Well, if your are lucky enough to think life is wonderful it’s not hard to call the I Hate God crowd nothing but a collection of angst ridden teenagers who will, in time, get over it. Still, for people who have hard lives it is immensely comforting (in much the manner that religion can be immensely comforting) to shake your fist at the sky and say “I hate You for not being there!”

In Samuel Beckett’s play Endgame Hamm Clove and Nagg all gather together to pray to God. But, even after praying very hard for a long, long time, they find that “Nothing Doing.” and then Hamm exclaims “The bastard He doesn't exist!”

A mature angst ridden person understands the humour and truth of this sentiment and I think it can do better than be mocked.

I got a fortune cookie a few weeks ago; “God gave man limited ability but unlimited ambition.” That is, we are set up to fail. We can dream of the holy, the perfect, the platonic but we will never really leave the cave.

I guess the best we can do is learn to love these shadows.

I still hate God, though, (if He’s there) for making it this way.

Now laugh at me.


Just wanted to add that it is irrational to say "I hate God because He isn't there." But for people who wish he was there having a good gaffaw about this idea helps to ease the pain of knowing that because you are too pragmatic you will never get to fully commit to the glorious sentiments expressed in gospel hymns or rituals because there is a nagging voice in your head that asks "Why?" or "How?" every time a miracle is presented.

see: Watchman, Tell Us of the Night for more on this human contradiction.