About Pascal's wager?

Great question, but just in case, I'm gonna have another party tomorrow.

Yes. Which is why virtually no Christian philosopher or theologian in history has ever taken Pascal's Wager seriously. Except for maybe Pascal.

There's a lot of ways to argue against Pascal. However, my biggest issue is that it implies that you can simply turn faith on or off. I mean, no matter how many motions I go through in order to hedge my bets, I can't just make myself believe. So the whole idea that there's even a choice is what defeats Pascal for me.

Yeah, that's one of the fails of Pascal's Wager. It assumes that [insert deity of choice here] would be satisfied with "lip service" belief, just to cover your butt.

Theists who invoke the wager in this way obviously don't have a very high opinion of their deity's integrity.

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.

-Blaise Pascal (Pensees, 1670)

Pascal's Wager Refuted!

http://www.update.uu.se/~fbendz/nogod/pascal.htm

"While men are gazing up to Heaven, imagining after a happiness, or fearing a Hell after they are dead, their eyes are put out, that they see not what is their birthright." -- Gerrard Winstanley, The Law of Freedom, 1652

would god pay off on such a wager.

even Las Vegas does not allow "card counting" which is a legal way to put the odds slightly in your favor

A better question is "why would a good god condemn ANYONE!

There are about 3000 gods. No evidence for any of them. That means you can only randomly pick one and hope to get the correct god. This leaves you with a 99.97% chance to pick a false god. Whatever you do, chances are 99.97% that you worship the wrong god.

It's not just about "following" a religion, but somehow forcing yourself to believe its teachings are true, which is impossible if you are not already compelled by the evidence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJNhIzRk-eA

Suppose we’ve chosen the wrong god. Every time we go to church we’re just making him madder and madder. - Homer Simpson

But all religions are the "true religion" to the people who practice them , so you can stick to the one you have faith in.