Phil Robertson's point about atheists is poorly delivered but nothing new

Christianity does in fact teach that everyone, be they atheist, agnostic, deist or some other religion, are consciously or sub-consciously rebelling. Rebelling is just a word for pushing feelings away. Think of it less like telling your dad you’re running away and more like avoiding eye contact subconsciously with someone you find attractive.

This belief centers around the idea that an all-powerful benevolent God created man in his own image. And, as an all-powerful benevolent God who created man in His own image, essentially programmed us to inherently understand His existence and our morality.

Now, if you don’t believe in God, this doesn’t matter one bit to you and that’s fine. But that is what Christians believe. It’s not intended as an insult nor is it intended to paint a picture of atheists as children throwing a toy because they’re angry that they didn’t get candy.

As a Christian, it makes perfect sense to me. If God were an all-knowing and loving being who wanted what was best for everyone, which means among Christians that you spend eternity with God, then it makes perfect sense for him to lay that on the hearts of everyone. This is not a new or remotely controversial view of humanity and in one sense, this was what Phil was talking about, albeit with unnecessarily coarse language and examples.