If there is no God...what have you got to lose? I feel that I would rather believe in somethiing and find that it isn't real...then not believe and face the ultimate punishment.
Three reasons:
1. If you were God, and you knew that somebody (claimed to) believe in you just to avoid eternal punishment, would
you be positively disposed toward that person?
2. You're going to Hell according to somebody's theology no matter what you believe. You don't even need to go outside of Christianity for this to be true.
3. Since Hell is therefore not a concern, a person might as well live her life honestly and not assert the existence of invisible, all-powerful infinite beings if she can't demonstrate their existance.