I've always got the impression that Christian religions (possibly others; I don't know as much about them...) teach that God gave humans Free Will so we could choose to worship Him, as opposed to the angels who have no Free Will and worship Him "just because". Most denominations also appear to teach that if we don't worship God (or, more often, follow that specific denomination) then we're going to burn in Hell for all eternity when our respective numbers are up.
So it appears that we are supposed to use our God-given Free Will to choose between eternal bliss or eternal suffering. That doesn't strike me as a choice; that seems more like manipulation. If there's a bribe or the threat of torture then it's not really a choice.
Looking at the situation, the only logical solution (and possibly the choice God wants us to make, since it's an actual choice) appears to be to say, "No! That's stupid. I reject your religion, for it seems illogical. I will be good just because. I will be good because 'being good' seems to me to be the right thing to do. I will be good because it is how I would want others to treat me. I will not 'be good' just because you, your religion, or The Big Guy tell me to."
An Atheist who is "being good" does not believe in Hell, but is still behaving himself or herself. Surely that's more impressive than a well behaved Christian with the threat of eternal damnation hovering over them...
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