Steve - one thing it is definitely NOT about is winning or losing. That's immaterial. If there is life after death, we'll find out when we die. If there isn't, we won't. If there is, I don't think God will punish you for being an atheist, because I wouldn't...and I am a bit less merciful than God! I don't love you as much as God does. ;-D He/She loves you regardless of your beliefs, in my opinion, and can easily forgive someone for not knowing or believing something.

Well that's very nice (in a buttock-clenching way, seen from a certain angle...), but the thing is, I wasn't trying to be that serious. More stupidly whimsical, really. As I'm at point 6.9 on Dawkins's scale of non-belief (same as him: his scale goes from 0 to 7), I'll just plough me furrow and not worry too much about God's love/mercy/vengeance. If I get to the pearly gates as an atheist who's led a reasonably decent life, and God decides to go all shitty on me, I shall regard that as fully his problem.