If you understand how the brain physically creates memory, you can understand the basis for many religious claims. Many religious claims were inferred through self observation over the millennia; inner voice.
When memory is created, emotional tags are added to the memory. This tagging and writing process is done by aspects of the limbic system located in the core of the brain. The tags are added to memory, before it is written to the cerebral matter. The result is our memory has both sensory content as well as emotional tagging. For example, if we eat a new food and we like, we will remember that food, along with the nice feelings attached to it. This feeling tag is useful to an animal, since if he sees this food again, the feeling will reappear, and he can act on the feeling, without having to think. Our strongest memories have the strongest emotional tags; wedding, graduation, car accident, glory days, etc., If one triggers the feelings of any of those times, with any cue, and entire memory content can play back. It is a practical design.
That being said, there is a unique form of cultural memory, that plays games with the natural memory writing process. This anomalous aspect of memory writing is connected to the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. Knowledge of good and evil is called law. A law has knowledge of both the good/right/acceptable behavior and the evil/wrong/unacceptable behavior, at the same time. The law tells us what to avoid so we can avoid punishment. It also points out the behavior needed for rest, peace and social acceptability.
The problem is, these two extreme feelings, implicit of law memories, are mutually exclusive in terms of the writing process. We can't feel afraid and peaceful at the same time, since the feeling tags are mutually exclusive. Try this at home. Think of a scary thing and try to be restful. One can only do one or the other. The net result is the brain divides the law memories into two separate storage locations. It tags and stores all the good side memories of law in one location. It then tags and stores all the negative side memories in a separate location. The two storage areas can work together, as the law, but they are not stored in the brain with one set of tags.
The traditions of heaven and hell, being in two locations, is a projection of this memory tag division created by law. All the negative sides of all laws have a fear, anger, and pain attachment. In traditions, the consolidation of evil and its associated emotions, is how hell is described. Heaven has all the good sides of the law ad the attached feelings of love, rest and peace.
Our law memory is like a coin, where it has heads and tails, but we can only see one side at a time. The conscious mind can only focus on one side of the coin at a time. For example, the self righteous will try to do good, which means make only the good side of the law memory conscious. He will try to repress the negative storage area. The result is the unconscious mind gains control over the dark side law memory storage. The result can be compulsions forming within the self righteous; chase hookers, as the brain attempts to bridge the divide and lower the unconscious potential.
The ancient spiritual leaders were aware of this in terms of behavior and human nature. Jesus, made a major break through when he preached doing away with the law. This is often interpreted as him doing away with the Old Testament; old dispensation being fulfilled. But in reality Jesus was talking about all of law. If you get rid of law, the memory writing anomaly goes away.
Living by faith is different from living by law. For example, in a new situation, you are like an animal smelling a potential new food. You try it and react naturally and allow the brain to place a natural tag to this day. It is not two tags due to law, but one natural tag, than can change with time; stages of life. You never become internally polarized via law. Jesus was way ahead of his time, since this teaching would have a basis in brain science 2000 years later.
As a practical example, consider the new laws of PC. There are many buzz words that are taboo. Your brain will store the PC law memories in two separate locations; heaven and hell of PC. You try to live by the good side in terms of good PC. This does not create lasting inner peace but often amplifies the knit picking and self righteous anger. The unconscious mind uses the reprised dark side and makes one over sensitive. The unconscious is trying to remove the potential by making one conscious of the divide.
A better way is to gradually remove law, down toward a minimum until the divide in healed. Jesus would say love your enemy; tag the fear and anger, with love, so the memory merges again, like in paradise.
