The Psycology of Fear

[SamIam]

The OP highlights one of my pet peeves - religions that are fear based are responsible for more destruction in society as a whole and to individual psyches than just about anything else.

What kind of god demands that you "love" him or you will burn in hell? What kind of god is pleased by the Christian inquisitions and Islamic jihadists and all the rest?

Every person without fail whom I have met who was raised in some hell fire denomination is messed up to a greater or lesser extent. This includes strict catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses (an especially nasty sect), many Mormons, baptist fundamentalists and more.

A human father who told his kid that unless he was "loved" and obeyed, he was going to throw the child in the fire place would be arrested for child abuse. If the father actually carried out the threat, he'd go to jail for a very long time.

Never mind about us meeting god's standards. How about god meeting OUR standards?

As the Buddha taught:

Hatred does not vanquish hatred.
Only by loving kindness is hatred dissolved.
This law is ancient and eternal.