Dec 22

Episode 9: Faith, Hell, and the Fear Trap

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All creative assets used under fair use.
Sam Harris Debate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqaHXKLRKzg (thought experiment is at 1:31.00)

Music in order of appearance:
Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve
Paul & Chani, From Dune Original Soundtrack (SciFi Channel Mini Series)
Promise, from Konami Kukeiha Club
Dreadnought Sideroad, by Jonathan Keevil
Bracketflower, by Jonathan Keevil
The Kiss, from Last of the Mohicans

Transcript:
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I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
- Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear, Dune

Is fear really the mind killer?

Fear is a very powerful and useful emotion. Those who evolved a strong healthy fear of snakes, spiders, darkness, large animals, and heights survived. Guns and cars kill more people than poisonous animals but we haven’t had sufficient evolutionary time to develop a natural fear of them. And that lack of fear can cost an individual dearly. In fact, it contributes to the demise of more than 60K Americans every year. We need fear.

But fear can also be a crippling emotion, and it is a destructive emotion when the level of fear is disproportionate to the actual danger. Fear causes the reptilian brain to monopolize your thoughts so that you can fully focus on evading or eliminating the danger. This provides a survival advantage, but it comes with annoying side effects – especially considering that we live in a relatively safe world compared to that of our ancestors.

Although no-one likes to admit it, fear is a very critical component of religious belief – especially the belief in hell.

Once you believe that a danger exists, the fear becomes real and you are forced to confront it. And in the unfortunate case of hell, it is a fear of failing to believe. The most natural way to deal with that fear is to reinforce your belief. The fear of not believing becomes a vicious cycle that locks the believer in to a scarcely escapable fear trap. Considering meme theory – the evolution and survival of the ideas that are most likely to get passed on – it is no wonder that the world’s most popular religions include a myth about everlasting punishment for disbelief.

There is another form of fear that helps perpetuate world religions. That is socially driven fear. It’s often said the people fear public speaking more than they fear death. While this is not probably not true, the cliché stems from the fact that people are generally terrified of public speaking. Why is that? As humans, we are completely dependent upon our societies for our survival. For our ancestors, being ousted from society meant death by starvation, predators or the elements. In some cases, saying or doing the wrong thing will even get you killed by your society – that still happens in many parts of the world today. So how does this affect religion? As religions take root in societies, two fear traps emerge and feed off each other. Our deeply rooted fear of being socially ousted kick-starts the process and the fear of hell locks it in.

So then why is it so easy for non-believers to feel no fear when believers are locked into this terrible cycle?

Western society has made significant progress in the way of human rights – as a result, we no longer have to live in fear of being kicked out of society or murdered for not practicing the most popular religion. That could explain why we are not afraid of being socially ousted. But what about the fear of hell? I am going to borrow a thought experiment from Sam Harris to help convey how we feel as non-believers.

“What if Muslims are right? What if Islam is true? How then should we view god in moral terms? How would we view god in moral terms? Or I should say Allah. We have been born in the wrong place, to the wrong parents, given the wrong culture, given the wrong theology. Needless to say, we are all doomed and we are thoroughly confused. Where is Allah’s compassion? He’s Omnipotent, he could change this in an instant. He could give us a sign that would convince every one of us. And yet he is not going to do it. And Hell awaits. And hell awaits our children because we can’t help but mislead our children. Now just hold this vision in mind and first appreciate how little sleep you have lost over this possibility.
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Why do people work so hard to fortify their faith – forcing themselves to believe something that they otherwise might become skeptical of? It is the fear of what would happen if they didn’t believe. I don’t know if there is a good way to propose this, but I urge you to set aside your fear and examine hell for what it really is. It is a bad idea that was extremely good at getting propagated because it latches on to one of our most basic instincts – our inability to reason when afraid.

Let’s end with a final thought experiment. It’s time to face your fear head on. Imagine for moment that you lost your faith. Imagine being ostracized by your family and friends because they believe you have betrayed them. Realize that in very short order you will be going to hell – after all, life is very short. Now put yourself in hell. You are burning and screaming in agony and overwhelming pain. You will be there forever. Your tong and your throat are completely parched. You cannot drink water, you cannot draw a breath of clear air, and your skin is on fire. Yet you are alive and you can feel every bit of this pain. You are alone. Forever. Everyone who you have ever loved is either in hell just like you are or they are in a heavenly bliss without you. Try to feel this. Imagine that this could actually happen to you. Now, focus on the fear. And examine the source. Be like the child who hears a strange sound in the night – and bravely goes out to look and finds out that the scary monster she thought was outside her room was actually just the dripping of a leaking faucet. Do this with hell. How likely do you think it is that the god you believe in would allow this kind of suffering . How likely is it that this kind of suffering is even possible? Face your fear. Let it pass through you. And when the fear is gone, there will be nothing – only you will remain.

Only you. Free of the artificial burden that prevents you from living your life to the fullest. Without this fear, you can live a better life. You can do the things that feel natural to you – without feeling unnecessary guilt or the constant worry of angering an invisible god. You can believe what your senses tell you. You can examine the beauty of this world for what it really is – without having to twist the evidence to jive with your forced world view. You can befriend anyone without the underlying preconception that they are on the side of the enemy if they don’t believe as you do. You can be free to allow your children to live their lives – without the burden of forced indoctrination into a world view that makes them feel worthless, guilty and subservient to a father figure who loves them unconditionally – but will send them to hell if they don’t believe in him. All you have to do, is face your fear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqaHXKLRKzg Sam Harris Debate (thought experiment is at 1:31.00)

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1fe_1310865020 (Burning witches in Africa)