more with the slapping business

yes, the reward and punishment discussion will never die. (this is posted rather belatedly.)

Daniel Dennett, Breaking the Spell

"Like Santa, God "knows if you are sleeping, he knows if you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good"... The lyrics continue "so be good for goodness' sake". Catchy, but a logical solecism. In logic, the song should have continued "so be good for the sake of the electronic equipment, dolls, sports gear and other gifts you hope to get but will get only if the omniscient and just Santa judges you worthy of receiving." If you were good for goodness' sake, the all-seeing Santa would be irrelevant as a motivator of your virtue." [Mitchell Silver]

...

We may shun this theme as a foundation of our morality today yet still honor it for having played a founding role in the past, as a ladder that, once climbed, may be discarded. How could this work? The economist Thomas Schelling has pointed out that "belief in a deity who will reward goodness and punish evil transforms many situations from subjective to secured, at least in the believer's mind". Consider a situation in which two parties confront each other with a prospect for cooperation on something both parties would want, but each is afraid the other will renege on any bargain struck, and there are no authorities or stronger parties around to enforce it. Promises can be made and then broken, but sometimes they can be secured. A commitment may be secured by being self-enforcing; for instance, you can burn your bridges behind so you can't escape even if you change your mind. Or it may be secured by your greater desire to preserve your reputation. You may have good reason to fulfill your side of a contract even if your reason for signing it in the first place has lapsed, simply because your reputation is also at stake, a valuable social commodity indeed. Or - and this is Schelling's point - a promise made "in the eyes of God" may well convince those who believe in God that a sort of virtual escrow account has been created, protecting both parties and giving each other the confidence to move ahead without fear of reneging by the other party.