Why do you hate God?

[johndoe122931]

Didn't read the whole thing.

To answer the thread title, you can't hate what you don't believe in.

You can hate the organisation that has sprung up around it, that claims to follow it, and that acts in its name.

You can also hate those who claim to speak for it, and, to a degree, those who follow them.

Example:

I don't hate "god".  I simply don't believe it exists.

I do hate the Catholic church for all it has done, and continues to do, to keep itself in influence, wealth, and comfort.

I hate the priests and the nuns who have systematically abused children and others, enforcing racist doctrines against native peoples around the world, and have held back science and learning for hundreds of years.

I hate the leaders of the church for covering up and protecting pedo priests and abusers throughout the world, who perpetuate and celebrate hideous individuals like "mother" Theresa, who stop women from gaining influence withon their boys' club.

And, in many ways, I hate the followers who see these excesses, these abuses, and still blindly follow this outdated organisation or, worse, who support and abet them.

Good morning Valkyrie,

Thank you for your response. I was curious so as to not assume, are the examples you give personally your thoughts and feelings on the subject? The question is Why do you hate God? And your answer is that you don't hate God because he doesn't exist you just hate the individuals that follow the doctrine more specifically the catholic church and the things that they do to people. Sorry, I'm trying to understand and word this as carefully as possible.

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Thank you for your response I really appreciate it and your honesty.

No problem! And I'm sorry if I came across as critical of your wording. 

One thing you can see already from the replies: Although an atheist doesn't believe in any gods at all, many atheists associate the word "God" with something very specific. They have a very clear picture of what the God who doesn't exist is like. 

I'm reminded of a conversation I heard years ago, between two little kids who were learning English as a second language:
"Is there a gorilla in this room?"
"No there isn't."
"What is it like?"
"..."

So a lot of atheists learned about a specific view of God when they were kids, and that's what they think of. I've been told flat out that I shouldn't talk on this forum about the God of Spinoza, of Jacob Boehme, of William Blake, of Simone Weil, or of Martin Buber. None of these wonderful thinkers would agree with a single item on Brian's list of things that he doesn't approve of. Yet all of them believed passionately in God. For the most part conversations on this forum remain limited to the Sunday School version of the Christian God, and the bad people who advocate it.

It means that the emotional reaction people have to your question is more rooted in personal history than in metaphysics.

Thank you so much for your understanding and patience with me. I want everybody to be as critical with me as they can or want. I know this can be a touchy subject so I will tread lightly and do my best to grasp each individual's reasoning. 

Love the example given about the two students, very interesting, I will think more about that. Thank you for your time.