What if we're all wrong though?

[Eilonnwy]

Sorry to tell you this but I don't know who pascal and what was the wager? Sorry, I am a bit thick

Well you should know what it is if you claim to be an atheist. Pascal's Wager is the most common argument used by the average Christian to convince an atheist to believe. Most people use the simplified version of "What if you're wrong?".

Pascal's Wager is the argument that states that you should believe in God even if there's a strong chance that he might not be real, because the penalty for not believing, namely going to hell, is so undesirable that it is more prudent to take our chances with belief.

In brief, Pascal's wager fails because it assumes you can force belief and trick God that you are believer. I don't choose not to believe, I am convinced there is no reason to believe. Secondly, which God? There are many different religions that state clearly you must believe in them only to get to heaven. They can't all be right, but they can all be wrong.

Read this for a more extensive breakdown of why Pascal's Wager fails.


Lastly, Dawkins gives one of my favorite responses to the "What if your wrong?" question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mmskXXetcg