled, why has their god allowed this to happen and not steered me in the right direction?
Perhaps I am just fundamentally flawed in some way. We might call this original sin but we could just as easily imagine that I am a bitter, cynical, or hostile person. How did I get this way? Might some god have "hardened" my heart like it was often described as doing throughout the "holy" bible?
Ah, but the Christian god is probably just testing me! I have the same capacity as anyone else to find and worship this god. The fact that I have not done so must mean that I am blameworthy and deserve to suffer for an eternity in Christian hell. Really? Does a god who would do this seem worthy of worship?
Maybe it is time for Christians to accept that we cannot hate something we don't think exists. If they keep insisting this, they may find themselves in a far less desirable position of actually having to consider some of these implications.
