I laugh at them and tell them if that's the worst they can do, just run along and play.
Mark Twain says, “I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.”
I say, "Every atom in my body was forged in the belly of Super Nova, so hell's got to do better than that!"
Also, "IF" there is something that is going to leave my body, then torture away. I left all my nerve endings <----back there!
I use the same Mark Twain quote. I like how you added the nerve endings part....so....stealing!
I have done a number of things. I've asked if they are afraid of being judged by Anubis. I've told them "yeah, not only that but Santa won't bring me gifts, either". I've laughed. I sometimes am actually pretty calm about explaining why it would be stupid for me to worry about something I do not believe is real, but that rarely makes an impression, their eyes just glaze over and they suffer a moment of cognitive dissonance and then go on with their prattle as though it never happened.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, I leave, walk away, would not associate knowingly with anybody of that mind set.
I usually laugh it off. Although it's an extremely hateful thing to say to someone, there's just no point in arguing with someone that thinks like this!
Having defended abortion clinics in San JOse California years ago, I simply ignored the haters and the dammers . I have been threatened with damnation and called silly names like Satanic by these types. Means not a thing to me. consider the source!
I ask them what religion they believe, then with that I ask them how much time they spent following other religions (Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindi, etc). When they say they have never practiced another religion, I ask them how much arrogance you have to know you got the right one on the first try out of the 3 thousand+ others that have existed over the years. Then when they say "I just know"...I reply back that "I'm not going to hell, because I just know!" Love seeing the confusion on their faces as their jaw just sit there on the floor and that deer in headlights look glazes over their eyes!
Have you tried reasoning with a machine? Have you tried to doscuss with a computer program?
I never discuss to religous people..they are like machines wth programs in their main cpu with no thinking and analyzing ability. Then why would i bother myself
Nothing. Maybe a shrug. No biggie to me. I don't believe that stupidity. So I just move on.
Bring it on!
Then I realize they live with these fears as reality, and I feel sorry for them.
Even from a religion standpoint hell is there only for manipulation. All verses that translate to hell are Either Gethsemane, Hades or Tartarus.
Gethsemane is a garden near Jerusalem.
Hades is the afterlife of Greek Mythology.
Tartarus is Hades' basement.
So unless you are afraid of olives or Zeus, the concept is there to "scare" people into obedience. Tragic that it worked so well people still have nightmares today.
People tend to throw insults and threats that they fear themselves. Trump calls people stupid and dishonest, when he fears it is true of himself. People scream hell when they fear they will join you there.
I worry a lot more about heat from global warming than I do from hellfire.
It makes me laugh inside and feel sorry for them