pascal's wager

This is something I've been thinking about for a few days now. My grounding in philosophy and theology is fairly negligible, so this may be a well-known question. I'd be interested to know what others think either way. In Pascal's Wager, the essence of the argument - reduced to mathematical...

Okay so this is a weird argument I heard about... Pascal's Wager is an argument suggesting that it is in one's best interest to believe in God regardless of whether he actually exists. This is basically a warped version of Pascal's Wager applied to global warming. Imagine four scenarios: 1)...

It's never too soon for a child to learn about logical thinking, so I have devised the following intellectual exercise for my grandchildren, who are all under ten: Either Father Christmas exists, or he does not. If he exists and I decide to believe in him, he will give me a Christmas present...

Randi said: Perhaps Pascal didn't go into it because it isn't true. How can their be a fee or required behavoir to belive in a philosophical idea? I belive in God, I used to be an Atheist (for the majority of my life) and I don't recall paying a fee for changing my mind. In fact all I did was...

I used to be annoyed with Pascal's Wager, because like it or not, there appeared to be some kind of twisted logic to it that was difficult to challenge. So, I just kept pondering it, and I'm glad to say I'm not annoyed by it any more. In fact, I like Pascal's Wager and I hope every Christian...

Simply put, it's this: While it may be a decent argument for who you should believe in God, it doesn't tell you WHICH God to believe in. In other words, you could be a Pascal acolyte who is a devout Christian, yet still go to hell because you didn't believe in Thor.

Either their is a God, or there isn't, and the wager assumes a lot about this God should you wager for it, whatever that may mean. Let us assume that the table runs something like this: Wager for God - God exists: Gain all; God does not exist: status quo Wager against God - God exists: misery...

I'd like to get a clarification on Pascal's wager from the regulars in this part of the forum. It is my understanding that Pascal's wager is: A. If I believe in god and am right, I go to heaven and I win. If I am wrong, nothing happens. B. If I don't believe in god and am right, nothing...

Caution: This thread is presented in Tongue-In-Cheek Vision (tm). The views presented here are not necessarily those of its author. People on medication or those lacking a sense of irony are advised to avoid this thread. Brothers and Sisters, As many of you know, I have recently become a...