I found this interesting link which gives us people of faith a reason for heretics and atheists.
Here is the 1st paragraph:
Thank G‑d for atheists. If not for their scorn, how shallow our god would be! As one chassidic master told his disciple in reference to a certain heretic, “His heresy is closer to the truth than your faith.”
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/687840/jewish/Beyond-Heresy.htm