The problem with Pascal's Wager is that it is entirely reliant on ONE world view and it's opposite - that is, that there are only two possibilities when you die.

On one side, you have the Christian view, that when you die you are judged for your sins, and if you are judged worthy, you go to Heaven.

On the other side, you have the Atheist view, that says that when you die, you do nothing but push up daisies for eternity.

Pascal's Wager says that the safest route through life is to be a good christian so that you'll get into heaven. If God exists, you'll spend eternity in heaven, and if God doesn't exist, you'll have lost nothing (except your brief time on earth).

The problem with this is that it assumes that these are the only two possibilities, and it reveals the ultimate arrogance of Christianity.

What about reincarnation?

Or what about purgatory?

What about a million other possibilities which don't involve hell, but include an afterlife?

Pascal's Wager is not an argument, simply because it doesn't take into account people who are not of one of two worldviews - either christian, or atheist.


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Re: Pascal's Wager DEBUNKED
By: Atari X to All on Mon Jan 11 2010 02:55:06

The problem with Pascal's Wager is that it is entirely reliant on ONE world view and it's opposite - that is, that there are only two possibilities when you die.

I take it as "playing it safe" writ large, a means of choosing between several options when not enough information is available. It may be framed here as a way to help a person choose whether or not to follow the Christian path, but it could be applied to many different scenarios.

Pascal's Wager says that the safest route through life is to be a good christian so that you'll get into heaven. If God exists, you'll spend etern in heaven, and if God doesn't exist, you'll have lost nothing (except your brief time on earth).

I think that, for a Christian who was having doubts about their faith, this would seem like a real option. It's very flawed and very limited, but in that situation it would work. Whereas if I started today to go through the motions of being a Christian, without having any actual faith, I wouldn't expect for it to be of any benefit to me in the end. There would be no point in my having made the wager, because I have no doubts.

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