Hating God

Download or read book Hating God written by Bernard Schweizer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-11-04 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While atheists such as Richard Dawkins have now become public figures, there is another and perhaps darker strain of religious rebellion that has remained out of sight--people who hate God. In this revealing book, Bernard Schweizer looks at men and women who do not question God's existence, but deny that He is merciful, competent, or good. Sifting through a wide range of literary and historical works, Schweizer finds that people hate God for a variety of reasons. Some are motivated by social injustice, human suffering, or natural catastrophes that God does not prevent. Some blame God for their personal tragedies. Schweizer concludes that, despite their blasphemous thoughts, these people tend to be creative and moral individuals, and include such literary lights as Friedrich Nietzsche, Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston, Rebecca West, Elie Wiesel, and Philip Pullman. Schweizer shows that literature is a fertile ground for God haters. Many authors, who dare not voice their negative attitude to God openly, turn to fiction to give vent to it. Indeed, Schweizer provides many new and startling readings of literary masterpieces, highlighting the undercurrent of hatred for God. Moreover, by probing the deeper mainsprings that cause sensible, rational, and moral beings to turn against God, Schweizer offers answers to some of the most vexing questions that beset human relationships with the divine.

Download or read book May I Hate God? written by Pierre Wolff and published by Paulist Press. This book was released on 1979 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "For anyone who is seriously interested in developing a spiritual life, this is an important book. ...one that can open large areas of our soul to the loving touch of God. .....The main question of this book, ..... touches the very center of our spiritual struggle. I would not be surprised if hostility, anger, resentment and hatred proved to be the greatest stumbling blocks to our spiritual growth....... [from back cover]

Download or read book Hating God written by Bernard Schweizer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-11-04 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While atheists such as Richard Dawkins have now become public figures, there is another and perhaps darker strain of religious rebellion that has remained out of sight--people who hate God. In this revealing book, Bernard Schweizer looks at men and women who do not question God's existence, but deny that He is merciful, competent, or good. Sifting through a wide range of literary and historical works, Schweizer finds that people hate God for a variety of reasons. Some are motivated by social injustice, human suffering, or natural catastrophes that God does not prevent. Some blame God for their personal tragedies. Schweizer concludes that, despite their blasphemous thoughts, these people tend to be creative and moral individuals, and include such literary lights as Friedrich Nietzsche, Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston, Rebecca West, Elie Wiesel, and Philip Pullman. Schweizer shows that literature is a fertile ground for God haters. Many authors, who dare not voice their negative attitude to God openly, turn to fiction to give vent to it. Indeed, Schweizer provides many new and startling readings of literary masterpieces, highlighting the undercurrent of hatred for God. Moreover, by probing the deeper mainsprings that cause sensible, rational, and moral beings to turn against God, Schweizer offers answers to some of the most vexing questions that beset human relationships with the divine.

Download or read book God Hates Fags written by Michael Cobb and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, the author maintains that religious discourses have curiously figured as some of the most potent and pervasive forms of queer expression and activism throughout the twentieth century. He focuses on how queers have assumed religious rhetoric strategically to respond to the violence done against them.

Download or read book God Hates Abuse written by Robin Mullins Senger and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-01-14 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "God hates divorce!" Christian wives frequently hear this first part of Malachi 2:16 as though the institution of marriage trumps the lives wrapped up in it. Rarely quoted is the second part of the verse, which says, "along with the one who conceals his violence by outward appearances." Christian wives often think they must choose between two grim options: endure abuse or face condemnation by God for not obeying the Bible. As a result, guilt, despair, internal conflict and heartache cloak every moment as they cling to survival, trying to please both God and their husband. The future looks hopeless, and their identity and value obscured. Children grow up as secondary victims of domestic abuse, desensitized to God's ways and primed to continue the cycle of abuse as adults. Drawing from her own experience married to a dangerously abusive "Christian" man, Robin explores the common reluctance of Christian wives to leave their marriage. After fleeing her own marriage, Robin suffered from guilt and confusion as to whether God approved of her actions or not, and if she could divorce. After months of Bible study and reading the works of respected theologians and Christian leaders on the topic, she realized that in leaving her abusive marriage she had actually come into alignment with God's will. Robin understands the mentality and nature of abuse that drives these spiritually destructive marriages. She draws from a deep well of biblical insight and practical experience to give wives the tools necessary to be set free and live a life of hope, clarity and faith. God Hates Abuse is a biblically liberating and refreshing resource for Christian wives. It offers a lifeline out of the darkness of abuse and spiritual condemnation. Victims of spousal abuse will find this book validating, encouraging and healing, regardless if they are bound by their abuser or by errant teaching from the church.

Download or read book Hating God, Loving God written by A. K. Davies and published by A. K. Davies. This book was released on 2021-07-20 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hating God, Loving God presents the author's graphic and painful memories of being raised in a secretive, abusive, and manipulative cult, and how his childhood sufferings spilled over into a troubled adolescence and a deeply disturbed adulthood. In throwing off the lies told to him by the cult's elders, he also threw away any sense of God's love and mercy. His pain, fuelled by a hatred of God, whom he blamed for all his troubles, turned him into a bully, a petty thief, and, but for the grace of God, a murderer. Somehow, he survived adolescence, got an education, and set out on the road to making money, believing that the accumulation of possessions was the only thing that would earn him respect. But his pain persisted, and he sought relief in all the wrong places. Even the unexpected love of a good woman was not enough to take away the pain. Adrift in an ocean of despair, he decided to commit suicide. It was only then when he was at his lowest point that he was ready to accept a truth he had persistently denied: the truth that God loved him. After giving my life to Jesus Christ, who transformed him and renewed his soul, he went from hating God to loving God.

Download or read book Jesus > Religion written by Jefferson Bethke and published by HarperChristian + ORM. This book was released on 2013-10-14 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abandon dead, dry, religious rule-keeping and embrace the promise of being truly known and deeply loved. Jefferson Bethke burst into the cultural conversation with a passionate, provocative poem titled "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus." The 4-minute video became an overnight sensation, with 7 million YouTube views in its first 48 hours (and 23+ million in a year). Bethke's message clearly struck a chord with believers and nonbelievers alike, triggering an avalanche of responses running the gamut from encouraged to enraged. In his New York Times bestseller Jesus > Religion, Bethke unpacks similar contrasts that he drew in the poem--highlighting the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair, and hope. With refreshing candor, he delves into the motivation behind his message, beginning with the unvarnished tale of his own plunge from the pinnacle of a works-based, fake-smile existence that sapped his strength and led him down a path of destructive behavior. Along the way, Bethke gives you the tools you need to: Humbly and prayerfully open your mind Understand Jesus for all that he is View the church from a brand-new perspective Bethke is quick to acknowledge that he's not a pastor or theologian, but simply an ordinary, twenty-something who cried out for a life greater than the one for which he had settled. On this journey, Bethke discovered the real Jesus, who beckoned him with love beyond the props of false religion. Praise for Jesus > Religion: "Jeff's book will make you stop and listen to a voice in your heart that may have been drowned out by the noise of religion. Listen to that voice, then follow it--right to the feet of Jesus." --Bob Goff, author of New York Times bestsellers Love Does and Everybody, Always "The book you hold in your hands is Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz meets C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity meets Augustine's Confessions. This book is going to awaken an entire generation to Jesus and His grace." --Derwin L. Gray, lead pastor of Transformation Church, author of Limitless Life: Breaking Free from the Labels That Hold You Back