Philosophy, Pascal’s Wager
“Either Christianity is true or it's false. If you bet that it's true, and you believe in God and submit to Him, then if it IS true, you've gained God, heaven, and everything else. If it's false, you've lost nothing, but you've had a good life marked by peace and the illusion that ultimately, everything makes sense. If you bet that Christianity is not true, and it's false, you've lost nothing. But if you bet that it's false, and it turns out to be true, you've lost everything and you get to spend eternity in hell.” -
These are the words of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) who was a French mathematician, a physicist, an inventor, a writer and a Catholic philosopher during the Scientific Revolution. These words are known as Pascal’s Wager. They are not an evidence for the existence of God, but they are his defence and argument for believing in God.
As a radical contrast to those “proofs” of the existence of God made by earlier philosophers, Pascal’s Wager is not an evidence for the existence of God. Pascal considered that there was no idea in trying to prove God’s existence and instead, he decided to concentrate on finding reasons for believing in God. As a matter of fact, I agree with him, because how can we know if God exists? Right now there is only one way to find out if he exists, to end your life, and then find it out. Although, I can assure, you will not be likely to tell anyone else about it.
Although Pascal was the first who came up with the first theory of this kind, he was not the first who had been thinking in this direction. Plato, Arnobius, Lactantius and the Islamic theologian Al-Ghazali are some other important philosophers who were at the same line of reasoning.
Many philosophers think Pascal’s Wager is the weakest of all arguments for believing in the existence of God. I, on the other hand, think that it is a start and believe that Pascal really was onto something. Consider the times he lived in. Atheism was growing in Europe and the old arguments for believing in God were fading away. Pascal came up with a new argument for believing in God that I think, to a certain limit, is strong enough for the moment to dam the tide of Atheism. What it is that makes his theory special is that he supports his belief on logic reasoning instead of pure faith. By doing so, he shows us that the modern time of science and enlightenment is here, and I think that that makes the argument even stronger.
I agree with Pascal’s Wager in one way. Because as you can see in Pascal’s Wager, he believes that you have nothing to lose if you have faith in God. This makes sense to me, because, honestly, what do you lose? Someone might say that the greatest loss is time. The amount of time a person has lost in worship and devotion that could have been spent on something else. Well, as a matter of fact, I do not see life in that way. My interpretation is that if you live a life where you attempt to be a good Christian, you will find out being that is more than just worship to God. To be a pure Christian is to be a good person, to treat others just as you would like others to treat you (The Golden Rule), and other examples of being empathetic and sympathetic.
And yet, there are some things that I find difficult to corporate with in Pascal’s Wagers. Because Pascal said many things that I certainly never would agree with, and as a follower of Jansenism (A movement within Catholicism that highlighted the infinite might of God), Pascal believed that only a chosen group would receive the infinite grace of God, while the other ones would be awarded with a one-way ticket to hell. Here is where my beliefs and Pascal’s differ the most. I do not believe that God’s infinite grace only is given to a chosen group. Instead, I believe that all God’s creatures share his immeasurable grace. Neither do I believe that your final destination will be hell if you do not believe in Christianity. I think that is one of the biggest misunderstandings and mistakes mankind ever have done. I neither believe that we are born sinful nor have to obey God to avoid hell. Actually, if I should be honest, which of course is essential in my own article that I am, I do not believe in hell at all, since according to the Bible, and my interpretation of it, God gave mankind a free will and the opportunity to decide what to do and what not to do. Humans are equipped with feelings, morality and other things to help her in her choices. The adaptation of God where he is evil and sending none-believers to hell is, according to my own opinion, not the real God. This is a god who man has created, not the God who has created man.
The question is, why should we believe in God, if he nevertheless will not punish us for not believing in him? I find the answer easy to understand. He might not punish infidelity but who said that he does not reward allegiance? However that question, my dear friends who have read this far to long text, is yet another mind-twister that we will not be likely to find out the truth about yet.
