A believer recently told me that I was ‘going to hell’ – not because of something I did (even though there are enough crimes listed in the bible that would make me a prime candidate for that journey: for example, I work Sundays), but because of something I am not: religious.

All the urgency and obvious distress my friend was having notwithstanding, I wasn’t overtly concerned. I really like her, and usually heed her advice. But when you threaten an atheist with hell, it’s even less effective than when a child threatens to persuade the bogeyman to eat you tonight.

Now, unfortunately I’m also not diplomatic.

So I encountered hell there and then.