In re Christopher Hitchens and God

Christopher Hitchens is at the center of the atheist universe this week. Not only does he have a new book out on the matter of God, but he also had ample opportunity to empty his bowels of some of his anger and hatred towards God and man with the passing of Jerry Falwell. As far as I'm concerned, Hitchens can waste his energies and his passions any way he wants, including by hating God and God's followers. What I do not understand about Hitchens and other atheists of his ilk is their deep, personal animosity towards something they do not believe to exist. It is a vibrant hatred that most people can only summon for the real and the tactile. It is an emotional hatred that is not disconnected from its subject, but deeply invested in it. In a lot of ways, that hatred is just as irrational as Hitchens and his ilk consider faith and belief to be themselves.