As a conclusion, I do not think it is relevant to discover if Christianity is true or false. My opinion is that I see Christianity as a lifestyle where you aim to be an caring and loving human being in a world where war, suffering and fear is part of many peoples’ everyday life. Christianity for me can be a good way to live a good life marked by peace, love and the illusion that everything will, finally, make sense.
Please comment on this article and tell my about your opinion!
For more info about Pascal and his Wagers, check out Wikipedia’s featured article about Blaise Pascal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Pascal
By: Olof Eriksson
Wow, sort of found myself just nodding in agreement when reading this article since you seem to have covered sort of any angle to look at this question on. Well at least a lot of them!
However, I think that it is easier to apply this theory today, since, as you wrote, being a good christian is about being a good, empathic and caring person (which I think most people try to be anyway) and not about worship etc. When Pascal lived, I believe that you more or less chose to either believe in god or not. Only black and white. I would say that a lot of people today have taken quite a greyish color in that aspect, since christianity doesn't have to be any more complicated than being a good human.
At last, about the quote! Even though Pascal had faith in God, it is difficult to say from this quote what he really believed. As if he believed in what he would profit the most from. And since he found that he would gain most from being a christian he was. But if you take it that way, was he really a good christian (as in good christian at the time when he lived)?
Hope it was not too impossible to follow my thoughts, for sure a very interesting article!
(:
First of all, thank you for you wonderful and interesting commentaries! I am glad to hear that you have understood my message with this text and that you give me an insight in your thoughts.
I agree with you when you say that the times when Pascal lived gave you more or less no choice than to either believe in God or not. Only black and white. And I also agree with you when you say that it is easier today and that people take a greyish colour in that aspect and strive to be good humans. You do not have to be a Christian to be a good person, but Christianity is a way of being a good human and to believe in something bigger.
Indeed, the quote does not tell us what Pascal really believed. Although, as I wrote in the text, consider the times he lived in. Atheism was growing stronger and the old arguments for believing in God were quite bad. What Pascal tried to do was not to provide us with evidence for God’s existence. Instead, he tried to give a strong argument for believing in God. He used his skills in maths and within probability to reach the conclusion that God exists (BTW: That he came up with this through logic reasoning and probability and not pure faith shows the modern times of science and enlightenment). So I either think that he believed in God and wanted other to do so as well, and thus he came up wit his wager. Or as you say, he decided to be a Christian after he had came up with his wager, and when he knew that he would gain from being that.
Hope that is some kind of answer to your good question!
Yet again, thank you for sharing your thoughts and thank you for enjoying my article!
(:
I also agree with you Olof, and with you Victoria.
I think that every single person believe in something bigger than themselves. Otherwise, why should we be in this world if we doesn't have nothing to believe in? We will never have an answer to all this questions about God and our existing before we die. And if God exist then it's better to be a caring and loving person, so that if God and the heaven exist, then you are a winner.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Linnea!
As I said, Christianity is a way of being a good person, and as you say Linnea, there is a lot you are able to win.
First of all really good work Olof! I will now try to see if I have understand it all right, but let's hope so.
About this question if God does or does not exists I don't think there is an answer until we die neither. I don't believe in that we will get to heaven or hell when we die depending on how much we have believed in God when we were alive. I think that we should try to live or life when we have the chance and not worry so much about if we do the right or wrong thing and with that I don't mean that we should break the laws or things like that, but that we should try to do as good as we can and not be afraid of doing mistakes because we learn from our mistakes and if we will be punished when we die and get to hell (which I don't believe in) because we did some mistakes in life to learn better things then we have at least had a good life (hopefully)
I don't think that it depends so much about if we are Christians or not about that we will be caring and want to have peace and so on. Because I think it is a personal thing that every human body knows by themselves. If I could decide then I would have made the world peaceful without war and those things, but there is people in some country who wants to have war but that doesn't mean that all people in the country think so too. Some people may be born in a specific religion but don't think and feel like other people there, they may think as Christians at the inside but not dare to prove it.
