Here’s what might be an unpopular belief. Religion, particularly those with a component of the afterlife, are a response to death anxiety. That’s going to be particularly unpopular with my parents who are Christian ministers.

But at some point, I decided I can believe whatever it is that I want to believe and I believe that we have made up fantastical stories about what happens when we die because we’re so afraid to die and so scared of the question, we’ll take something that somebody is giving us.

You might think that people with strong religious convictions have less death anxiety. But I’ve noticed that even the most religious amongst us, in their quiet moments on the deathbed, when I’m sitting with them, still question their belief system. Here’s why: Beliefs remain beliefs until they are tested. When they are tested, then they become knowledge, but up until then, still just a belief. And on the deathbed, those beliefs are about to be tested because they are about to find out the truth. Okay?

Okay, where do you see elements of death anxiety in your belief system? And thank you so much for giving me a minute of your life to think about the end of it.

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