This world has plenty of consequences to deal with as it is, than to push people into a fetal position with fear of afterlife-punishments. People have a difficult time with concepts about an afterlife that has never been scientifically proven to exist in the first place.

But do we really need to be in fear of fire torture, when we can clearly see that stealing is punishable by getting arrested? Not only that, but they disgrace their family, might appear in the newspaper, and isn’t all that enough to teach people? Why do we need to heap additional unproven ‘consequences’ on them?

I am a firm believer in ‘reap what you sow’, or as some call it, ‘What goes around, comes around’. I think this is a decent enough of a spiritual concept that has more validity and documented evidence than afterlife type consequences.

I don’t think it’s necessary to use superstitious stories of an invisible boogie man or any other such nonsense to be Christians. I believe in practical faith and that every day living by faith can be done with simple beliefs in the reap and sow concept. If we live by ‘love one another’, ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’, ‘with whatever measure you sow, that you will also reap’, then I believe we can do well.

If you need more than that to keep you on the straight and narrow, then you might want to consider getting a good therapist.