From: Billy Brown (bbrown@conemsco.com)
Date: Thu Dec 03 1998 - 17:46:19 MST
Emmanuel Charpentier [manu@cybercable.fr] wrote:
>One: if you do not believe in christian god there are two possibilities,
>if christian god exists you will go in hell, if it doesn't nothing
>happen..
>Two: if you do believe in god, and it doesn't exist, then there is no
>consequence, but if it does (finally) exist, then JackpoT!!! you go in
>heaven..
>
> From a purely logical point of view, you should become a christian..
Pascal's wager makes sense only in a one-religion world in which everyone is
doomed if the is no God. In reality there are many religions, most of which
claim that only their faithful can get into heaven (or the nearest
equivalent). Since there is no obvious way to tell which one is correct,
how do you know which religion to bet on?
Besides, that "there is no consequence" in part two isn't true. In most
religions getting into heaven requires more than simple belief - you must
subscribe to that religions moral system, with all the attendant costs in
terms of lifestyle and self-direction. Besides, if you really believe in
the afterlife then there is no reason to bother trying to improve this
world - an attitude with severe negative consequences.
Billy Brown
bbrown@conemsco.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 14:49:54 MST