I hope that I have understand this article right and that my comments is on somehow bounded to the article and once again, really good work!
First of all, to Alexandra! True thing that we learn from our mistakes, but I just want to make it clear that trying to be a good and caring person does not mean that you will fail, do bad things and make people disappointed sometimes. I do not believe that there are people who actually wants war, but it's natural to fight for what you think is right and to stand up for your opinion. It is a funny thing though that humans always tend to solve those types of problems through violence.
And then, Olof! It might be impossible to know exactly what was the purpose of Pascal's faith in God, but he definitely gave reasons to all types of humans. And as you said, to those (us) who find it hard to believe in things that are not proved by science, he actually came up with strong arguments as well. And I don't think that we've come any closer to an even more scientific explanation to the existence of God even today. I mean, that says a lot about how strong his, let me call it evidence, were.
First of all, a really interesting article Olof! It makes me start to think very much about religion.
I don’t really believe in God. But I don’t think that the humans just die and that’s it. Instead I think about one type of “re-birth”. The thought is that you became an animal in your next life. This is kind of Hinduism thoughts, that if you are a human and you have a really bad karma, you can be born like an insect in your next life, then if you building up your karma you probably became a human again. This thought also appears a bit I Christianity, where you either go to heaven or hell. If you have been a “good person” you go to heaven, and if you have been a “bad person” you go to hell. The major objective in both of the religions is to be a person that will be a “good person”. I think that this will occur in almost all religions, and if you want to believe in that it is your own choice, but in my opinion, everyone should strive to be “good persons” of course.
A very good reference you came with was: “As a matter of fact, I agree with him, because how can we know if God exists? Right now there is only one way to find out if he exists, to end your life, and then find it out.”
This is really true! For what if God really exist? As you said, the only way to find out is to end your life. Many humans had end their lives, but no one knows because you can’t really talk with the death (if you don’t believe in spirits, then you maybe think that they tell about God and so on)
Like Alexandra said, I hope that my comment is bounded to the article and that I have understood it right.
You can only find out whether God exists or not by ending your life if you actually believe that you will come to heaven/hell after this life. What if God exists, but life after this don't?
Just a thought...
I understand your thought about what I wrote and I don't mean that you always have to fail, it's just that it is so many people who don't do those things they want and isn't any "risktakers" as we say on IB because they are afraid. This doesn't mean that it always is like this, but I know it exists.
However about that with war, okay all people may not want war but I actually think that some people want it, and that is just what I think, it doesn't have to be true, but as you said I agree with that it is a funny thing that people use violence to solve problems when there is other way to do it.
I understand your thought about what I wrote and I don't mean that you always have to fail, it's just that it is so many people who don't do those things they want and isn't any "risktakers" as we say on IB because they are afraid. This doesn't mean that it always is like this, but I know it exists.
However about that with war, okay all people may not want war but I actually think that some people want it, and that is just what I think, it doesn't have to be true, but as you said I agree with that it is a funny thing that people use violence to solve problems when there is other way to do it.
Yes Victoria, it can be that way. But I think that the heaven and hell is a kind of confirmation on that God exist. If you don't come to heaven or hell, what evidence is there that God really exists?
I have to say that I agree with Marielle, because we associate hell and heaven with God and without those then there is no God because who else will decide if we're going hell or heaven. I don't believe in that there is a hell and a heaven but I just try to see it from that perspective.
It is quite interesting, as the creator of this text, to follow your comments and opinions.
First of all, my belief, as a contrast to your belief Marielle, about hell is as you can see in the text:
“Neither do I believe that your final destination will be hell if you do not believe in Christianity. I think that is one of the biggest misunderstandings and mistakes mankind ever have done. I neither believe that we are born sinful nor have to obey God to avoid hell. Actually, if I should be honest, which of course is essential in my own article that I am, I do not believe in hell at all, since according to the Bible, and my interpretation of it, God gave mankind a free will and the opportunity to decide what to do and what not to do. Humans are equipped with feelings, morality and other things to help her in her choices. The adaptation of God where he is evil and sending none-believers to hell is, according to my own opinion, not the real God. This is a god who man has created, not the God who has created man.”
