The scientists you refer to are HUMAN, and as such, have a very human fear of death. Many delude themselves with religion in order to give meaning to their lives.
I have absolutely no fear of such judgment; if you did not know I was an atheist (or very nearly so), and observed my life from a distance, you would reckon by my actions in both word and deed that I was the most devout of Christians. Christianity and a belief in a non-existent big ghost in the sky who somehow watches over us (but never intervenes) are NOT pre-requisites for decent, moral, civilized behavior. The threat of your so-called Judgment (or punishment) is not necessary in order for me to live my life in an extremely moral and decent way. How pathetic would I be if I only acted decently for fear of punishment? Why should a believer have any fear at all? Why would an infinitely-compassionate God want us to live in any kind of fear, at all?
Prov 8:13 (NIV) To fear the Lord is to hate evil.
Psalm 111: 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.
Life (as it continues to adhere to Biblical truths) has taught me never to make that assumption and that I am to be even more suspicious of those who would make such a claim. Once upon a time I was one to make and believe such claims and sometimes in my moral failings still do.
Your argument of delusion cuts both ways and that was my original point. I have “absolutely” no fear of death you have “absolutely” no fear of judgment.
Why would an infinitely-compassionate God want us to live in any kind of fear, at all?
God is also Holy, this trait of God in scripture is raised to a higher level than any of the others. If God were to strike me dead on the way to work it would be a just action based solely on the sins of this morning. “Extremely moral” is not good enough, a passing grade only goes to the perfectly moral and perfectly Holy. Once you understand this, you will understand why all of us need Christ. Start with Matthew 5:20 – 5:48 the Scribes and Pharisees would be the ones that we would think outwardly are “extremely moral” )
When all else fails, read the instructions (CCEL > Bibles and Commentaries)