So for those of you who Don't know what it is, it goes a bit like this (correct me if I'm wrong)
There are four options:
You accept Jesus Christ and your right, you go to heaven and your reward is infinite
You accept Jesus and your wrong, your loss is finite
You don't accept Jesus and Your Right, you gain little (finite)
You Don't accept Jesus and your wrong, your punishment is infinite.
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Falls easilyWhat an utterly feeble argument for God. Pascal's Wager is demonstrable rubbish. There is obviously the sheer repugnancy of belief that arises from a callous statistical desire to save your own skin. Yet leaving this aside the wager still falls due to incorrect application of maths.40% Voted for by petethemeat, Hardhittn63.
If we assume that there are only two conclusions that can be arrived at through the aforementioned scenario, then the wager stands. Yet as there is a theoretical infinitum of possible conclusions, which perhaps have negative consequences for the believer. For example say the deity that you had believed and prayed too was not the 'correct' God. This entity may be more angry with your belief then non-belief. There may even be a situation where a deity dislikes the attention and punishes those who believe. This may seem unlikely to you, but as the concept of a benevolent God has no statistical basis as well, it makes no more statistical sense to believe than to not believe. -
How do you get out of it?The only response I can muster is that this is the only life we have, and our loss is just as great if we waste it, but thats far too shaky (don't bother demolishing it, im well aware of the flaws). Something more concrete would be great.Voted for by Nephilem.
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YES!!!I have this quote of Pascal's on my bedroom wall.Voted for by tfry.
"Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists. "
Basically summarized:
Why not make the bet?
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I used to like Pascal's WagerThough I see the flaw in the infinite multitude possibilities of belief; one being that it is possible that atheists go to heaven and no one else does. By sheer gamble there is infinite possibilities; however we could seemingly give some credence to some beliefs and possibilities over others, however limited and privy this is to eternality and the conception of the supernatural. Though, the wager seeks to show the eternal importance of the eternal choice - thus it would be irrational and unwise not to prepare for eternity, or to reject the search for the truth of eternity to eternally secure oneself for such an eternity which is of infinitely greater value than this life.Voted for by TeChNoWC.
As such, being agnostic or atheist is irrational, as is any other religion without regards to an eternal security, as the wager would emphasize (this does not mean that atheism is necessarily wrong (though I would attest to this as you cannot have knowledge of the existence of no knowledge), but rather that it is an unwise choice considering we cannot know). Therefore choosing to be a Christian would be wiser no matter what (and, even if God doesn't exist, I can see the evidence of the moral and social benefits such belief creates anyway, so it is of greater value no matter what, eternally or not).
Basically, my surmise? Atheism is utterly stupid.
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