Here you can read that I do not believe in hell as a destination for people who are not Christians. I agree with you that the purpose with most religions is to create a world of “good people”. I cannot tell you which religion is bad, and which is good, simply because I do not know. I do not know which religion you should pick, because the choice of religion is a deep decision only you on your own can make. My belief is, as you can see in the text:
“I do not think it is relevant to discover if Christianity is true or false. My opinion is that I see Christianity as a lifestyle where you aim to be an caring and loving human being in a world where war, suffering and fear is part of many peoples’ everyday life. Christianity for me can be a good way to live a good life marked by peace, love and the illusion that everything will, finally, make sense.”
Alexandra, I hope you can find some kind of answer in this text above, otherwise, please ask and I will do my best to explain what I mean and believe.
Both Alexandra and Marielle, great commentaries! Thank you!
And back to Victoria! It is impossible to know what he meant. We can only see our own interpretation of it. He definitely tried to give a very strong argument for the existence of God. Although, I would like to remind you, Pascal’s Wager is not an explanation for the existence of God, it is an argument for believing in God. But you are right it is a quite strong argument.
On your question: What if God exists, but life after this does not? It is a good question, But if life after this does not exist, then we will never know, because if life after this does not exist, then we just die when we die, and nothing will, unfortunately, seem to make sense. Although, I find it hard to believe, that if God exists, that he would not reveal himself. The producer does also want to be mentioned in the end credits.
(:
I almost forget, Thank you Victoria for yet again, sharing your thoughts.
Let us hope this discussion will continue tomorrow.
Night!
It is quite interesting, as the creator of this text, to follow your comments and opinions.
First of all, my belief, as a contrast to your belief Marielle, about hell is as you can see in the text:
“Neither do I believe that your final destination will be hell if you do not believe in Christianity. I think that is one of the biggest misunderstandings and mistakes mankind ever have done. I neither believe that we are born sinful nor have to obey God to avoid hell. Actually, if I should be honest, which of course is essential in my own article that I am, I do not believe in hell at all, since according to the Bible, and my interpretation of it, God gave mankind a free will and the opportunity to decide what to do and what not to do. Humans are equipped with feelings, morality and other things to help her in her choices. The adaptation of God where he is evil and sending none-believers to hell is, according to my own opinion, not the real God. This is a god who man has created, not the God who has created man.”
Here you can read that I do not believe in hell as a destination for people who are not Christians. I agree with you that the purpose with most religions is to create a world of “good people”. I cannot tell you which religion is bad, and which is good, simply because I do not know. I do not know which religion you should pick, because the choice of religion is a deep decision only you on your own can make. My belief is, as you can see in the text:
“I do not think it is relevant to discover if Christianity is true or false. My opinion is that I see Christianity as a lifestyle where you aim to be an caring and loving human being in a world where war, suffering and fear is part of many peoples’ everyday life. Christianity for me can be a good way to live a good life marked by peace, love and the illusion that everything will, finally, make sense.”
Alexandra, I hope you can find some kind of answer in this text above, otherwise, please ask and I will do my best to explain what I mean and believe.
Both Alexandra and Marielle, great commentaries! Thank you!
And back to Victoria! It is impossible to know what he meant. We can only see our own interpretation of it. He definitely tried to give a very strong argument for the existence of God. Although, I would like to remind you, Pascal’s Wager is not an explanation for the existence of God, it is an argument for believing in God. But you are right it is a quite strong argument.
On your question: What if God exists, but life after this does not? It is a good question, But if life after this does not exist, then we will never know, because if life after this does not exist, then we just die when we die, and nothing will, unfortunately, seem to make sense. Although, I find it hard to believe, that if God exists, that he would not reveal himself. The producer does also want to be mentioned in the end credits.
