A Standard Control System

Religion heightens our fear of death !

Is hell just a part of the standard control system?

Perhaps religion uses the fear of death as a tool to keep people ‘in line’. Http://mexic.blogspot.com/2007.03/usingthefearofhell. Here, I agree with the ex-Christian Kevin Perry that perhaps the fear of hell is implemented into religion by Christian fundamentalists, to have an orderly obedient congregation.

Yet surely this is all very anti-Christian.

After looking at various websites e.g. http://www.news-medical.net it becomes apparent that many people believe that religion can often increase ones fear of death rather than ease it, particularly if they have not followed a religious life. It results in a distinguishing comparison of extrinsic and intrinsic religious orientation.. Therefore, the message is : be religious all of your life and you will not fear death. BUT, if you choose religion at the end of your life it will make you fear death even more so.

“The findings are important, because many people mistakenly believe that bringing up the subject of religion with the elderly is helpful… when the opposite is actually true for people who are extrinsically religious“ .

I disagree:
I believe as children we have little fear of death as our naïve and innocent nature surpasses such thoughts. Yet as time progresses so do our fears in relation to what we see and hear. Images of hell are used predominately in order to heighten our fear of death, and they are thrust upon us regularly through differing mediums.

For instance, look at the film Constantine, An American film directed by Francis Lawren in 2005 http://www.constantinewarnerbros.com Starring Keanu Reeves at the anti-hero, this production is based on the comic book Hell Blazer , in which Constantine has literally been to hell and back. The image of hell given in the film is of a red fiery sky, loneliness, torture, fire, smoke, ruined buildings, burnt out cars, and chaos. For me the film depicts the very nature of the Christian ideology of hell. The imagery used is enough to make anyone fear death. A very morbid, broody and sinister outlook was given here, as Constantine battles with demons in order to prevent hell being created on earth.

Religion therefore, influenced the content of this film, which in turn influences our conception of hell, which in turn heightens our fear of death.
Religious ideology prevails not just in the cyber world but in music in art, In literature in the radio, and in film. Its influence is paramount to our condensed and often hidden and subconscious anxieties in relation to death.