"Do you believe in God because if he does exist you'll get into heaven while me, being the nice person i am (without religion) will spend the rest of eternity in the fiery pits of hell?"

Funny that you should mention that. I was having a conversation with a friend last night and we ended on somewhat the same note. I flatly said that if there is a god, he will love me for who I am. If he is the kind of god that sends good people to hell -- then I don't WANT him for a god. For me, that is not PERFECT, ALL-POWERFUL, ALL-KNOWING or ALL-GOOD. And, to me, hell is a tool that religion uses to instill fear into the congregation and ultimately control them.