(:
I almost forget, Thank you Victoria for yet again, sharing your thoughts.
Let us hope this discussion will continue tomorrow.
Night!
Wow, a really great and interesting article you have written!
I can do nothing but agreeing with you. Hell is something made up by human being to make sure that kids stayed calm in school, something to threaten them with. I'm pretty sure that it says several times in the bible that God is forgiving, right? If you regret something you've done you will be forgiven, end of story.
Also, I like your thoughts about being rewarded for your faith during life on earth. Personally I don't think that the time you have spent will be in vain, some kind of privilegies should appear when you're up there. But we'll never know, right?
And now for some general thoughts about religion. According to me, religion isn't something you should try to prove with science. Religion is a way to feel comfort, and a way to explain what happens after this life. Time after time we try to come up with evidence to prove that there's actually a God or something beyond our world, beyond our imaginations. But that's just silly. Why do we even bother trying to figure it out? Your belief should be a way to escape from our modern world, a way to seek support and comfort when you need so.
And, at last, I really agree with your opinion about the way of living as a Christian. You don't have to pray or go to church if you don't wan't to, the most important thing, standing above everything else, is to be kind to the people in your surroundings and live as good as you can.
I'm glad you chose to write about this topic, and that you show different angles to look upon it. You clearly show that Christianity is something you can rely on, if you choose to do so.
Can we decide, using reason, what to believe in? Are we rational beings? Is it desirable for us to be? an you come up with any examples e.g. of benefits from basing law merely on reason, and possible benefits from basing laws, or interpretation of laws, on e.g. emotion/empathy? Pascal clearly prefered reason and logics, even when it comes to faith (him being a man of the Scientific Revolution as you pointed out Olof) What about our society today - what do "we" prefer?
Reading your fascinating thoughts and reflections really makes me a happy ol' teacher! =)
Thank you very much Sebastian! (I guess that it is Sebastian C when I read the comments)
Very good thoughts!
Although, concerning that part where you say that it is just silly that we even argue for the existence of God, I have something to say. Maybe people do bother to give evidence for his existence because they want others to believe as well. They want others to share their faith. But I do agree that Christianity is a way to seek support and comfort and that it is a way to relax.
And then Ylva! I believe that we today, in our modern world, want evidence for believing in things. We live in a world where we can find answers to all our questions just by going to a computer and by checking with the World Wide Web. And if we find a question without a real answer, I believe that we find it hard to believe. As Victoria wrote yesterday on this blog, humans, in general, wants a scientific answer to everything. When there is no answer, we find it hard to believe.
Although, I am not sure!
(:
I think that reason in a way is based on emotion, feelings and empathy, so in a way, yes you could interpret laws that way. But I think that it might be dangerous to base laws on emotions and empathy since these are things that are far to easy affected by other people and other things. As an example, love! Isn't love something that more than anything concerns emotions and empathy for other people? And isn't it wide spread that love and reason do not always collaborate very well?
Not sure I got this question right, but maybe some of you can sort it out!
And Hi again Olof, Marielle and all of you others!
About evidence, I don't know what evidence there are. Some people would say that everything you see, flowers, trees, animals, even humans, are evidence for the existence of God since he was the one who created it all. Even though you believe in Big Bang, evolution and so on, something or someone must have created Big Bang. We can't really exclude the possibility that God did and neither can we exclude that it was caused by something else. That is, of course, though a question about whether you believe in God or not.
But what if hell is not a place you come to, what if you actually are reborn as a new being and in that way are being "punished" for your sins by living an awful life where nothing goes right. Let's say that your mother dies when giving birth to you and you don't even know who is your father. You have no relatives, no friends and you are forced to live on the street where people in general look down on you, spit in your face, kicks you and harass you and so on. Wouldn't that be a shitty life, a real living hell. But would it be evidence for the existence of God? I don't know..
