Refutation of and Rebuttal to Pascal's Wager

[Micah]

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Here is the video:

-Betting on Infinity-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZpJ7y...

Discuss.


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[♥ Rachel♥]

I liked the horsies :D

And, I didn't even consider a lot of those possibilities...it just enforces my personal beliefs :) Muahahaha. Thanks for sharing Micah!

[Micah]

Girl4beluga wrote: "wouldn't it be safer to assume that we are ALL wrong and that none of us know...and that if God is truly a loving and forgiving deity that he would understand"

YES. The point of the video is that Pascal's wager is not a good argument. Pascal's wager is a cowardly way of "insuring" your afterlife, but being able to not believe in God.

[Micah]

Girl4beluga wrote: "Gotcha...so.... I got it right?"

Well, I can't really tell.

One of the main points of the video is that originally Pascals wager set up a false dichotomy between atheism and Christianity. When in reality you should include every religion; most of which believe everyone else is going to a hell of some sort.

[Rachel (aka. Kaiserin Sisi)]

I've always hated Pascal's Wager. It encourages people to believe and go through religious ritual for selfish reasons. Belief should come from an individual's decision that belief would be the best way for them to grow as a person. Empty ritual is a waste of time, and personally, most rituals do nothing for me. Sorry, a bit off track. Anyways, if you believe, you should do so because you want to.

[Micah]

♥ Rachel♥ wrote: "I liked the horsies :D

And, I didn't even consider a lot of those possibilities...it just enforces my personal beliefs :) Muahahaha. Thanks for sharing Micah!"

So, no comment then?

[♥ Rachel♥]

Micah wrote: "♥ Rachel♥ wrote: "I liked the horsies :D

And, I didn't even consider a lot of those possibilities...it just enforces my personal beliefs :) Muahahaha. Thanks for sharing Micah!"

So, no comment then?"

Well...that's the first time I've heard of Pasqual's wager, so I don't really have much to say about it or the video yet. Pasqual seems like a complete hypocrite...I don't know. I agreed with the video; I've discussed the improbability of having the correct religion many times; no, I don't really have much to say :P

[Micah]

Girl4beluga wrote: "all I can prove is that I exist, somehow someway."

You're an existentialist then, I think

[Micah]

♥ Rachel♥ wrote: "I liked the horsies :D

And, I didn't even consider a lot of those possibilities...it just enforces my personal beliefs :) Muahahaha. Thanks for sharing Micah!"

Well, for starters, what are your personal beliefs? :p

[Rachel (aka. Kaiserin Sisi)]

♥ Rachel♥ wrote: "Micah wrote: "♥ Rachel♥ wrote: "I liked the horsies :D

And, I didn't even consider a lot of those possibilities...it just enforces my personal beliefs :) Muahahaha. Thanks for sharing Micah!"

So,..."

I don't think he was a hypocrite. He was just trying to find a rational reason to belief in God. However, faith is irrational.

[♥ Rachel♥]

Micah wrote: "♥ Rachel♥ wrote: "Well, for starters, what are your personal beliefs? :p "

You can't really know whether or not God exists, or if so, which one. And, if you do believe in something, it's really unlikely that it's correct, just because of the sheer amount of possibilities that have no more or less proof than any other. (However, most people in this group believe in a book that contradicts itself, so...you guys have less proof, if you're going to take the Bible literally, I'm afraid :P). But, that's also not to say that you may have possibly won the lottery of lucky guesses and somehow have the correct beliefs....

Rachel (aka. Kaiserin Sisi) wrote: "I don't think he was a hypocrite."

I was referring more to him always talking about Jesus Christ while (according to the vid) maintaining that he has no bias towards Christianity.
But yes, faith is by definition irrational, really.

[♥ Rachel♥]

Blind trust is also irrational :P

Everywhere? Here's a bunch:
http://www.infidels.org/library/moder...

[♥ Rachel♥]

They are. They are, however, still in the same book.

Of the Bible? I don't know. However, I'm pretty sure he'd use the same version for the list :P

[♥ Rachel♥]

I'd think Genesis 1 and 2 were together....

[♥ Rachel♥]

G4b!!! It's tomorrow! Explain :P

[♥ Rachel♥]

Interesting.... That would make tons of sense; however, is there any evidence for the existence of this priest?
That isn't the way I learned it either :P I learned that God told Moses, and he wrote it down. >.< What's the way you learned it? :P

[Rachel (aka. Kaiserin Sisi)]

♥ Rachel♥ wrote: "Micah wrote: "♥ Rachel♥ wrote: "Well, for starters, what are your personal beliefs? :p "

You can't really know whether or not God exists, or if so, which one. And, if you do believe in something, ..."

Focusing on Christianity isn't necessarily hypocritical. He was in a largely Christian culture, where most people were either Christian, and those who weren't were atheists (which was extremely rare and dangerous). In his society, religion and Christianity were more or less synonymous.

[♥ Rachel♥]

"Without Jesus Christ, the world would not exist." -Pascal

...It's hypocritical if you say this, then say you've no bias toward Christianity.