Under consideration is the article “Anger at God common, even among atheists,” CNN’s The Chart, January 1, 2011 AD.
For some odd reason, CNN notes that “If you’re angry at” someone “you can probably sit down and have a productive conversation about it. God, on the other hand, is probably not available to chat.” Yet, in any case “people get angry at God all the time” and they focus in a set of studies published within the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Exline, J. J., Park, C. L., Smyth, J. M., & Carey, M. P. (2011). Anger toward God: Social-cognitive predictors, prevalence, and links with adjustment to bereavement and cancer. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 129-148.
My key point is to note that, obviously, Atheism is not a mere lack of belief in god(s) but rebellion against God which is why Atheism is, primarily, an anti-Christian support group. CNN notes that “People unaffiliated with organized religion, atheists and agnostics also report anger toward God either in the past, or anger focused on a hypothetical image – that is, what they imagined God might be like – said lead study author Julie Exline, Case Western Reserve University psychologist.”
It is interesting that Atheists even focused anger on a “hypothetical image” as this means that they claim to believe that God does not exist or there is not enough evidence for God’s existence (or whatever sect or denomination of Atheism to which they adhere would claim—Atheism’s Sects) and yet, they are then angry at that which they imaging or that which they claim does not exist: this truly is delusion. Now, the actual study’s Abstract notes “Some atheists and agnostics reported anger involving God, particularly on measures emphasizing past experiences (Study 2) and images of a hypothetical God (Study 3). Anger toward God was associated with poorer adjustment to bereavement (Study 4).” Thus, it seems that such Atheists blame the God, whom they claim is not real, for events which they have not gotten over which denotes that which the article states as “distress at God is associated with mental health symptoms.”
Not surprisingly, “In studies on college students, atheists and agnostics reported more anger at God during their lifetimes than believers…It seems that more religious people are less likely to feel angry at God and more likely to see his intentions as well-meaning” which means that religious people better handle adversity both while it is occurring in thereafter.
Interestingly, “younger people tend to be angrier at God than older people” for reasons that “include rejection from preferred colleges and sports injuries preventing high schoolers from competing.” This is reminiscent of the supposed intellectual Atheist Lewis Wolper who noted, “I used to pray but I gave it up because when I asked God to help me find my cricket bat, he didn’t help.” When asked, “Right, and that was enough for you to prove that God did not exist,” he replied, “Well, yes. I just gave it up completely.” He also put it quite succinctly in admitting that he “stopped believing in God when I was 15 or 16 because he didn’t give me what I asked for” (see Some celebrity New Atheists who positively affirm God’s non-existence…).
This all seems to circle back to forgiveness as that is the manner whereby to get over anger. But forgiveness by whom and of whom? It is in order to answer such questions that I wrote the following to which I now direct the interested reader:
Forgiveness: is it God’s or humanity’s job?