Easter Blackmail?

The old Japanese woman said to me: ‘Whenever you see a hearse approaching along the street you must hold your breath and not breathe again until it is well past, otherwise the spirit of the deceased will enter your body and bad things will happen.’

‘That’s just an old Japanese superstition,’ I replied. ‘I’ve never held my breath for a passing hearse before and no ill fortune has befallen me.’

‘But that was before I told you,’ she continued. ‘Now that I’ve told you, life has changed. Now that you know it, you must do as I say or suffer the consequences.’

Isn’t this precisely how the Christian Church has always maintained its grip?