Blaise Pascal considered the question of belief. “Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists.”
I have a quibble or two with Pascal.
- It isn’t just a matter of belief. There are religions. What if god exists but he hates your religion? Maybe he hates all religions. It’s not like Pascal liked religions. ““Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” – Blaise Pascal, “Pensées”.
- Does being an atheist while god exists consign you to hell? The Pope says not necessarily. https://www.catholic.org/news/hf/faith/story.php?id=51077
- Pascal makes the assumption that there is only one god. Throughout human history, there have been thousands of gods. Turns out betting on any one of them was a bad bet.
- Believing in god when god does not exist is not just a waste of time; it is a waste of life, the only one you get.
- That eternal, infinite reward is heaven. What is heaven? Is it really any better than the horribly boring place that it is usually described as? No sex in heaven? Why would I sign up for that?
- Can’t god tell what is truly in your heart? Betting that god exists merely for the purpose of saying one’s butt from hellfire doesn’t strike me as very convincing.
- So I propose a better bet. I bet there is no god. If I’m wrong about that, I’m betting that he/she appreciates that I lived a life as good as I could and I hope heaven includes sex. If I’m right, I am the biggest winner. I got to live my life on my terms and I hope I help others do the same along the way.
