Why are Christians scared to die?

[robvalue]

Instinctive reactions show that our conscious beliefs are not the sum total of our beliefs.

My instinctive part tends to overreact to things that could be a threat, because it doesn't have time to decide whether it is or not before potential damage. So it errs on the side of caution for my benefit, and for that moment at least, the part of me in control believes I'm in danger. My conscious mind is just a passenger during this. However, my instincts aren't acting based on nothing. They have an idea about the kind of thing that can hurt me, so they are still using a set of beliefs, but they are much more willing to jump to conclusions.

My instincts believe that getting hurt, and especially getting killed, is bad. If they believed that actually getting killed would be beneficial as I'd move on to a better life, then they'd let me get run over. But we can't so easily convince our instincts.

Someone who hangs themselves so they can go to heaven to be with their dead parents has managed to convince their instincts as well as their conscious mind. They have overcome all the safety protocols and survival instincts. This is a body truly under such a religious belief, and the results can be devastating.

So my conclusion is that most religious people have a part of them that has significant doubts about the truth of their professed conscious beliefs. Doubt much bigger than the person would generally admit to, if they were making only conscious decisions. Simply put, the atheist part of them keeps them alive even if the conscious part believes in heaven.