"Those in high places are not immune. While the afterlife concept renders the masses manageable, it renders their matters destructive. A world leader who's convinced that life is merely a trial for the more valuable and authentic afterlife is less hesitant to risk starting a nuclear holocaust. A politician or corporate executive who's expecting the Rapture to arrive on the next flight from Jerusalem is not going to worry much about polluting oceans or destroying forests. Why should he?
"Thus, to emphasize the afterlife is to deny life. To concentrate on heaven is to create hell."
-Tom Robbins, Skinny Legs and All