Several years ago, as I sat in a high school Calculus class, several friends and I began discussing religion.  At 17 and 18 years old, as it goes with most 17 and 18 year olds, we thought we new it all.  Some in the discussion were very religious, however most of the group were not 'practicing' christians as some would say.  They may visit church once or twice a year, which is fine.  However, I remember one very intelligent student who had a very interesting outlook on the whole 'should I believe in God' statement that one of the other students made.

He said (and I'm paraphrasing here), there are 4 options in believing in God or not.  First, you have the people who believe in God, and there is a God; in which case these people have done well in their decision and faith.  They will be rewarded.  Second, you have those who believe in God, however when they die, there turns out not to be a God.  These people aren't necessarily out anything, other than the time and effort they devoted to their faith during their days on earth.  So, we'll call this one moot.  Third, there are those that don't believe in God and there is a God.  This is probably the worst outcome, for obvious reasons.  Lastly, there are those that don't believe in God, and there isn't a God, in which case this again is moot.

So, his argument was, you may as well believe in God while you're on earth.  Three out of the four options lend themselves to something positive or neutral vs. something negative.  He wasn't a risk taker, as some who don't believe in God are, however I thought this was a very logical view on whether or not to believe in God.