What atheists call "pascal wagger" is it true of false?

Pascal's Wager is actually a reason to believe in Christianity, not an atheist argument.

The idea is that if God does not exist but you believe in Him, then when you die and don't go to heaven you have lost nothing; however, if God does exist and you don't believe in Him, you go to hell. So it's better to believe in God, "just to be on the safe side."

However, as Jesus said in his own story about the sheep and the goats, lots of people who claim to believe in God will be rejected because they didn't "walk the walk." I would think all of those who believe "just to be on the safe side" are probably in that group. So even though they're believing just to get something out of it, they still lose!

Pascal's wager is based on the premise that if there is a chance of something being true then you should believe it so as to avoid the consequences. The problem with this is that you end up living in fear of everything. For example, on average 43,000 people are killed each year in car accidents in the US and another 2.9 million are injured each year, according to this it would be safer to never be in a car in your life (http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/fatal-accident-... ... as a matter of fact you should never even go near a road, less you risk the chance of injury or death. Now is this rational, no, unless you find a way to become a hermit and live off the land and enjoy never interacting with others. Therefore it isn't practical to follow a set of believes solely on the basis that it might be right and if you don't then you will be punished. Furthermore if Pascal's wager is correct then logically you have to take it a step further, if one religion is true then there is a chance that all religions are true and you must by definition pay homage to all the Gods and Goddesses that have ever been worshiped. I find it far more likely that the Divine pays little attention to each individual and as long as you work towards the bettering of yourself and helping others then does it really matter what name if any you pay homage to? If you live your life to the fullest and help others then that is the thing that truly matters.

Bright Blessings )O(

If what Buddhist Prime says is what pascal wagger means then I as a christian believe it is true and I believe the Bible falls into this catagory. Does this muddy the waters any ?

Pascal's wager is an idea that doesn't have a truth value. It means hedging your bets about religion by following religion just in case God exists. It's criticized because that seems like a fairly shallow and insincere course of action which God would not reward.

Pascal's Wager is a false dichotomy, since it assumes only two possibilities: believe in God and go to Heaven, or doubt his existence and burn in hell.

It ignores all the other religions. What if there's a pantheon of gods? Shouldn't you believe in all of them, just in case? What if you pick the wrong church? You might burn anyway, if you choose the wrong one.

"I believe in God, because I'm scared not to" is a bad argument for his existence.

first off, Pascal probably was smarter than anyone here (including me) so we should really respect the guys genius

pascal never meant his wager to be seen as proof for the existence of God. rather, it explains why he thinks believing in God is a 'better bet."

Pascal's Wager is just plain dumb. First of all, it does not even specify which god you should believe in. Second, it does not say to follow god's word or anything, just to believe. Last, it does not even say to truly believe and allow god is, just to say "yeah, god exists," and go to heaven. The Christian god would still send you to hell for following this. You have to BE Christian for salvation in the beliefs.

Pascal's wager is a joke

actually its not "atheists" who invented it but Pascal a christian philosopher.....

but anyway its base on false premises, since by following the christian god you also dont get to all the other heavens of other religions, meaning you lose something by following christian faith

In the Kalama Sutra, Buddha says.

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it..

Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.

Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.

Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.

But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.