Posted: 10/7/2005 6:32:17 AM EDT
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A recent post mentioned Pascal's Wager being used to convert a non-Christian. I've heard it numerous times as an argument why I should convert myself. For those unfamiliar, a brief summation of Pascal's Wager is the following: 1. If you believe in God, and God actually exists, then you will have everlasting life. 2. If you believe in God, but there actually is no God, then you have nothing to loose but have lived a good life helping others. 3. If you don't believe in God, but the Bible is true, you will suffer eternally in Hell. 4. If you don't believe in God, but there actually is no God, then you loose nothing. Basically since you have little to loose and everything to gain by believing, you should therefore believe in God. HOWEVER, the main problems I have had with Pascal's Wager are: 1. People cannot agree on the definition or nature of God. 2. If there is a God it does not necessarily follow that there is a heaven or even everlasting life. 3. There are numerous alternative religious beliefs that could be inserted with different results. (I.e. Zen - enlightenment, Islam martyr - 77 virgins, etc.) But I'm sure there are others. Am I missing something? Martin PS The following are links to more detailed discussions: www.abarnett.demon.co.uk/atheism/wager.html plato.stanford.edu/entries/pascal-wager www.infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/heaven.html |
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you're not missing anything Pascal's Wager has several problems 1) it doesn't address the fact that the God you choose to worship might not be the right God. If you become a Christian and Hindus are correct, you could be in some trouble. 2) it also doesn't take into account that if you say you believe when you actually don't, does it really count? I can go to Church, recieve baptism, and pray all day. It won't change the fact that I don't believe in God. If there is a God, I'd rather stand before him an honest atheist than a hypocritical atheist who pretended to believe in him. |
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Hindu believes in reincarnation so you get a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance, etc until you attain Moksha. You still have nothing to lose. And many other religions believe there is more than one way to heaven so you still might get to heaven if your good and a Christian. Dino makes a good point, and I paraphrase, its better to be an honest atheist then lukewarm Christian.
Shok |
In Hinduism there is nothing to gain by becoming a Christian either. A good man who is not a Christian recieves the same treatment as a good man who is a Christian. A bad man who is not a Christian recieves the same treatment as a bad man who is a Christian. For those religions that accept many paths to heaven, it still doesn't mean Christianity is preferrable to any other religion you can choose. Those are incidental to it for me though. The killer is I won't say I believe when I don't. If something changes in my life to make me believe God exists, then I would have no issue accepting a Theistic religion (not necessarily mainstream Christianity though). Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong. -- Thomas Jefferson, considering three different explanations for why sea shells would be found at higher elevations than one should reasonably expect an ocean to have existed, in Notes on the State of Virginia †† Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must approve the homage of reason rather than of blind-folded fear. -- Thomas Jefferson, to Peter Carr, 10 Aug. 1787. (original capitalization of the word god is retained per original) |