Perhaps you’ve seen the firestorm of coverage regarding U.S. Congressman Todd Akin’s (Missouri-R) comments on a Family Research Council radio show. In case you missed it, Akin said:

“at the heart of liberalism, really, is a hatred for God and a belief that government should replace God.”

The use of the word “hatred” seems kind of silly. Those liberals who are atheists don’t hate God; they simply don’t believe in Him/Her/It. It’s illogical to hate something you don’t think exists. And those liberals who do believe feel much the same way as believing Christians. Just another example of trying to get people all riled up over nothing.

Others agree. Rabbi Jim Bennett of Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis was “deeply disturbed” by Akin’s “grotesque politicized attack.” The Rev. Krista Taves of Emerson Unitarian Universalist Chapel in Ellisville, Missouri, said that Akin’s comment:

“shows how very little he knows about liberals, and how very little he knows about God. I’m a liberal because I love God and all God’s creation. I value equality, fairness and compassionate justice because my faith informs my politics.”