Misconceptions: Atheists hate God

You must be a very angry person.

Another common misconception theists make regarding atheists and agnostics is that we either hate God or are angry at God, and that this is why we claim not to believe in him. Similar in vein is the claim that atheists, and particularly former Christians, are either angry at Christians or were mistreated by Christians in some way, and thus are angry at God and God’s earthly representatives.

I have seen the ridiculousness of this claim pointed out several times, but it keeps popping up, like an unsinkable rubber duck. The most common atheist retort is to compare the notion of God to several other mythical beings that children once believed in, but figured out were not real. “How can someone be mad at something that they do not believe exists? Are you angry at the Easter Bunny? Are you angry at Leprechauns? Are you angry at unicorns?”

That retort, while accurate, does not usually suffice. It is indeed ridiculous to feel anger toward something that you think is nonexistent, but theists often point out that there are no organized groups of Aleprechaunists out there protesting against those who believe in Leprechauns. Another way that it is often phrase is, “If you don’t believe in God, then why do you spend so much time talking and arguing about him?”

Are atheists blind or stupid or what?

Implied within all of these charges and misconceptions is the idea that atheists actually do know there is God, but chose for a variety of reasons to ignore this knowledge. In all honesty, I understand this reaction. To a religious person, God is blatantly self-evident. They see the hand of God in everything from a beautiful forest to a baby’s smile to the warm feeling inside they get when they pray to their holy Bible. To ignore such evidence must seem to them like nothing short of willful ignorance.

In an attempt to explain that atheists are not ignoring evidence, but actually see none, MystryBox has made a very interesting video called, “Are Atheists Blind or Stupid or What?”

In the video, MystryBox gives us a thought experiment. Imagine two worlds: one with a God who is objectively apparent, equally as obvious to every person just as the Sun is equally obvious, and one where there is no God and life arose through natural processes, but out of the desire for a God several religions spring up with conflicting opinions and evidences for their faiths. In the first world, religious people would be the ones accurately observing nature. In the second world, atheists would be those accurately observing nature.

Even if a God exists, the world we inhabit appears to be nearer to the second world. There certainly is not an objectively apparent God. MystryBox asks us to consider that if our world is not like the second world, how is it different? How is our world empirically (that’s the key word) different from a world with no God? The second world is how atheists view our world, and we are doing the best we can to observe it honestly and accurately. There is no willful ignorance involved, and certainly no bitterness or anger.

So why do we spend so much time talking about God, something we do not believe exists, if we really don’t secretly hate him? After all, theists are right, there aren’t any Aleprechaunists. But there might be if suddenly a group of Leprechaunists took vocally to the streets and began evangelizing the Truth of Erin. Atheist communities exist because of the vocal and aggressive nature of theists, and their pervasiveness in our culture. For example, if religion was more like knitting, as PZ Myers as pointed out, we would not be having this conversation. Knitting is a practice which gives many people peace and comfort. Knitters get together in circles and clubs to talk about their hobby and enjoy communion with one another, but they do not believe that knitting is the only way to achieve peace or comfort and they do not believe that if other people do not take up a pair of knitting needles they will be punished for eternity. If religion was a personal pursuit, enjoyed by many but not pushed upon the rest of the population, then there would not be a need for a large and vocal atheistic and agnostic community. If I did not feel like coming out an as atheist to my friends and family would ostracize me from their society and change their opinion of me forever, I would not be an atheist blogger. We are a reaction to you, not your God.

Lousy Christians

The atheist community does exist as a counter reaction to the theistic community and their evangelizing efforts, but it is a misconception to think that atheists are atheists just because they do not like religious people or are angry with them. When I was dialoging with a Christian not long ago, they said to me regarding my de-conversion, “It sounds like it was lousy Christians that have changed your view.” It is a charge that I have heard many times before, but in this particular instance it was completely out of the blue. I was not discussing the reasons for my de-conversion or my previous experiences with the church (which was overwhelmingly positive, by the way). I was actually only pointing out that the purpose of the de-Conversion website was not “campaigning for atheism” as the person had claimed, but a place for former Christians to share their experiences. It matter little what I was saying though, because the Christian had already formed this misconception of me in their mind.

I have read dozens of de-conversion stories, and while the hypocrisy of the church is often a contributing factor, I have never heard of a former Christian blaming other Christians for their decision to become an atheist, yet this theistic explanation for atheism is incredibly popular and often used. Aside from the fact that such a reason would be incredibly intellectually weak, your average former Christian understands very thoroughly that Christians, even according to their own beliefs, are just as flawed as any other humans. As the saying goes, “Christians are not perfect, just forgiven.” As a Bible-believing Christian, it was not watching the actions of “lousy Christians” that convinced me that God was not real, but contrasting the claims made within that book with reality. In fact, just in my own personal experience, I have encountered very few “lousy Christians.” Christians are some of my favorite people. They are my parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, life-long friends, and teachers who shaped my life. Almost every person in my life who I really love and who really matters to me is a Christian. If I was so angry with Christians or hated them as a group, how could I enjoy spending time with my family as much as I do? To be honest, when I was a Christian, and even a skeptical Christian, I found very little fault with my Christian family’s behavior. It was only through the lens of my new worldview that I have come to criticise them, but even still, I love them and think they are good people.

Atheists do not hate God, but we do not hate Christians either. For most of us, like me, Christians are our family and friends. We think that, on average, Christians are good people who should be allowed to practice their faith as they see fit. When we do get a bit angry and begin to organize and react is when Christians attempt to encroach upon our rights, or call us immoral, or say that we are not fit for public office, or should not even be considered US citizens. When we are disparaged, we will react. If you are tired of seeing us “mean” “grouchy” atheists all over the news, if you are sick of our buses and billboards, then perhaps you should consider scaling down your own displays of belief.

A recent example of “angry” atheists in the public eye is the Christmas display debacle in Washington where a sign was placed in the state capitol building, near a nativity scene and a Christmas tree that read, “At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” The sign was deemed everything from rude to inappropriate, and atheists were labeled as Grinches and bitter curmudgeons attempting to take away the joy of the holiday from the religious. Not surprisingly, these criticisms missed the point. The sign was not put up out of meanness or a desire to ruin Christmas for Christians, but as a way to protest the fact that religious displays of any sort were being allowed inside a government building. The sign was posted by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, not the Atheists Who Hate Fun Holidays Commission. The sign was meant to point out that if one religious view is allowed to be expressed on government property, then according to the constitution, all religious views should be allowed equal expression. The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s hope is not for there to be an atheist sign next to every nativity scene, but for the outrage caused by the sign to inspire government officials to think twice about sponsoring ANY sort of religious expression within their institutions.

None of the above.

Atheists do not hate God, because it is simply silly to hate something you do not believe exists. We do not feel abandoned  by God or bitter because of his treatment of us, we just simply look at the world and see no evidence that he was ever there. We do not blame the actions of Christians for the apparent non-existence of the God they support. We are organized and vocal not because we hate Christians or want to take away religion, because of the organized and vocal proponents of religion who would force their ideas upon everyone else and who insist that those who do not agree with them are immoral.