There is a huge benefit to being a believer. You get to live forever. That is indeed a sweet plum isn’t it? As a non-believer I will live a few decades and then I’m worm food. I’ll admit, that’s less appealing than eternal life.

However, recently I heard a famous atheist (who was actually quoting someone else - both names escape me, sorry) and she said something that I found to be very moving. It was a quote that had a profound impact on me. She said “I will never die, but one day the world will end.”

The point is, once you’re dead, you won’t know you’re dead. So in a sense, you (even as an atheist) will have eternal life (for all you know). To put it another way, once it comes time to truly realize that you won’t live forever, it will be too late to know that because you’ll be dead.

Now, I know it’s a stretch and largely metaphorical, but I would like to consider it a small step towards competing with 72 virgins, reuniting with your family, playing Monopoly with Christ, etc.

So there you go, eternal life for all!