--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once, when a religionist denounced me in…" description: "\"Once, when a religionist denounced me in unmeasured terms, I sent him a card saying, \"I am sure you believe that I will go to hell when I die, and that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2e/isaac-asimov-309_believe_once-when-a-religionist-denounced-me-in_612971.jpg" --- # Once, when a religionist denounced me in unmeasured terms… ![“Once, when a religionist denounced me in unmeasured terms, I sent him a card saying, "I am sure you believe that I will go to hell when I die, and that once there I will suffer all the pains and tortures the sadistic ingenuity of your deity can devise and that this torture will continue forever…” quote by Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2e/isaac-asimov-309_believe_once-when-a-religionist-denounced-me-in_612971.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2e/isaac-asimov-309_believe_once-when-a-religionist-denounced-me-in_612971.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2e/isaac-asimov-309_believe_once-when-a-religionist-denounced-me-in_612971.jpg) > “Once, when a religionist denounced me in unmeasured terms, I sent him a card saying, "I am sure you believe that I will go to hell when I die, and that once there I will suffer all the pains and tortures the sadistic ingenuity of your deity can devise and that this torture will continue forever. Isn't that enough for you? Do you have to call me bad names in addition?"” [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Challenging religious condemnation with sarcasm exposes its absurdity and forces self‑reflection. **In simple terms:** Mocking harsh judgments reveals their emptiness. Key Takeaway Use humor to confront bigotry. Themes religion criticism humor Mood critical satirical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - public debates - online forums - personal arguments Key Concepts skepticism dialogue ethics Questions to Reflect On - Can humor change someone's belief? - When is sarcasm ineffective? A Different Perspective Sarcasm may alienate and reduce constructive dialogue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deities/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Ingenuity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ingenuity/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) ## Related quotes > [You know what the true definition of hell is? It's when you die, you get to meet the person you could have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mir/you-know-what-the-true-definition-of-hell-is-it-s-when-you-die-you/) [Frank Mir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mir/) > [Am I going to go to Heaven or Hell when I die? No. Is there going to be a second coming, and people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-hunter/am-i-going-to-go-to-heaven-or-hell-when-i-die-no-is-there-going-to-be/) [Holly Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-hunter/) > [I'll follow thee and make a heaven of hell, To die upon the hand I love so well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-ll-follow-thee-and-make-a-heaven-of-hell-to-die-upon-the-hand-i/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“But we'll get up, and go through hell again. Because we will die, but we'll die unbroken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-5th-wave/but-we-ll-get-up-and-go-through-hell-again-because-we-will-die-but-we/) The 5th Wave > [There is no Hell when you die so don't look so worried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/there-is-no-hell-when-you-die-so-don-t-look-so-worried/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [And if joy were not on the earth, There were an end of change and birth, And Earth and Heaven and Hell would die,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/and-if-joy-were-not-on-the-earth-there-were-an-end-of-change-and/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Life is hell, then you die, that's why I get so high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-hell-then-you-die-that-s-why-i-get-so-high/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Maybe we'll never reach that perfect zenith you imagine in your dreams, but I sure as hell will die trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fab-moretti/maybe-we-ll-never-reach-that-perfect-zenith-you-imagine-in-your/) [Fab Moretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fab-moretti/) > [Thus it is in hell; they would die, but they cannot. The wicked shall be always dying but never dead; the smoke of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-watson/thus-it-is-in-hell-they-would-die-but-they-cannot-the-wicked-shall-be/) [Thomas Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-watson/) > [The lives God gives to us, the awful things we can’t escape from. Sometimes I think that sort of God would enjoy making hell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/the-lives-god-gives-to-us-the-awful-things-we-can-t-escape-from/) [C.J. Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/) > [“What the hell. You die. Everybody dies. So you die healthy. So what?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-cornwell/what-the-hell-you-die-everybody-dies-so-you-die-healthy-so-what/) [Patricia Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-cornwell/) > [“Now you will know the real hell. Not the one you go to after you die. This is the one you go before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwei-quartey/now-you-will-know-the-real-hell-not-the-one-you-go-to-after-you-die/) [Kwei Quartey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwei-quartey/) > [Hell no. When I die I want to be sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abe-lemons/hell-no-when-i-die-i-want-to-be-sick/) [Abe Lemons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abe-lemons/) > [If I don't believe in Jesus, maybe I don't believe in Hell. Did you ever think of that? You're so excited about it, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kindler/if-i-don-t-believe-in-jesus-maybe-i-don-t-believe-in-hell-did-you/) [Andy Kindler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kindler/) > [You have told me, O God, to believe in hell. But you have forbidden me to think...of any man as damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/you-have-told-me-o-god-to-believe-in-hell-but-you-have-forbidden-me/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) ## More by Isaac Asimov > [The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-strain-of-anti-intellectualism-has-been-a-constant-thread-winding/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Uncertainty that comes from knowledge (knowing what you don't know) is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/uncertainty-that-comes-from-knowledge-knowing-what-you-don-t-know-is/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Don't you see? 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Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Once, when a religionist denounced me in unmeasured terms, I sent him a card saying, \"I am sure you believe that I will go to hell when I die, and that once there I will suffer all the pains and tortures the sadistic ingenuity of your deity can devise and that this torture will continue forever. Isn't that enough for you? 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