Hating God: The Untold Story of Misotheism

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.


Author: Bernard Schweizer
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 11/05/2010
Pages: 258
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.11lbs
Size: 9.48h x 6.37w x 0.86d
ISBN: 9780199751389

Review Citation(s):
Choice 05/01/2011
Publishers Weekly 10/11/2010 pg. 16
Chronicle of Higher Education 11/12/2010 pg. 21

About the Author

Bernard Schweizer is Associate Professor of English at Long Island University. He is the author of Rebecca West: Heroism, Rebellion, and the Female Epic and Radicals on the Road: The Politics of English Travel Writing in the 1930s.

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