Pascal's wager is stupid as you are saying you are a Christian as you want to go to heaven, your all seeing god will see this and not let you in. Can you understand this?
Do you really think you god would like the fact you considered him the best BET?
2006-10-12 12:36:44 · 18 answers · asked by . 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
There is no sensible way to determine the likelihood of God's existence. Furthermore, God (if extant) has hidden his handiwork by causing it to be explainable within a rational framework (the laws of physics) that does not require the existence of God. Thus, there is no supporting evidence with which to modify the likelihood, even if it could be estimated.
Pascal says: believe, or at least try to believe, in God. Then, you will win everything if you are right and lose nothing if you are wrong. This is false reasoning. The purpose of reasoning is to find Truth. If you believe in God and he does not exist, then you have lost a lifetime's possibility of believing what is True. You have based your life on an illusion.
Bayesian inference gives us a definite answer about the likelihood of God's existence. There is no reason to choose either way, so the prior probability of his existence is 50%. There is no accumulating evidence to modify this prior probability: so it stays at 50%.
Now, if God DOES exist why should he give a damn about what you believe? He is more likely to take notice of how you behave: if he cares to take notice of anything at all.
2006-10-12 13:09:59 · answer #1 · answered by Barks-at-Parrots 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Pascal's Wager only works if you assume Christianity is true. Otherwise, there is no God figure to wager against. From a nontheistic standpoint, it is too vague a reasoning to consider. Alright, I contend that it would be better to believe in God than not to, but which God do I choose? Again, Pascal's wager assumes the Christian God is real. Faith is a necessary condition for these arguments to work; arguments that attempt to prove God's existance or necessity in the first place! Behold, the atheist's counter-wager: Live your life well, and do all you can to help mankind. If God does not exist, at least you used your one life well. If God does exist, he will reward your love and kindness. If God does not reward you simply because you did not believe in him, that's not the kind of God you'd like to spend eternity with anyways.
2016-03-28 06:55:55 · answer #2 · answered by Marie 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm a Christian and I find the wager ridiculous, my faith in God isn't simply based on me wanting to go to Heaven, I want to go to heaven because that's where He will be. When I hear people talk about that wager, it makes me think of a goldigger marrying some rich guy because of what he can do for her. God knows the heart of everyone, so He will definitely know who genuinely loves Him and who's just trying to get a get out of hell free card.
2006-10-12 12:46:16 · answer #3 · answered by ICUD 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
also not taking into account that there are thousands of other religions and sects within those religions. Also forgetting that god may favor atheists for living a good life and Christians sent to hell for condemning homosexuals. You have to understand that for their mental capacity pascals wager is like them building up the theory of thermonuclear dynamics from scratch.
2006-10-12 12:41:08 · answer #4 · answered by Alucard 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
What they don't see is that Pascal's Wager only requires a "belief" in God. However, that could be any God. Also, we all know that the bible says that the two most important commandments are "Love the Lord thy God with ALL thy HEART, with ALL the SOUL, with ALL they MIND and with ALL thy STRENGTH" the second is to "Love your neighbor as yourself.
Belief isn't good enough for bible god, he requires complete love and a lifestyle of kissing his almighty butt as well as trying to figure out which commands to obey.
2006-10-12 12:43:34 · answer #5 · answered by FreeThinker 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The desire to be with Christ is the reason many Christians want to go there. Going to heaven is just a result.
Christianity is about a relationship with a real 'person' and not merely a bet on something seen as a better alternative.
2006-10-12 12:43:09 · answer #6 · answered by jewel_flower 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Oh noes, we can't actually believe in god if we're Christians according to you I guess. Sheesh, get a life if you're happy being nice and religion free then good for you. You don't need to try to make everyone else the same way. It is people like you that make Atheists look bad
2006-10-12 12:41:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I like my life so I will NOT be beting against God ( he always wins.)Yes God sees everything you do , he already knows your thoughts before you think them.He knows how many hairs are on your head. The reason he allows us to do stupid things against each other is because we have a free will to do what we want. If we do good then he blesses us mightily, but if we do bad he allows bad things to happen to us.I love my God & want his blessing so I try to do good. I am NOT perfect but SAVED through his blood.
2006-10-12 12:54:52 · answer #8 · answered by BUTCH 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's true, IMHO . . . Christianity isn't about taking the safest bet, and knowledge about God isn't about taking a stab in the dark, it's about careful consideration and coming to a conclusion.
2006-10-12 12:39:19 · answer #9 · answered by GreetingsEarthling 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
You didn't show the inherent contradiction of Pascal's wager. Have you read it?
2006-10-12 12:40:17 · answer #10 · answered by BABY 3 · 3⤊ 2⤋