Hello again Victoria!
Good beliefs about love and reason Victoria! I agree with you! Also, love is both a beautiful and dangerous tool that should be used with care.
True story about Big bang and evidence! It is a question on what you believe in. You can believe that God started the big bang etc.
It is a very good question Victoria about the terrible life story. When you are at the bottom and there seems to be no way out, then the situation can improve, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”(Good quote, awesome movie) But I find it hard to believe that God would actually punish us, since he gave us a free choice to decide what to do. I cannot see that God would be crucial and punish us for being sinners. Nevertheless, it is a good question and it might be that he punishes us. But if we would be reborn, would we remember our ex-life? If we do not, then we do not know anything else and we could not now if we were punished.
Good question Victoria! I will think about it and see if I can come up with a good answer!
First and foremost, a really interesting article and it makes me doubt my atheism, or whatever I am. I kind of agree with everything you say but one thing.
As I interpreted the text you are trying to forward the message that you don't lose anything by believing in God and being a good Christian, but i think that in a way you do. It is true that everybody should have their own beliefs but what if we all had the same faith, would there be as much war and conflict as it is today. I know that some wars today are not based on what you believe in, that it is about money, and power and so on, but at least some wars are about religion. By being a Christian you feel a sense of unity with other Christians but at the same time you differ yourself from,for example, a Muslim or a Hindu. I am not saying that you shouldn't have anything to believe in, I am just saying that if we all believed in something together then there wouldn't be as much conflicts as it is today and that is where i think that you lose. Isn't it true that you can be kind and caring without believing in something? I also know that it is not that simple to say that we should unite the whole world in one religion, because peolpe have different opinions and that is what makes us human. I just want to know, is faith that important? Doesn't it come down to believing in something greater than yourself in every religion?
I don't know about you but if we could set religion aside and just focus on everything else that makes us human to take a step futher in achiving world peace(it sounds corny but i think you understand what I'm trying to say), i would surely take that step.
I agree with you on pretty much everything else, specifically on your views on heaven and hell.
Haha, Olof, I might have exaggerated the story just slightly, but you got my point!
I kind of find it hard to understand what would be the purpose of hell if not to punish people in a way. But I don't know, and I know you said that you do not at all believe in Hell.
I don't think that we should be religious in order to achieve something, like privileges, but to be a good person. But as Kimia wrote, I also believe that there are other ways to be kind and caring than by being religious.
Good thoughts Kimia! And thank you!
You are right, most religions are about believing in something bigger than ourselves. But even though Swedish is the same language, there are many different types of dialects.
As you can see in my conclusion, “Christianity for me can be a good way to live a good life marked by peace, love and the illusion that everything will, finally, make sense.“ So for me, faith is important. I agree that world peace would be really great, but I think that we could reach world peace through cooperation between all religions. Different people see life in different ways, Kimia. Therefore it is hard to decide a religion that will fit all people. I have said how I see my religion. Someone might see his/her religion in another way. If all things should be the same for everybody, then why do not all us have the same clothes? I know that you know this already, but I just wanted to make it clear, that there will be as many beliefs as there are humans.
Of course there are wars due to different views on religion. And of course a Christian person differs from a Muslim or a Hindu. They do not have the same view on life, but Christians do not have the same point of life either. That is why there are many different types of Christians, just as there are many branches of Islam. There are just as many beliefs as there are humans. But even though we do not have the same view on religion, we do not have to fight among ourselves, which I agree on.
Good thoughts, but I do not think that we can take away our faith, because it is so personal and important for us (for some of us at least). And I would not take that step, because I believe in something that is important to me. Nevertheless, we have to find a way to get along in world where globalisation is getting more global everyday.
Something like that! I hope you like my answer, otherwise, please tell me!
(=
Good thoughts Kimia! And thank you!
You are right, most religions are about believing in something bigger than ourselves. But even though Swedish is the same language, there are many different types of dialects.
