Why do people choose to be Atheists? Why not be Christian, since you have nothing to loose?

Question

If you believe in Jesus, well you're going to Heaven!!

But if you don't, then you won't.

So what are you losing by believing in Christ?

Answer 1

Pascal's Wager is a famous argument to believe in God. While you may not have heard it called that, you have probably heard it in one form or another. If nothing else, someone may have asked you: "What have you got to lose by believing in God?"

In essence, you are asked to analyze the question of God's existence in terms of a bet, that is to say, in terms of the odds of winning and the payoff. If there is no God, it doesn't matter what you bet: you are worm food either way. If there is a God, and you believe, then you go to heaven; and you don't believe, you go to hell.

In a normal betting situation, you need to compare what it costs to play to the odds of winning and the payoff. This is not a normal betting situation. The payoff is infinite and the cost is finite. As long as there is any chance at all, no matter how small, it is best to bet for God. You have nothing to lose, and infinitely much to gain. Or so the reasoning goes.

Bait and Switch
Let me begin by making it clear that Pascal's wager is not really about believing in God, it's about accepting religion. It might be an old religion with lots of cathedrals and a globe-spanning ministry, or a tiny little cult that meets in someone's front room. At the very least it will be a definition of God that you must accept, along with the infrastructure needed to propagate that definition.

Don't believe me? Next time some Mighty Zombie asks if you believe in God tell them this: "Sure: I believe God is sex, and I definitely believe in sex." If they're cute and you're available, wink.

Choices
Suppose I decided that Pascal is right, that I should "get religion" just in case. Which one should I choose? On a worldwide basis, roughly equal numbers of people are Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Hindu, each having roughly one billion adherents. Another billion have some religion other than one of the big four. The remaining billion or so have no religion. None of the religions call to me. I have no basis for choosing one over the other. When I knelt and prayed for guidance God told me he didn't exist.

All-Powerful = All-Stupid?
If God does exist, presumably He'll know I don't really believe in Him, that I'm pretending to believe in him on the off chance that He might really exist. If He's willing to accept me if I just "Go through the motions" then I suspect just being a good person will also be enough. Pascal's own answer to this point was that this is why we have churches, to help us grow in faith. In other words, if I submit to a church-approved brainwashing program, they can make me believe. I do not find this comforting.

Hidden Costs
The cost to "place the bet" is not as low as some would claim. Tithes and other contributions are just the beginning. People are dying, now, as I type, because of their religion, or because of somebody else's religion. There are people refusing medical treatment because it's "against their religion". There are people killing other people over religion. The "ethnic cleansing" in Eastern Europe was very much a religious war between Christians and Muslims. Similar conflicts are taking place in Indonesia. And let's not forget 9/11.

If You Bet, Bet Responsibly
Let's suppose someone offers you the following wager: Roll a single die. If it comes up a six, they will give you ten thousand dollars. If it comes up 1 through 5, you give them one thousand dollars. Should you take the bet? The odds of winning are 1:6 and the payoff is 10:1. If you've got a thousand bucks to spare, it's a good bet. But if that money is supposed to go towards rent and utilities, then it would be irresponsible of you to make the bet.

If we atheists are right, this is the only life you have. Using it to place a risky bet is irresponsible.

Reverend James's Wager
Let's end our discussion with an "intuition pump." Reverend James's Wager is a not-so-famous argument to send me a five-dollar (US) donation via PayPal:


If you send the money you will go to Heaven when you die. If you don't, you will go to Hell. You may question my ability to actually pay off, especially the part about sending you to hell. Gotcha! The "Trinity Knot" near the top of this page is actually a soul-trap; a little something I ran across in my occult studies. This altered version should make its nature clear:

Three interlocked sixes, the mark of the beast. Actually, just a mark of the beast. There are dozens. But I digress. The inscription is ancient Greek and says, in essence, "I freely accept this mark by tracing it." More or less the metaphysical equivalent of a shrink-wrap license. It counts, even though most of you can't read it, because much of the New Testament was also written in ancient Greek, making it a de facto official language for this sort of thing.

If you traced it with your eyes (which is almost impossible not to do, at least subconsciously) you "bear the mark" on your forehead. If you actually traced it with a finger or with a pointing device you manipulated with your hand (like a mouse), then you "bear the mark" on your hand. Since you took it of your own free will (even if you didn't know what you were doing) there is no way for you to get rid of it. Jesus won't even look at you if you have the mark. I can, however, refuse to let you have it. I will do this if you send me the five-dollar donation I mentioned earlier.

Still skeptical? Remember that this is not a normal betting situation. The payoff is infinite and the cost is finite. If there is any chance, no matter how small, that I can damn you then it's a good bet to send me the money. You have so little to lose, and infinitely much to gain. Besides which, what's five dollars compared with spending even one Sunday in church?

Perhaps you'd rather bet that the whole trinity knot / soul trap / mark of the beast is something I just made up to encourage your generosity. Perhaps you also think that the ancient Greek inscription is nonsense. Considering what's at stake, Can you really take that chance?

Answer 2

You know what i have read your other questions about athiests and christians. And im sick of hearding the same thing over and over again. Get over yourself there is no heaven there is no hell. Do you believe in magic? Didnt think so but then how could jesus or whatever come back to life or how could that one guy fit 2 of every animal on 1 boat. Those both would be magic and well magic is not real. So "Why not be a Chrisitan since i have nothing to loose? Because im athiest and damn proud of that. you can report this message if you want i dont give a **** cause your ******* wrong about everything you say. ACCEPT PEOPLE FOR WHO THEY ARE if you dont then i guess you are going to go to hell. Now i still accept chrisitans and i can accept you but not the way you dicsriminate againt people. I hope you wake up and relise the pain you have probably caused people.

