What's the logical argument that refutes Pascal's wager besides simply not believing in God?

Question

Faking belief doesn't refute Pascal's wager.
But that number of Gods and which one to believe is right.

But what if we're specifically talking about one god to believe in? =P

Anyone heard of the atheist's wager.

Every agnostic/atheist should be.

Answer 1

Pascal's wager assumes that essentially everything Christians believe is true, then goes on to argue that one should therefore be a Christian. That's not very convincing, of course.

There. By the time I posted this, you already had two perfectly good arguments* refuting Pascal's wager, and here's the third.

* Two people posted the same one.

Answer 2

What if the god that really exists sends all good people to heaven and all bad people to hell except people who pretended to know for a fact another god existed? then all good atheists are going to heaven but YOU ARE GOING STRAIGHT TO HELL. Why not repend when you still have time? Why risk eternity in hell?

And how can you worship a sadistic god that tortures good people - most of the people who ever lived - for all eternity?

Pascal's wager:

"If god exists, it's infinitely better to believe, since you get heaven instead of hell for eternity. If he doesn't, it doesn't matter since you're dead anyway. So overall it's better to believe"

This is, of course, false.

Some of the problems with the argument:

* The implied assumption that god may exist (with a 50% probability, no less!)

* The assumption that there is an afterlife with a heaven and hell

* The assumption that the god cares about belief in him/her above all else

* The assumption that if you believe in a god, it will definitely be the same god that actually exists.

* The assumption that you lose nothing if it's false. You have lost a great deal, from time praying to a nonexistent entity (some people pray several hours a day!!!) to morality (your god may ask you to hurt other people) and much more besides.

* The assumption that people can believe in something simply because it benefits them. Would you believe goblins exist for twenty bucks? Why not?

* The assumption that any god won't see through the "believing just to get into heaven" ploy.

For more:
http://www.abarnett.demon.co.uk/atheism/wager.html
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pascal-wager/
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/theism/wager.html

Answer 3

Pascal's wager assumes that a god exists and judges people on their beliefs with heaven and hell.

In other words, P.w. assumes the Christian god is right before the game even begins.

P.w. says that it's better to believe in a god and lose nothing if a god does not exist, instead of not believing in a god and losing heaven if you are wrong.

The wager is like a lottery, because all gods (2,000+) are based on faith, with equal likelihood of being right or wrong.
It makes sense to pick the religion with the most promises.

But there is no assured jackpot (no evidence) or certainty of gods, and why wouldn't an omniscient being see through the ruse? Not to mention that believing in some religions could reduce quality of life (imagine being a woman under Shariah Law), so you'll probably end up losing anyway.

Answer 4

firstly for this argument to work one must assume that god exist but you cannot allow for the assuption that he does not.
If I assume pink elephants will grant you three wishes if you follow my religious belief but you will be damned if you don't are you going to fall for my bluff ?
and if we assume one must be evil to go to heaven but good people will be damned will you alter your beliefs and behavior once again ....? No of course then why should I?
just as in the copenhagen experiment one does not really know whether the cat lives or dies without openning the box.
I'm sure i've heard other counters as well ..
peace and enjoy your life,for when it ends Pascal will not be there either .

Answer 5

You might be worshiping the wrong God. Maybe only the Zoroastrians got it right. How could one be sure?

That said, Pascal was very clear - his wager was limited to belief in Jesus.

Answer 6

You can't fake belief. If you don't believe in god, but go to church on the off-chance that it will keep you out of hell, god (assuming he turns out to be existent) will know you really didn't believe, and you'll be damned anyway. Also, with the multitude of religions, how could anyone be sure they've chosen the correct one?

Answer 7

which god do you believe? there are thousands. many don't permit you to follow any god but them, thus one is automatically doomed by the other ones.

Answer 8

If "he's" omnipotent, "he" will know that you're faking it.