There are innumerable different views about the concept of Heaven and Hell, Don, and they are found in most cultures that have ever existed, certainly aren't restricted to the Roman Catholic Church or the Greek Mythos.

What they all have to do with is human conduct in a moral sense, and the long range results and consequences of human conduct....this being a philosophical matter that is of great concern to ANY even moderately civilized community of human beings. The basic idea is this: Good conduct leads to good results in the long run. Bad conduct leads to suffering of one type or another...and may lead to punishment of one type or another...in the long run. (It also leads to people not liking you!)

We all know this. It's self-evident. It is reflected in the rules we teach our children about personal conduct, and in the civil laws that our communities enact to regulate conduct and to prevent (or punish) crimes.

You can call it "carrot and stick" if you want to...(shrug)...it doesn't matter...it's still necessary to have bad consequences for destructive actions in a community and in a society, and everyone understands that.

To extend these same factors into ideas about a world of spirit or an afterlife is perfectly natural....and most civilizations have believed in something spiritual and have had ideas about an afterlife (or ideas about karma and reincarnation).

What is surprising about any of that, and why would anyone find it objectionable?

You feel that the Church has used stories about Hell to control people? Well, yeah!!!! Secular society uses stories about arrest, trial, and jail time...and even execution....to control people! Meaning: to control their behaviour so they will hesitate before breaking the law.

As I said above...what is surprising about any of that? It's an inevitable feature of people attempting to form and regulate a workable, complex society.

Good behaviour has good results. Bad behaviour results in punishment and suffering as natural consequences OF that bad behaviour.

If it's that way in secular life, and it bloody well is, then why the hell shouldn't it be that way in religion too???????????? As above, so below. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. You commit the crime, you pay the price.

I gather you don't object to secular society controlling people through fear of punishment when they break civil laws. Why would you object to the church attempting to control people through fear of punishment when they break spiritual laws? (most of which are based on ordinary morality anyway)