Quote:
Originally Posted by DrKvothe
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I refuse to let this thread die.
Pascal's Wager applies to any and all claims of infinite reward with finite risk. Since there is no evidence of Christianity or any other supernatural belief beyond: "You can't prove it's NOT true!" then anything that can't be disproved but that offers infinite reward should be accepted according to Pascal's Wager.
Let's make the reasonable assumption that the powerball jackpot is more money than any one person could reasonably spend in their lifetime. Therefore the monetary reward is essentially infinite, since the marginal effect of increasing the reward is zero. The odds of winning this jackpot are low, but non-zero. Thus Pascal's Wager makes a good case to spend all of your money on lottery tickets.
But we know that the actual chance of winning the lottery is effectively zero. You're just not going to win, even if you blow your life's savings on it. Why? Because while the chance of winning isn't zero, a reasonable, rational person would realize that it pretty much is.
The bible is written like a set of contradicting folk tales for the gullible and uneducated. Even the miraculous parts of Jesus's life, viewed from the outside by a skeptic, seems like horseshit. A woman is found to be pregnant and it's not her husband's, but she convinces him that it must be a miracle? Jesus is supposed to be the salvation of the Jewish people against Roman tyranny, but instead he's killed young before actually accomplishing anything...and somehow him dying IS the accomplishment? He conquers death but immediately leaves the earth behind before a credible source can witness him? The tyranny he was meant to end continues for centuries anyways, even ultimately adopting him as their mascot?
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Pascal's Wager isn't asking you to spend all your money, though. just a small change of mind.
also, i don't think Pascal was thinking much about the Bible.