Is it brave to believe in God, Gregory wondered. Well, at the low level, it might be brave because few people believe in him nowadays, and it is a kind of courage to remain steadfast in the face of apathy. At the high level, it is brave because you are elevating yourself to the status of God's creation; you are proposing yourself as something higher than a clod of clay-- which takes some daring. You are also, perhaps, offering yourself up to the possibility of final judgment: Does your nerve still hold at the thought of that? When you say you believe in God, you are the child who raises his hand in class. You draw attention to yourself, and you receive a public decision:Right or Wrong. Imagine that moment. Imagine the fear.

Is it braver not to believe in God? Again, at the low level, this demands a certain tactical courage. You are telling God he doesn't exist; what if he does? Will you be able to handle the moment when he reveals himself to you? Imagine the shame. Imagine the loss of face. And at a higher level, you are declaring the certainty of your own nonexistence. I end. I do not go on. You are not even giving yourself a sporting chance in the matter. You are complacent in the face of extinction; you decline to contest its smug domination over you. You stretch out on your deathbed confident that you have understood the question of life; you boldly declare for the void. Imagine that moment. Imagine that fear.

Source: Staring at the Sun