RE: Pascal's Wager and the Selfishness of a "Good God"
April 18, 2012 at 10:56 am
(This post was last modified: April 18, 2012 at 10:58 am by NoMoreFaith.)
You may need to sort out the quote tags so that your answer can be framed in its current context. Hard to tell where you are responding to be honest.
What pascals wager argues, is that eternal life is preferable to finite life. This in itself is debatable, but we'll let it stand as a truth for now.
However, what the wager does not do, is provide any statement of truth behind the notion of God. Perhaps eternal life is preferable to finite life, but that has no consequence to the truth of the matter.
For instance, if I were to let you know about the jelly fairy who will give world peace on earth, provide beauty and love for an eternal life, and all you have to do is dance naked down the street dancing to mambo no 5 with perfectly executed dance steps (as long as you interpret what hte right dance steps are... obviously). Would you do it?
What have you got to lose? The benefits of what is being offered outweighs being wrong? So why are you still here? Why are you not naked and dancing down the street already? If you don't believe me.. MAKE yourself believe in the jelly fairy.
Oh, wait.. just because you are told something doesn't make it true, even if the rewards are far more preferable to the consequences of being wrong. Even if you could pretend it was true, how do you MAKE yourself believe in something even thou you know its highly improbable, and justify the waste of time trying to interpret the right dance steps for the rest of your life.
Now apply this to God.
What pascals wager argues, is that eternal life is preferable to finite life. This in itself is debatable, but we'll let it stand as a truth for now.
However, what the wager does not do, is provide any statement of truth behind the notion of God. Perhaps eternal life is preferable to finite life, but that has no consequence to the truth of the matter.
For instance, if I were to let you know about the jelly fairy who will give world peace on earth, provide beauty and love for an eternal life, and all you have to do is dance naked down the street dancing to mambo no 5 with perfectly executed dance steps (as long as you interpret what hte right dance steps are... obviously). Would you do it?
What have you got to lose? The benefits of what is being offered outweighs being wrong? So why are you still here? Why are you not naked and dancing down the street already? If you don't believe me.. MAKE yourself believe in the jelly fairy.
Oh, wait.. just because you are told something doesn't make it true, even if the rewards are far more preferable to the consequences of being wrong. Even if you could pretend it was true, how do you MAKE yourself believe in something even thou you know its highly improbable, and justify the waste of time trying to interpret the right dance steps for the rest of your life.
Now apply this to God.
Self-authenticating private evidence is useless, because it is indistinguishable from the illusion of it. ― Kel, Kelosophy Blog
If you’re going to watch tele, you should watch Scooby Doo. That show was so cool because every time there’s a church with a ghoul, or a ghost in a school. They looked beneath the mask and what was inside?
The f**king janitor or the dude who runs the waterslide. Throughout history every mystery. Ever solved has turned out to be. Not Magic. ― Tim Minchin, Storm
If you’re going to watch tele, you should watch Scooby Doo. That show was so cool because every time there’s a church with a ghoul, or a ghost in a school. They looked beneath the mask and what was inside?
The f**king janitor or the dude who runs the waterslide. Throughout history every mystery. Ever solved has turned out to be. Not Magic. ― Tim Minchin, Storm
