I think life is much more meaning full when you believe that this is all you have. If I were to consider this to be some BS staging ground for eternal bliss, then I would not look at life very positively, I would want to hurry up and get it over with to start the real show.

Likewise if we are here on earth for some "trial by god" to see if we live by gods rules so we can die and then go to heaven, then god sounds like an evil bastard to me... what kind of all powerful infallible being runs some sort of sick sea monkey experiment with a planet?