Hell was envisioned as a place of fire, pestilence, and eternal damnation. The concept of hell leveraged fear, giving religious traditions the ultimate tool for social control. Before we had public sanitation and effective healthcare, it was easy to imagine just how bad hell could be. People lived through pandemics, and the church itself went to extreme measures to inflict pain during the inquisitions. Heaven and hell, as forever consequences, became the ultimate carrot and stick of behavioral control. Many modern religious leaders still use the threat of hell as a foundational concept to justify their views. This video chronicles several modern views on hell.

Sexuality is related to procreation and child rearing, so it is a major point of concern for survival of, and order in society. Many cultures developed traditions that shunned homosexuality out of these concerns.  This view was traditionally enforced through the religious structures controlling the values, moral standards, and punishment in early society. This is still particularly prevalent in today's Christian and Islamic cultures. As the tradition of the old testament runs up against the compassion of the new, it is interesting to see how religious leaders react to the challenge of embracing people who have non-traditional views of sexuality.

Cults represent the most tragic case of religious order. They usually revolve around a charismatic leader and their personal interests. This has resulted in financial abuse where members contribute large sums, even their entire worldly estate. These resources are controlled by the leadership and often plundered for personal wealth. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh owned 93 Rolls Royce's. Often cult behavior results in the sexual exploitation--Warren Jeffs of the FLDS is serving a life sentence for child sex abuse. However, the most cruel cult behavior was witnessed at Jonestown, Guyana when Jim Jones oversaw the death of over 900 members who drank the "Kool-Aid."