Hell is not the threat you think it is

Got another email from my friend:

well if all you're going to do it spout off the commonly heard atheirst cliches, without even reading the material at the site I showed you, then there's no point wasting time with you. you clearly WANT to believe in no God, and one day soon you'll find out just how wrong you are.
sorry i wasted your time

One day soon? Cool. Anyways, my response:

I thought it was you who was spouting cliches. I did read the material on the site. In fact, someone sent me the link before. So it if it is your site, congratulations; you may not be reaching atheists, but other Christians seem to find it useful. (I suspect it is not yours, since I doubt if you were Michael Caputo that you would use jbooks email.) In any case, if you want to see a proper response to each of your/his points, I am happy to do so. It would take at least 18 emails. I have a life and a job, so I couldn't do it right away.

Also, you might want to consider the fact that most other religions make similar absolute claims. You and I might well end up in Muslim hell together, or perhaps have this same argument in another life. Perhaps in both cases, we'll be friends. In other words, your bifurcation of the world into Christians and everyone else seems to suggest that you need to get out more. You may be less willing to condemn fewer people to hell if you get to know them.

Otherwise, I accept your apology for wasting my time. And yes, I WANT to believe there is no God. If he exists, I want to go to hell. Only there can I spend an eternity saying "no!" to Him. Why? If he exists, he has permitted the greatest evils in this world to continue. If he were just apathetic, I could forgive him. But since almost all religions claim that he does intervene in human events (i.e., miracles) from time to time, he is culpable for what goes on here. He could have stopped the holocaust for example, but he did not. He could have stopped a baby from burning to death in a car crash, but didn't. He could have stopped 9/11, but didn't. He could have created a world without cancer, but didn't Even if he makes it "right" later, justice delayed is justice denied. (I.e., how long does a Muslim girl have to spend in heaven for her to feel good about being gang-raped to death in Bosnia in the 1990s by Serbian Christians, who presumably asked for forgiveness and are in heaven with her. Or is she in hell?) I don't think God exists, but if he does, I want to be as far away from him as possible. If you are right, hell is were I want to be.

Is there any point in debating him/her? This is my issue with the New Atheists. Must we become missionaries, adopting the very methods of those who despise us so much? I hope not.