When something strikes you funny, you laugh. It's a reflex.

She was completely out of line with you, why should you give her any respect in return?
Laughing in her face seems totally appropriate.

I hate to say it - but you were possibly in the wrong. I don't know the history in the relationship - but (whileI surely understand the motivation) we never win an argument by belittling. The first step to opening any dialogue is acceptance (at some level). By laughing in their face, you shut down the possibility of having a deeper discussion.

You may never have been able to have that discussion, depending on the person; but that should be their decision - not one you made by ridicule.

Not judging - under the right circumstance (which we don't know) I may have done the same thing

Ask as Jesus did...
"Who are you to judge.....?"

Understandable but not very nice really. But Hell sometimes you've just got to hand out some poo

My family considers me a lost soul. I consider their beliefs to be typical for people world wide. They find comfort in having answers. Their answers are provided by the Bible. If they question the answers, they have not done so to my knowledge. I would rather be unsure and accurate than being led around by unproved dogma. They don't understand my position but that's alright. They don't possess the ability to get outside the box.

It's natural to laugh at the ridiculous. It seems that those who place faith in a shared delusion can't seem to get that though they have faith does not mean everyone has to have faith in it.

I don't think you were wrong. I laugh at things I find ridiculous.

I do the same thing when I'm told that I can't possibly have morals since I'm an atheist; or when they state the Earth is 6000 years old. It may be wrong, but sometimes you just can't help yourself.

Sometimes the absurdity of peoples ignorance can't help but give you a giggle or two. I just normally smile and say pray for me . The sarcasm is lost on them, but sure makes my day.

With a comment like that atheists being lost souls i would feel bad about laughing

White evangelical Christians are mostly taught from childhood to check their brains at the church door and be obedient to old white men. Any questioning is met with condemnation. Also, they don't read the Bible they defend so religiously or they'd know that the punishment for breaking several of the Ten Commandments was death by stoning. Shoot, you were supposed to be stoned if you picked up a stick on Saturday, or talked back to your parents.

you know what's good for you. Don't listen to them.

Perhaps the question you may want to ask yourself is" Have I geven her the right to be right ". Giving someone the right to be wrong is easy, for it tells us that we are right. Rather arrogant, don't you think? Perhaps if you look st this situation from a different perspective, you may see that you may be as intolerant and " cock sure" of your position as she is hers. Sorry to burst your bubble of self assured superiority. Being open minded and relatively tolerant (or at least civil) isn't easy or fun.

If you feel that they try to insult you, just laugh. It won't help though. I think it's better is to ask questions, to let them explain, what a soul is, why they don't deny their god, etc. I'm not sure if I could in the circumstances you describe.

The world is full of theists who honestly haven't a clue about what an atheist truly is. Their own belief in god leads them to believe that atheists must also believe, but are dishonest.

Laugh in face is what's I'd do.

I've said it a million times. Reasoning with these people won't work. Laughing at them (gently) does. Once they realize we're not going to be baited, they tend to stop trying.

People have a right to believe in whatever they want....some genuinely believe there is a god....some....need comfort....and for these reason...believing in god is their comfort.....other’s I imagine....like all the prison documentaries about America’s worst crimes.....suddenly are changed souls....a long time after they have committed the terrible crime.....the part I don’t like....is when they start preaching to me....especially after I’ve told them in a very intellectual and pleasant way...that I don’t believe....

Most are so brainwashed they think that the way they do it is the only way.

She has redeeming features which is why you still call her friend?

I'd of been hard pressed to not laugh my ass off right then and there.

I think your final sentence should have stopped after the word "think".

If it helps, I like to keep Trump supporters in my FB friends lists. Not because I or they actually agree on politics but simply because I find it entertaining to find out what people in the "other camp" are saying.

laughter can derail a serious potentially thought-provoking discussion, but there's no persuading someone stuck on their own views (like the Christian lady who tried to convince me that I had to take all of the stories about Jesus in the bible literally)

No you were not wrong laughing at her face. Everybody has the right to express their opinion but they don’t have the right to control our reactions to what they say. Actually, she was pretty rude to you, and yes, they don’t think at all, period. Personal responsibility says you can say anything you want or do anything you want as long as you are willing to take the consequences of what you said or did. If she regularly says things like these outside her religious clique, you most likely are not the first one to laugh at her face.