The Carrot and Stick Nature of the Christian Protection Racket.

Literally everything we ever choose to do is carrot and stick, on some level.

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Gratitude is a different dimension of thought and feelings.

It does nothing to negate the carrot and stick nature of our motivations.

Adding or substracting gratitude simply doesn't effect that part of the equation.

If a religious person desires the benefits promised to them, then it makes sense they are making life-choices, sacrifices, efforts, etc towards that carrot.
-AND are grateful for the opportunity.

Additionally, ...

If a religious person was ~ever~ given something extreme to fear for non-compliance,
then, of course,
they would want to avoid that stick.
---

Meanwhile, if a "God" didn't want
would-be-converts,
newly converted,
or those indoctrinated as children,
or any other believers/obeyers concerning themselves with a dramatic stick, ...

then:

That "God" could only demonstrate that by:
never mentioning any severe stick.

Once the threat is made, the source (no matter if the source is men or a deity) forfeits the opportunity ...
to claim not wanting anyone to have it as a motivation.

It's beyond ridiculous for anyone to say "Don't make my Boss hurt you by dropping you into an inescapable torture pit" and then to say "but please. Don't let that become a motivation for why you submit to him (by submitting to us)".

If a mafia thug, as a legal defense against the charge of extorsion, said:

"But your honor, after I made that friendly warning, I made sure to tell them to not even think about it.
I said "now, don't factor it into your decision, what the Boss will do to you if you don't submit.".
...

No jury is going to find that defense reasonable.

Meanwhile, ...

It would even more absurd to try arguing that it's not really the Boss threatening to shoot someone in the face with an un-douse-able flame-thrower, but rather:

The Boss will merely ~allow~ people to shoot themselves in the face with an un-douse-able flamethrower ...

with the Boss's hands,

using the flamethrower the Boss specifically made for that purpose.

And then the Boss will merely ~allow~ the non-compliant person to drop themselves in the pit that Boss made;
- using the Boss's hands to drop themselves in.

They may not want to go in. 
But if they don't submit to us, then:
they chose to go into that hell ... by forcing the Boss's hand. 

I was just kind enough to give them that friendly warning.".

No judge or jury is going to find that reasonable.

Such an argument would be blatant gaslighting; trying to scramble the logical pathways of the jury, with extreme acrobatic contortions of
nonsensical reasoning.

Plain and simple.

Meanwhile, ...

If that threatening entity doesn't want to EARN a rep for playing that game,
then how hard would it really be ...
to just:
not play that game?
----

However, ...

I understand that many people under such a threat ... would eventually no longer factor that threat into their narrative or personal motivations.

-Once Stockholm Syndrome sets in.

After that, the original mechanism of the threat
is no longer a motivation.

It helped get there where they are, psychologically. But once that syndrome sets in,
it's no longer a motivator for them.

-Although they will still use that severe stick when recruiting and indoctrinating others.

I totally get that.

Hell, they might even be able to psych themselves out,
to re-imagine their past, so that it was never a factor for them.

Unfortunately, human memory really is that malleable.
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Now, I don't know what your specific Christian faction's conceptualization of "hell" is.

Given the Authoritarian/Totalitarian nature of your ideological framework, I expect it to be some form of literal and endless suffering; from which there is no escape.
If I'm wrong about that, please let me know.

Meanwhile, ...

If some faction's idea of hell is:
someone merely no longer existing, then:

The stick become far less threatening;

 
In that case, I'd be the first to say it's not all that horrible of a stick, for some religion to say "if you don't join our belief system, our God won't resurrect you into a paradise later after you die."

That's really not all that terrible of a threat; given that:

1. Everyone is already facing the prospect of death being possibly absolute-and-final.

 Such a religion would merely be exploiting a normal fear.
Granted, that's still ethically horrible. But it wouldn't be anywhere near as bad as a more literal version of "Hell".

and
2. There would be no meaningful difference between being resurrected 
vs
being replaced with a perfected clone.

 I sure can't think of a reason anyone would find that offer tempting.
But then again,  most people wouldn't realize that the offer is actually only an offer to be replaced. 
--

Plus, there's a lot of people in our world that don't want to live forever;

- especially in a Theocratic Totalitarian
 ~Celestial North Korea~,
as someone stripped of their ability to ever again have an unapproved thought, feeling, word, or action.

-And especially especially not while their this-world loved ones are either eternally discarded as forever-dead trash, or (far worse yet) writhing in agony somewhere, for the rest of time.