moderated to 50%; argued down by 90%
by wikipedia on 2005-03-26 05:25:15
Pascal's Wager [en.wikipedia.org] holds that, whether or not God's existence can be proved, belief in God is the most prudentially rational choice, because one has everything to gain if God exists, and nothing to lose if he does not.
moderated to 100%; argued down by 0%
by seraphblade on 2005-09-29 18:27:31
Pascal's presumption that "belief" requires nothing more then a simple change of thought patterns in order to gain a perceived benefit is false for every religion that I know of. Nearly all religions include a set of dictates which the individual must follow. Unless it can be known that an all-knowing, all-benevolent supreme being created such dictates, which cannot be known with certainty, it is foolish to accept life-altering mandates without certain knowledge of their origins.