People testify that they would freely reject God (e.g. Satanists,1 many New Atheists2). This is relevant because if a person testifies that they would reject God, even if they were theist, then they are probably correct in their assessment.
Lots of people throughout history, called “misotheists,” have believed in God and nevertheless hated God.1 This is relevant because in their hatred of God, they obviously refrained from accepting loving relationship with God.
• Bernard Schweizer (English professor at Long Island University): “Until today, therefore, elaborations on the theme of God-hatred have typically taken the form of literary explorations, whether it be Elie Wiesel's play The Trial of God (1979), Philip Pullman's fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials (1995-2000), or James Morrow's Blameless in Abaddon (1996). All three stories provide shelter for the rather shocking hypothesis that God is guilty of gross negligence, dishonorable conduct, and criminal behavior. In fact, this hypothesis is the basis of God-hatred.” [Hating God: The Untold Story of Misotheism (Oxford, 2011), 5-6.]
• Rebecca West (Prominent author, journalist, and literary critic): “A strong hatred is the best lamp to bear in our hands as we go over the dark places of life, cutting away the dead things men tell us to revere.” [A famous article of hers for The Freewoman]
• Zora Neale Hurston (Folklorist, anthroplogist, author): “All gods who receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshiped. Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for alters and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood.” [Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), 145.]
Consider one famous novelist who attributes the following to one of his characers (Maurice Bendrix) who has an affair, a character who is based on the own novelist and his own affair:
>• Graham Green (British novelist): [Maurice:] “take us up to a high place and offer us the whole universe. You're a devil, God, tempting us to leap. But I don't want Your peace and I don't want Your love. I wanted something very simple and very easy: I wanted Sarah for a lifetime and You took her away. With Your great schemes You ruin our happiness like a harvester ruins a mouse's nest: I hate You, God, I hate You as though You existed.” [The End of an Affair (1981), 159.]