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Hi, I’m Al. I’m an atheist. I believe that God and gods are superstition and do not exist.

Fear is incredibly useful tool for persuading others to your views. It’s really convincing to tell a population of people that there is an imminent danger that is going to personally affect them, and that you alone have the cure they need. They might suspect you’re full of crap, but can they really take that chance?

Unfortunately, telling people to go to hell is kind of rude. Because religion doesn’t have the dominating power it once had and religious tolerance is in, people tend to look down on those who use outright fear tactics.

As such, here are five ways you can threaten someone with eternal damnation, without the nasty side effect of looking like a bigoted jerk.

The Mafia Method

“I’m worried about what will happen to you later if you continue living your life like this.”

The Smart Guy Approach

“Sure, you have all these reasons and logic, smart guy. But what will you say to the lord when you die and stand before him?”

The Bribe or Bullet Guilt Trip

“Heaven is so great, and if you just accept God’s gifts and love you don’t have to worry about Hell.”

The Going To Hell By Default Argument

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Just by being human, we deserve eternal punishment unless we accept Christ.”

And, The Blunt Method

“You’re going to burn in hell, sinner.”

Of course, none of these statements is the slightest shred of evidence that God and hell are actually real, but that’s besides the point. The point of inflicting fear is to completely bypass critical thinking and induce panic. After that, people will take you up on your simple solution to prevent this horrible outcome.

All they have to do is convert to your religion, unquestioningly adopt your moral views, deprive gays of equal rights, ignore science, vote for social conservatives, give you money, and attend your religious teachings every week for the rest of their lives.

Actually, that sounds complicated. Just tell them they need to accept Christ into their hearts.

He won’t come to you, you have to invite him in. Like a vampire.

And be sure to use fear over and over again. This will make it seem like you know what you’re talking about without actually having to provide any logical reasons why what you say is true.

Like it says in Luke 12:4:

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

Fear God more than a psychotic murderer? I couldn’t have said it better myself, Jesus.

Thanks for watching.

Hi everyone. If you would like to see more examples of threatening hellfire while avoiding clear, sound reasoning that it’s actually real, just look at the comments section of whatever website you are watching this video from.