Seriously, some Christians on here would have me believe that as long as I fake it I'll be ok. They use Pascal's Wager, which basically says, if I don't believe and I'm wrong I'm S.O.L. But if I do believe and I'm wrong I'm ok. To me that sounds like people actually think it's ok to believe, "just in case." They use religion as their insurance policy. I think if I'm going to believe in something it should be because I believe in it, not because I'm afraid to not believe in it. I know many people believe in things for real and true and good reasons. I respect and admire those people who have faith because they believe, not because they think it'll get them out of Hell. So I have two questions. First what are your thoughts on Pascal's Wager, and second could people please stop trying to use it to "scare" me into believing like you do?
2006-08-22 08:56:04 · 11 answers · asked by Jake S 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
i don't think one should believe just because it would be safer or they stand something to gain from it. there is no doubt, however, that one will gain SOMETHING from it, whether it be eternal life or to fill some "hole" in one's spirit. but, to use faith as "an insurance policy" would cause me to question the actual existance of faith. and the only preverbial "gun held to one's head" would be that everyone is at least forced to make this decision-do you or do you not believe in Christ? what do i think of Pascal's Wagner...well, i haven't read it's entirety but the thought that there may be some mathematical truth to the existance of God is not a completely blown out theory. Mathematics can, in fact, be found in everything, from music to, i don't know, furniture.
2006-08-22 09:12:00 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your point is well taken. Pascal's wager is of course silly; you have just as much reason to believe that God will condemn you for being foolish enough to worship him as Pascal did to believe as he did. And if someone lays Pascal's wager on you in the future, reply that you have a personal message from God that the correct religion is animism, and all Christians, Muslims, etc. are headed for perdition.
2006-08-22 16:12:03 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christians forget that Pascal's Wager is actually fundamentally flawed, as it assumes the Christian Religion is correct.
However, applying it to the hypothetical where there is some angry, spiteful God from the Congo ruling everything, who hates Christians, then Christianity nets hell and disbelief nets a temporary lesson in pain since we'll then believe.
You can construct the wager against any particular god and make it so that you either have to worship all gods, or none, because to worship all leads to contradictions.
2006-08-22 16:04:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pascal's wager is pathetically idiotic. It's hard to believe someone otherwise so brilliant came up with such a stupid bit of claptrap. In his defense though, it was not intended as a 'witnessing' tool the way people use it now.
They will never stop using it. Every freshly baptized faith zombie they mint thinks it's a brilliant new revelation to go try out on the heathens.
2006-08-22 16:07:49 · answer #4 · answered by lenny 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pascal's wager is flawed. If a god did exist that was omniscient, then pretending to believe, or believing to hedge your bets would not get you into heaven. Basically it is the wrong reason to believe. Just as someone believing in god because they don't want to go to hell....which is basically bribery.
2006-08-22 16:13:10 · answer #5 · answered by A K 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pascal's Wager is bad logic -- exactly as you describe it. In essence, it encourages ritualism over substance and is, hence, nearly worthless. I suppose one can eventually lie to himself in order to make himself believe something -- people do it in politics all the time -- but what kind of way to live is that?
2006-08-22 16:13:55 · answer #6 · answered by Zombie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't let them scare you. I wouldn't trust anyone who would use that kind of tactic to convince me to believe what they believe. As for Wager, I say it couldn't hurt, but you need to do what's best for you. As for me, I believe because I believe, not because I'm afraid not to. "Christians" who try to scare people into believing aren't really Christians.
2006-08-22 16:06:39 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No it's not ok. The whole concept of faith is that you have it. Which means that you have to actually believe in it. People who think that they can fool God will be in for a big surprise if there really is one eh?
2006-08-22 16:05:17 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Believing "just in case" in not going to save you. God knows your heart. If you do not really believe that there is a God and He had a son Jesus who died for our sins so we could have everlasting life, It doesn't matter what you say. You will not get into heaven. Ask God to open up your heart so you can truly believe.
2006-08-22 16:10:31 · answer #9 · answered by jan3sons 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pacal is in a Islamic hellfire right now, because he picked the wrong god.
2006-08-22 16:03:23 · answer #10 · answered by 自由思想家 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