From George Carlin:

"In any decently run universe, God would have been thrown out on his ass for incompetence."

ask him if he thinks you're a good person. then ask him why a good god would send a good person to hell.

g

Good points !

I like to use a FB meme I saw a while back, saying : Since humans began , they have created over 4000 gods. And for each one, there were/are people who believed in them absolutely, without any doubt.

That alone proves to me that man created god(s), not the other way around !

Even an average person could think of ways to create a better world than their so-called all-powerful god . . . . . . one would have to conclude that their god was a complete idiot after looking at the evidence . . . .

What god would create sentient beings that, in order to survive, must kill and eat other sentient beings? Only an idiot god would think of such stupidity.

What god would do something parents would never do? Namely, condemning their children to eternal suffering . . . . .

Their god takes the grand prize for his consistent stupidity . . . .

I would ask him how can he believe in a god that is so cruel it would create a place of eternal punishment for tiny, finite, imperfect beings that it supposedly loves. And, let him know that the Jews of the OT, and those of today, did not, and do not believe in Hell. If this god created such a place, why did it wait until the Christians came along to start threatening people with it?

Oh I would have such fun with this. Here is my advice:

1.) Get some of those all black contact lenses that cover your eyes.

2.) Choose a death metal group of your choice. I'd choose the Jesus and Mary Chain. Even though they are really old school alternative white boys, the name is intimidating.

3.) Get a pet goat. Bring it around with you everywhere you go.

4.) Get some friends to dress like witches and say they are your cult followers.

5.) Let your brother know that he will be your first human sacrifice. Or you will transfer his soul into the goat . Either works.

That should get him to stop talking to you for a little bit.

You did a splendid job there my friend.

"...means it in a nice way." No. No, he doesn't. Without a shred of evidence, he believes in, and even worships, a being so elusive that its existence can't be proven, while also believing that this being consigns good people to eternal torture for the "crime" of not believing it exists. How can anybody do that "in a nice way?" That's just plain assholery.

Welcome to the asylum. Enjoy your stay.

Nice comeback.
Well done.

Most such people don't really care about your immortal soul.

My brother turned a conversation with my wife into an opportunity to witness to her. Without missing a beat, she said, "you know, that makes perfect sense" and changed the subject. He was completely satisfied.

Your mileage may vary of course, but you would be surprised how little genuine care is behind witnessing, which is really more of an obligation, particularly to those you think you have significant influence over. The less impertinent ones are actually relieved if you just acknowledge them and let them off the hook for awhile.

Sometimes I like to tell folks who say I will go to Hell that I'm looking forward to getting to greet all the hypocritical, self righteous evangelicals with their look of shock and dismay for not having acted in a christian manner.

A deity that tolerates a hell in its "perfect" creation and sends people there to be tortured in fire for eternity for not believing in that deity is not a God, but a Devil. Your brother's understanding of God is faulty if he attributes that viciousness to it. God would not send anyone to hell.

Just ignore him and walk away. Pointless wasting energy on idiots. Why they say you should never argue with stupid people, as you will never win.

They're idiots.
Not born stupid or slow, they simply choose not to think.

Personally I would have hit him with the passages that where god says"I create good and evil." Good luck saying I "took that out of context".

I got the beating of my budding growth into Agnosticism from getting kicked out of Confirmation class. I said to the instructor " Lets see if I have it straight. I do all these things I don't want to do, and don't do things I would like to do, and in return the exact same awful shit happens to me that happens to other people." If there is a god, why would I try to attract the attention of a cruel madman in the sky? I don't see god saving people from natural disasters. I don't see god in babies with cancer. My father saw differently, provoking his rage. That's when I quit crying, I'd grit my teeth and cook some rage.

I would simply thank him for his concern on your behalf, but tell him to an unbeliever like you there is no heaven or hell, so it’s all nonsensical.

Thank him for concern but tell him it's your problem. Simple and should be effective.

Hell wouldn't be so bad, from all accounts. For one thing, the Devil's supposedly got all the best musicians.

if heaven were all its cracked up to be wouldn't every day need to be better than the last? every hamburger better then the last, every joke, every orgasm, every sunset or whatever. otherwise forever would be miserably perfect.

reminded of samuel clemons: "you go to heaven for the climate and hell for the company."

Ask him why he has no personal things to worry about?

Christianity is a bad joke. Yhwh isn't available for comment.

Glad you found something that works

Likely we all deal with someone like that in the family....... I have always tried to avoid any discussion, I do not engage. Yes, I dodge the bullet every time and it does work. It's just the easier way out for everyone's sanity and peace of mind. Anyhow, works for me. IamNot confrontational for those type of things.

Stop deflecting and just admit you’re going to hell you heathen.