do you think god wants people to...?

Question

believe in him as a form of insurance? wouldnt that be like "using" god?

isnt that what they try to teach by using pascals wager?

Answer 1

Hi Chippy,
yeah it does like they are just using Him - sounds like a bad idea to me;
hey, what the hell is "pascals wager"??
I've been hearing people refer to it, and I don't know what it is --

Answer 2

pascal's wager is just outright garbage and downright insulting i like the atheist's wager better and i'm not even an atheist anyway no why would god want anybody to use him as an insurance plan it's not like driving an automobile where you need coverage it's a totally different thing and some people don't understand that anyway if it's about assurance then why not worship all of the gods to be on the safe side

Answer 3

Pascal's Wager is a reason to believe that is worse than blind faith!

Yeah it teaches that god wants us to believe in him as insurance. That's why all the scare tactics are used. Make people picture a worst-case scenario and they will do anything to avoid it.

Answer 4

Not at all, God wants to restore you to a loving relationship with him (the reason He created you). You can't use God as an insurance plan... the insurance doesn't work by simply saying I believe. You must believe to the point of having a genuine relationship, a loving relationship... obeying him not because He is an insurance plan but because you love Him, stand for everything He stands for, rejoice in his precepts. You see how mutually exclusive the insurance plan and the relationship is to eachother... you either see God as a person or simply a means to an end, you can't have both... eventhough you might start out with the insurance plan idea, but hopefully end up having a relationship that will move you to Faith, which will be credited to you as righeousness.

Answer 5

Pretty much. Pascal's Wager is a weak argument. It insults the notion of God. Those who cite Pascal's Wager demonstrate to the rest of us that they are amoral opportunists, who cling to God only as a life vest and not as a partner.

For such a brilliant mathematician, I am a bit surprised that Pascal considered this a valid wager.

For one, you can't fake belief in God. Should God exist, then he would know that you believed in him only out of fear and not out of reverence. That makes you worse than the nonbeliever who was honest about his beliefs.

For another, it assumes a 50% shot. With thousands of religions out there, it's definitely not a 50/50 chance. The wager supposes that if you believe in God and he doesn't exist, then you've lost nothing. That's not true. If another religion has an intolerant view of belief, then your belief in God causes you to lose as much as an atheist as the real religion asserts itself.

Pascal's Wager is the desperate tool of a man weak in faith. He sees no reason to follow his god, so he instead says, "The alternative is worse, so I guess I have nothing better to do but to believe in God." It is sheer intellectual dishonesty.

Answer 6

You are not seeing the way you should. Many do not present the gospel right- BUT when it all comes down to it--yes it is like a parachute saving you from your death- Jesus Christ that is. I think for one to understand this, they have to set aside their pride first, and humble themselves before the Lord, and God has to lift the veil from their eyes.

Answer 7

No, God wants faith/belief as a form of Assurance

Answer 8

Believing in God under any pretense or personal desire is best than denying His existence, He is not annoyed nor concerned.

Answer 9

I think your dead right. God doesn't want you to be scared into believing. I believe God seeks a relationship with those He creates based on love. We therefore have to learn to love God.

Answer 10

Some do it out of fear and some because they truly love God. The proof is in the heart.