As you can see in my conclusion, “Christianity for me can be a good way to live a good life marked by peace, love and the illusion that everything will, finally, make sense.“ So for me, faith is important. I agree that world peace would be really great, but I think that we could reach world peace through cooperation between all religions. Different people see life in different ways, Kimia. Therefore it is hard to decide a religion that will fit all people. I have said how I see my religion. Someone might see his/her religion in another way. If all things should be the same for everybody, then why do not all us have the same clothes? I know that you know this already, but I just wanted to make it clear, that there will be as many beliefs as there are humans.
Of course there are wars due to different views on religion. And of course a Christian person differs from a Muslim or a Hindu. They do not have the same view on life, but Christians do not have the same point of life either. That is why there are many different types of Christians, just as there are many branches of Islam. There are just as many beliefs as there are humans. But even though we do not have the same view on religion, we do not have to fight among ourselves, which I agree on.
Good thoughts, but I do not think that we can take away our faith, because it is so personal and important for us (for some of us at least). And I would not take that step, because I believe in something that is important to me. Nevertheless, we have to find a way to get along in world where globalisation is getting more global everyday.
Something like that! I hope you like my answer, otherwise, please tell me!
(=
Yes, it's me.. I've always been the only Sebastian in a class before, sorry.
That's a way to look at it, and I'm sure some people see it that way. But don't you think that some of the magic in believing would be lost if there were hard evidence of a greater power in existance? The feeling of not knowing everything is to me a big reason why I go to church in the first place.
Victoria, that's really an interesting thesis, kind of like the Buddhism. But as you say, would we know about it? I'm positive that if it is like that, it have happened many times to this moment, after all we are in the year of 2011. And as far as I know, I can't remember any life I lived before this one. So, personally, I don't think it is like that, because that would, to be honest, be kind of pointless. But that's just me.
This is deep.. Nice thoughts everybody! :)
quoting Victoria:
'At last, about the quote! Even though Pascal had faith in God, it is difficult to say from this quote what he really believed. As if he believed in what he would profit the most from. And since he found that he would gain most from being a christian he was. But if you take it that way, was he really a good christian (as in good christian at the time when he lived)?'
This is a very interesting statement.
It seems that it was just saferer for him to believe in God -- for him it was a way of protecting himself from Hell or eternal suffering.
It seems just hipocritical to me: believe in God, because it will be profitable in the long run.
However, we can also look at it from the other side, in a way of protecting Pascal Wager's theories: people started to question God's existance and he proves, that it is impossible to prove that, at least in this life.
Personally, I don't think the right questions to ask are whether God exists or not. I'd rather focus on something else: Why do we believe in Him, why do we want to believe? Maybe because it gives sense to our life or gives us hope, I'm not really sure. Maybe it's just the internal desire of having someone watching over us in the time of need...
Do you see what I'm trying to say? Or...?
As everybody else I agree with you. I do not think that God punishes people if they do not believe in him. And I also think that Pascal was onto a very good argument but as you wrote he had a different faith in God and that only a few were chosen to join him in his kingdom and that the rest would be punished and sent to hell. But that is not the way of God as you say. I think you may well change peoples thoughts on God nice work! =)
Hello Kamilla!
Sorry that I have not answered, but I will now try to give you some feedback.
He was quite smart in a sense Pascal, and as I wrote in my article, consider the times he lived in. There was as desperate need for more arguments for believing in God.
I agree with you that it is essential to focus on why we believe in God etc. And as I wrote:
“I do not think it is relevant to discover if Christianity is true or false. My opinion is that I see Christianity as a lifestyle where you aim to be an caring and loving human being in a world where war, suffering and fear is part of many peoples’ everyday life. Christianity for me can be a good way to live a good life marked by peace, love and the illusion that everything will, finally, make sense.”
Is that an answer to the question if I see what you are trying to say? Otherwise, please tell me.
Indeed, Olof. Indeed.
:)
I'm nodding my head right now, in token of agreement with you.
