This is for the non believers. This is also serious. Now, I know Christians believe that there is a lot of proof that God does exist. Non believers want physical proof of God. Christians believe in faith while non believer believe in logic. But, how about if Christians are right, how about if there is a God and Judgment is coming. Would the non believer bet their souls on it? Would they risk there souls because they choose not to have faith?
Please don't give stupid answers, or attack this question. If you can't answer this question maturely than don't answer.
2006-07-27 14:22:33 · 9 answers · asked by LP S 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Pascal's wager is about the flimsiest argument I have ever seen from the religious community. Is the only reason that you believe in God based on the odds of what would happen if he does? I appreciate the sentiment, but you should find a new argument.
2006-07-27 14:33:03 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is known as "Pascal's wager", and it is a logical fallacy. I shall explain why.
Pascal's wager is essentially a false dichotomy: it claims that your only choices are "christianity" and "not christianity". The truth is that you actually have many more choices.
Let us suppose that the merits of a religion are determined by the physical evidence supporting that religion's beliefs (since "faith" and "belief" aren't actually proof of anything).
Supposing that, the following conclusion must be drawn: all religions are of equal merit. That means all religions that exist now, and every other religion that you could ever imagine or make up.
They all have the same merit because they all have the same amount of physical evidence supporting their claims: none.
There are, in fact, an infinite number of possible beliefs that you could make up or choose to have. There are therefore an infinite number of beliefs that involve non-believers going to hell or eternal suffering.
Now, the wager: If you want to maximize your odds of not suffering for all of eternity, which one do you pick? The answer is: irrelevent. The question is irrelevent. Why?
Well, if you have 5 religions, and you randomly pick one, what are the odds that you'll be right? The odds are one divided by five: 1/5.
So what happens when you have an infinite number of choices, and an infinite number of them resulting in you going to hell if you're wrong? If you choose one randomly (which you must, because they all have the same merit), the odds of you being right are: 1/(infinity)
And 1/(infinity) is zero. Well, it's not actually zero - it's just as close as you can possibly get to zero without actually being zero.
So, no matter which religion you pick, you are, for all intents and purposes, certain to be wrong in your choice. And therefore, you are certain to go to hell.
Thus, there is no point in trying to guess the right one to save your soul; without physical evidence, you *cannot* guess the right one.
I am therefore quite secure in my unbelief. It's the most honest path for me to take, and the most reasonable one (from a pragmatic point of view).
Plus: what kind of religion requires you to believe out of fear of damnation? I wouldn't worship a god like that even if i did believe in him; that's just the way my personality is.
2006-07-27 14:26:16 · answer #2 · answered by extton 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most Atheists don't believe that humans have souls so this isn't a very good argument... BUT....
The trouble is that Atheists don't think that their beliefs require faith but the fact is that both beliefs require faith...
it takes just as much faith to believe that there isn't a God as it does to believe that there is a God...
But you are right... if Christians are wrong then we've lost nothing substantial... if Atheists are wrong then they are absolutely screwed... for eternity...
2006-07-27 14:31:38 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nice try, unfortunatly I backed my soul on another horse.
exxton has summed up perfectly everything I could have said and some.
Even if it were my only choice, I beleive that such a bet is faulty to begin with - I must give up enjoyment of certainty to get a POSSIBLE return. IT's like playing the lottory every week with 50% of my wages for the rest of my life.
Sure, it MIGHT happen. But I doubt it. And while I'm doubting it, I'm on half my damn paycheck.
2006-07-27 14:53:01 · answer #4 · answered by erynnsilver 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm a believer. I just wanted to say that non believers do not base all their opinions on logic.
2006-07-27 14:30:04 · answer #5 · answered by rangedog 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look up Pascal's Wager.
2006-07-27 14:27:16 · answer #6 · answered by littlechrismary 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i will take a chance with my soul......but what did you lose by believing in god if he does'nt exsist.....millions lost their lives because of a false god
2006-07-27 14:28:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think they would. But I would hope that, if there is a God, He'd forgive them...
-shrug- Ionno. Religion confuses me.
2006-07-27 14:28:01 · answer #8 · answered by Allison 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yep
if there was such thing as A soul
2006-07-27 14:27:41 · answer #9 · answered by Cartman 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