Answer 3

Simply believing in Jesus doesn't grant you entry to heaven. No where in the Bible does it state that belief is what gets you saved, but rather actions. Atheism isn't a choice, it is a label that Christians use mostly to define those that don't believe in God. I wouldn't choose to be a Christian because I don't believe there is a God, I'm not a hypocrite. All the guilt association that goes with it I can also do without. Christianity is a whole lifestyle whereas being an Atheist is simply a word that means I don't believe in God, but it doesn't define me and has no bearing on what my lifestyle choices are.

Answer 4

Some people worship the Truth. I know I do. I can't be wrong here, since Jesus is the "Way, the Truth, and the Life." If I come to know the Truth without assigning the name "Jesus" to it, I'll still be saved... trust me. Jesus isn't some kind of brand or group or click to which I have to belong to be saved. I can hate your arrogance and love you as a person and still be saved. While I happen to be a Christian like you, I think your evangelical method sucks.

Human nature is governed by things far greater than fear. Fear can only bring imperfect contrition anyway... the sorrowful feeling that you're scared of an angry God. While this will still get you into Heaven, it's better to have perfect contrition. Perfect contrition can only be had through a heartfelt feeling that God is right and that you should have agreed with him all along. It's the lifestyle of doing good for good's sake and not simply doing good to avoid Hell.

You should study motivational psychology. There are three primary motives for human behavior: fear, reward, and self-motivation. Fear and reward only work when the pending punishment or prize are awaiting. Once they're gone, the motivation goes away. A lot of people stop working when their boss leaves, and nobody is going to enter a contest when the drawing is over. There is a self-motivation, however, that is stronger and longer-lasting than the other two. It is this inner drive that allows people to truly succeed in all areas of life, from business to salvation.

You see, sin is often caused by forgetfulness. People stop doing good when they forget about the reward of Heaven. Forgetting about an unseen reward is just as good as not having it at all. The same is true for the fear of Hell. The inner drive to do good.... the self realization that doing good is the best thing to do... is the ultimate way to live as a Christian.

Answer 5

Even if I could ascertain for 100% that god exists, I would still be an atheist. What I mean by this is that, no matter what, I would never worship a god like that of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, or any other religion. You are afraid of your god, because of his cruelty, mercilessness (despite constantly trying to tell yourselves that he is merciful: your god is not merciful), unquenching desire for punishment and so on. Who wants a god like that? Christians have white-washed their god. He is the gentle, meek and mild Jesus. But read the bible to get a better understanding of how cruel the Judeo-Christian god is portrayed. Were you to you realise that religion is mired in antiquity, in the superstitions of primitive people, and capitalised on by institutionalised religious organisations, then you would have had your eyes opened to reality. About your argument that you would be 100% safe with your choice, and I stand at most a 50% chance: the reasoning is flawed. I am living in the present, you are trying to live in the future (an uncertain future at that). Your life in the present is not free, your mind is not liberated from superstitions, false doctrines, illogical arguments, damaging notions, and the like. You are a victim. You are afraid, and you can't deny it because your question revolves around the possibility of hell. You may think you are free, but you are trapped by false ideology. In essence, your life is wasted by your oppressive religion. Watch how the 'religious' fight against each other, yet they all believe in this loving merciful, just and lovely god. Look at how prejudiced they are, how they are prepared to oppress, kill, imprison etc. those who believe differently. Each one completely believes that his/her religion, beliefs, or dogma is correct, and the only possible way. This goes for all religions. Is this what life is about, is this what religion is about? What do all these religious people propose when they are supposedly all in heaven? Will they all suddenly change? Would they all become loving, tolerant, kind, gentle and caring? How absurd. Is this the 'god' you serve, this is your religion. Is this what I should believe and behave like? As I said, this is not a god/s that I am able to find any redeeming features in. I live my life as an atheist, and I am free - unfettered by your religious shackles.

Answer 6

We it is not just enough to believe. Remember that- by their fruits you will see what kind of a person he or she is.We are saved by grace but we can embrace grace by our works. Without works we are still given grace but we will not be saved.
So...if you become a christian u actually have alot of things to lose. Well, for example, Sex before marriage, no more drinking, no more being cool at skool saying "F this f that" with pants up to ur knees. SO it all depends. If you do not take pleasure in earthly good and want Everlasting good then ur good to go. hope this helps.

Answer 7

What is your suggestion when you don't believe in Heaven or Hell either.

Just for a second think about this....once you found out there was no Santa it was impossible to make yourself continue to believe in him...even if you didn't think you were ever going to get toys again.

Same thing for most Atheist including me.

Answer 8

the funny thing about your question and some of the insults is that Christianity was obviously spread in the begining to people who had no religion. A lot of them accepted it and for those places that did not, the preacher would wipe off his sandals and God said it would be horrible for that place on Judgement day. what am i saying? I dont know, but anyway you are right!

Answer 9

Pretending belief because of fear isn't true belief.

I wish everyone would get OFF of Pascal's Wager, already. According to your exact logic, I ask: Why do you choose to be Christian? Why not believe in Zeus, since you have nothing to lose? If you believe in Zeus, he will love you!! If you don't, he'll throw lightening at you!

Answer 10

Your name suits you perfectly! What makes you believe Jesus is the end all and be all? there are hundreds of religions out there. How could you be so positive that jesus is the answer? because you grew up with people like Pat Robinson shoving bibles down your throat?

Answer 11

It's a question of self respect, of not following the dumb herd but been an individual and using our own judgement.