Cthulhu's Wager

[Abracadabra]

Is it true that there is really nothing to lose by worshiping god?

Pascal's one-size-fits-all argument fails when you consider that the concept of "gain/loss" is a personal value judgement and presupposes that certain conditions can be universally considered beneficial. This is not the case.

If one's personal views on ethics, justice and morality are closely aligned with those that are claimed to be held by the god in question, and one finds value in the reward of eternal afterlife in the presence of said god, then one might find the wager convincing.

On the other hand, if one finds god's ethics, justice and morality to be deficient or even malignant, one could not be expected to be thrilled by the prospect of spending an eternity worshiping said god. To such a person, Pascal's Wager is a losing proposition.

I certainly agree with what you've said here.

If a person "worships" a God that represents their very own views on ethics, justice, and morality, there there is nothing to lose in worshiping such a God. Of course, that can depend too on how one goes about "worshiping" the God. If a lot of time is being wasted in performing rituals or prayers that have no practical benefit then it could still be a waste of time, even if the moral values were in harmony. On the other hand, if the rituals of worship had practical constructive value, then those rituals might be worth performing even without believing in a God.

For example, meditations to quiet the mind and focus awareness and an ability to concentrate, are probably beneficial to any sentient being whether they believe in a "god" or not. So if they coincidentally perform those activities as rituals for 'worship' of a God, then the motives are irrelevant since the outcome will be positive and productive in any case.

But I totally agree that to live ones life worshiping and behaving in accordance with absurd fables of fictitious jealous Gods just in the hope that this might make them eligible for a possible gift, would indeed be stupid and unproductive. Not only that, but even according to those types of religions that would be the wrong motive to worship the God anyway. It would supposedly be recognized by that God to be insincere gambling anyway.

So it would be utterly fruitless even if the God in question actually existed.

I personally could not worship the ancient Hebrew God of Abraham because I personally don't agree with many of the immoral bigotries required by those fables.

Such a "God" is not in harmony with my personal views of what righteousness or benevolence even means. So that religion would be a total waste of time for me in every imaginable scenario.

Besides, what is Pascal proposing? That people should pretentiously worship a God in the hopes of pulling the wool over the God's eyes and receive salvation for their pretense?

That's a suggestion that goes entirely against what the religion (at least the Abrahamic religoins) even claims to be about.

Pretense could never achieve salvation, especially not in Christianity.

That would be to suggest that Jesus is offering "Casino Salvation" Place your bets here!