Doug Pagitt, in "A Christianity Worth Believing" points out that the "scary thought" type questions such as: "If you died tonight, would you wake up with Jesus?" or "If you died right now, where would you spend eternity?" are similar to the loaded false choice questions such as, "So, do you still steal stuff from work?" Both of these questions pose as legitimate questions while subtly being subversive. Both presuppose a world view that the one being asked the question just doesn't buy. The "scary" questions presuppose heaven and hell. They presuppose the "afterlife interpretation " of the kingdom of God (a view of questionable Biblical authority). Although the question is set in the near present (tonight or the next moment), it nevertheless presupposes that the kingdom of God represents a future condition that comes after death, not one available in the present for the living.
These "scary thought" questions put undue emphasis on certainty. An open, doubting, and questioning spiritual search results in a more genuine and deeper faith than will a quick assent followed by a dogmatic claim to certainty.
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