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Thank you so much for your analysis! As happens so many times with you, I believe you once again have "hit the nail on the head."

I just don't understand why some people hate God so much, as this Lewis Beck seems to do.

Or to put it another way, people are frequently not-Muslim, not-Buddist etc. but rarely does it satisfy them to be not-Christian. Many actually become anti-Christ.

So in their own malignity they confirm the Word and our Christian faith. It is altogether an amazing thing to observe!

From my point of view, there is vitriolic contempt by many for all things Christ - even among people on this forum for whom I have deep affection and otherwise highly regard. The malevolence is highly directed (as the Bible prophesied) - we don't see such contempt for Buddha, Mohammed, etc. Or to put it another way, people are frequently not-Muslim, not-Buddist etc. but rarely does it satisfy them to be not-Christian. Many actually become anti-Christ.

Don't overlook the obvious. No one is posting quotes from the Koran or the Teachings of Buddha here. If they did, I have no doubt that they would receive the same treatment and for the same reasons (hint: it's not "hate").

Speaking for myself only, I don't "hate god." I also don't hate the easter bunny, the tooth fairy, santa claus, the Loch Ness Monster, the abominable snowman, Thor, Vishnu, Ra, Yahweh Ben Yahweh, Zeus... you get my point. I can not hate something I firmly believe never existed.

I assure you, if I lived in a muslim nation, or any other country in which a predominant religion muddled the minds of men, I would direct most of my criticism upon that particular religion's followers. It just so happens I live in the US, and fundamentalist and evangelical christians are the most vocal religious group here.

If your religion comforts you, good. I would never want to take that away from you. I simply speak out when (in this thread's case) a christian worldview (ie. creationism) interferes with learning and real science. The solution is simple: Keep religion in places of worship. Is that so difficult?

By the way, I often find the convenience of christianity compelling. That is, whatever comes down the pike can be twisted and refined to fit the so-called prophesies. Fascinating.

Or to put it another way, people are frequently not-Muslim, not-Buddist etc. but rarely does it satisfy them to be not-Christian. Many actually become anti-Christ.

Oh, the mysteries of the human heart, A-G! What you describe here seems to be a very ancient human problem; for the Greeks, the Romans, and the Jews all had terms for it. Plato called it anoia, which loosely translates as "a flight from reason," or as nosos, a pathological state of consciousness. Aristotle called it nosemos -- same thing. The Jews called a man in the grip of this "disorder" a nabal, which is usually translated as "fool," but the word means far more than that, for it carries the idea of a conscious rejection of what is good. Cicero's aspernatio rationalis captures the idea of the rejection of, or contempt for reason. The Greeks, Romans, and Jews were in agreement that such is a pathological state, a sickness of the psyche: for to them, to reject the divine ground of the reality in which one has his place is just plain nutz.

Looking at our society today, I gather we have a raging epidemic of anoia on our hands! It's everywhere, even here at FR.... IMHO. FWIW.