What if there really is a God? Makes no difference. One does not choose to believe or not, particularly just for the purpose of a reward.
Could one “believe” in Santa just n case there is a reward? Of course not. One believes, or not, as a natural result of evedince and rationale.
To claim belief, just for the reward, would be a lie anyway, which would negate the purpose.
IF there is a god, and he plays hide and seek, what purpose is that? Why would it claim our "Souls" are eternally damned to being tortured for not finding him? There are no real clues, no evidence, no facts, just contradictions. He doesn't answer you.
But as we know from the phrase "There are no atheists in foxholes", a tendency to become more religious under stress does exist. It may be more the fear of punishment and the unknown that pushes people over to the 'belief' side of the equation. A kind of hedging one's bets.
All we could or should do is to be good people. Be loving. Be tolerant. Be empathetic. Be generous. What more could anyone do to live the best life. If there is an after life of any type, leading a life of good will toward all will assure a happy after life.
Even if there is a god, why would it care what we believe ?
I like how you refer to a deity as it. When x-tians make a big deal about the sex of their god it makes me wonder why “he” actually needs a penis. What purpose does it serve? Does he have a giant celestial toilet that he has to urinate into? The cosmic plumbing must be insane...
@OtherPatrick Perhaps he needed it to rape Mary, clever how he did it without her knowing until the angel told her. Maybe he used a date rape drug.