Dear Pat Robertson:
The man who shot up that Sikh temple the other day wasn't an Atheist. We atheists don't hate god, or even the concept of god. Okay, a few of us do - some Atheists proselytize just as much as all other religions (including Christians) do - but most of us don't. I can't hate something I don't believe is there.
We did not make this lunatic do the things he did. Before you paint people you are afraid of by using guilt-by-association keep this in mind; all indications are that this idiot thought of himself as Christian, albeit so warped as to be unrecognizable. It is just as unfair to paint you in his light using guilt-by-association as it is for you to do the same to me.
I once read an interview with a musician named Mick Jones, who played guitar and sang for The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite, and Big Audio Dynamite II. He said in the interview that he had an epiphany that allowed him to get his life in order. He had gone through most of his life thinking that everyone around him were assholes, simply because of how he felt they treated him. What he came to realize that was EVERYONE treated him the same, and that they weren't being assholes, but the he himself was. Coming to this realization allowed him to come to peace with former band-mates and friends, and in his own words allowed him to be happy for the first time.
You are often referred to as a man of faith and leadership, yet virtually every Christian I know repeatedly has to tell me that your views are not representative of theirs. Is it more likely that all of them are wrong, or just you?
There will eventually come a day that according to your own beliefs you will meet judgement at the foot of God. Although I am an Atheist, I actually hope that this is true. I also actually hope that you get your shit together before that happens. Because based upon what I know about your religion, and I have read your book cover to cover, you're not going to be happy with where you wind up.
Mr. Robertson, I wish you no ill will. I hope that your "day of reckoning" is as far off as possible. The odds are that you and I will never meet face-to-face and I think we're both just fine with that arrangement. Given that you have shown a repeated history of making incendiary comments that my Christian friends repeatedly disavow I imagine that a meeting between you and I would be unpleasant for everyone.
But for the record, Mr. Robertson, I don't hate god. I DO however, hate you