According to Pascal's wager, one should believe/accept Jesus because "What's the downside"......?

Question

I have two questions.....

1st.....if one is accepting Jesus because they are afraid to go to hell, and they are accepting him just to be safe....if that true faith?

2nd....If there are multiple religions, and they all teach that if you don't accept their God you will go to hell, does one become a pantheist? (Pantheism means that you'd worship multiple Gods)

If you are worshiping multiple Gods, you violate the faith of Christianity and go to hell anyway....so how does one resolve Pascal's Wager when there are multiple religions that offer salvation or punishment?

Thanks for correcting my use of pantheism.....it's been a while since I've had a theology course. I was always more interested in Biology anyway, if you know what I mean. (drum roll)

Answer 1

No, pantheism is were you think the whole universe is God, I think you are thinking of polytheism which is were you worship many Gods.

Good question though. Pascal's wager is the worst argument someone could use for belief in their God.

Answer 2

Refusing to accept a claim that is made with no evidence to support it is not morally "wrong". There is nothing "bad" about it, and I would have done nothing to regret. It's not a matter of right vs. wrong, it's about correct vs. incorrect. I would not have been wrong, I still would have been correct to come to the conclusions I had, given the data. Given new data, I would come to a new conclusion, and that would also be correct. That's how science works. That's why Pascal's Wager doesn't work for me, because it assumes that the position that God does not exist is either correct or incorrect. It is not. It is correct, no matter what, because a logical person could not conclude otherwise at this time. If the existence of God was proven, atheists would come to a new conclusion...that he exists, and they would still be correct.

Any god that wouldn't understand that would be far too stupid a deity to hold any further interest for me.

Answer 3

Pascal was a mathematician. He had some kind of conversion experience while sitting in front of a fireplace. After that he wrote a book of sayings called Les Pensees. In these meditations or thoughts he tried to reveal the power and glory of Christ.
Because he knew that the people reading about Christ were often of a mathematical bent, and because a rationalistic approach to religion has been offered and picked up from another mathematician, Rene Descartes, he threw out his "wager" to challenge those so-called rationalists on their own ground -- probability. He knew that they were foolish in their conceits which challenged faith. So, he gave them a "stumper" that would fit their mindset: If you don't have faith, then by the laws of probability you have everything to gain and nothing to lose by believing. Thus your unbelief is not rational, because the rational system, without faith, is based on 'rational self-interest.'

Answer 4

Okay, I'll see whether I can actually answer your question.

Pascal's Wager runs thus:
1) believe in God and be right, win big.
2) believe in God and be wrong, lose, but lose little as you don't know it.
3) disbelieve in God and be right and win, but win little (see #2).
4) disbelieve in God and be wrong, and lose, but lose very big.
THUS, it is worth all of one's effort to be sure that one believes in the correct God (answering the skeptic up there.) There is no "downside" per se, only some work to do to be sure that the God you worship is real and true. I have done that work so I can tell you that it is possible (if you're willing to be honest with the results.) I think this also answers your comment about "worshiping multiple Gods." One must accept that most humans are liars. Do your research. God will wait, if you're being honest with your results.

Answer 5

i'd nevertheless flow with Pascal for 2 motives: demons have carried out little, if some thing, to make this international a extra perfect position; and 2d, no demon ever had a computing device software named after him (PASCAL)--ok, ok, undesirable premise. nevertheless, i choose the Pascal's wager.

Answer 6

Wow, so you figured out that Pascal's Wager is crap. Congrats.

But re #2: pantheism is the belief that God is everything. Polytheism is the word you're looking for.

Answer 7

Pascal's wager is also wrong about losing nothing if Christianity is wrong; you lose all the time and energy that went into your religious activity. Pascal's wager can be applied to any claim about eternal damnation, since it is so huge and any other request is small in comparison.

Answer 8

Awesome question.
Intent is soooooooo important. While fear of Hell is not a bad thing. I think that Hell is a fearful place. However, a true christian should come to a point in his/her life that they really realize that they DESERVE Hell because of their offenses to God, and that He sent His son to save us from that punishment. The intent should now be gratefulness towards the Savior. Jesus Christ. If one truly believes this, their life should reflect that belief. Turn from your sins and trust your Savior.

Answer 9

If you didn't break the law would you go to jail. But if you didn't no the law, and accidentally broke it what would the judge do. If you received the Holly Spirit then you would stand convicted of sin. Jesus came into the world not to end the law but to fulfill it by the spirit convicting us of our sins. Ten commands weren't enough law is for morality not lawlessness. Their is a passage in the Bible which states his laws are written on their hearts.

Answer 10

According to Pascal's Wager, one should believe in God. Any god will do.