Quote Originally Posted by denuseri View Post
And yet the Romans often wrote of those very same Christians facing the lions in the arena with a smile on their lips.
I think you will find that the concept of hell, or at least the Christian concept of hell, wasn't defined until much later in the Church's history. When you truly believe that you will be rewarded with eternal life in a beautiful place under the protection of a beneficent God, why should you fear death? And without the concept of hell, what's the downside? That you will be dead. No more torments, no more hunger, no more pain.

I wonder if that could have been a motivation for the idea of hell? Not only can you terrify people into following your arbitrary rules under threat of eternal damnation, you also prevent them from killing themselves, or allowing themselves to be killed, as a way to get out from under the thumb of a ruthless lord or church leader.