In my religion God gave humans free will, you are free to do evil.
Do you wish to say God should have made soulless automatons who can only do good?
If God truly knows everything - the past, present, and future, that means you don't have free will at all.
It's a logical contradiction.
He knowingly assembled you, put your neurons together in a specific way, and knew before you were born that you would go on to commit evil.
This is akin to breaking a dog's leg and punishing him for limping.
All of that aside, the original purpose of religion was to provide a framework, or roadmap, for the afterlife. When consciousness is not tethered and hampered by a physical body, the creative power of your thoughts and beliefs become your environment instantaneously - they do not largely remain internal as they do now.
This is why in NDE testimonials, Christians see Jesus, Catholics see the Pearly Gates, people who believe in hell indeed find themselves in a hellish environment, people who believe that nothing happens after death find themselves in a void, etc. It would not be fair to call these illusions, as they are no more illusions than what we call regular life. So religion provided a framework for disoriented and confused souls who have just crossed over. The crossing of the River Styx is yet another example of these roadmaps. These are all temporary, though, until you realize that it is the creative power of thought, emotion, and belief that is at the heart of the illusion.
The religious idea of a cosmic judge where your deeds are being levied against you is patently illogical. Physical existence is more of a classroom than a courtroom. The only judgement you face is your own, from a broader, objective perspective of how your actions had a ripple effect on others.
In my religion God gave humans free will, you are free to do evil.
Do you wish to say God should have made soulless automatons who can only do good?
Alice,
I apologize.
I don't mean to beat you over the head for your beliefs. Not at all.
Sometimes I let my own personal bias' and beliefs get in the way of trying to help people, and I hate to see people beating themselves up over the idea that some type of cosmic punishment might be waiting in the afterlife. Not saying that is you, just in general.
I only wish you the best.