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  #1  
Old 02-18-2006, 04:04 AM
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Default Is it better to be a believer or an athiest?
This is what I thought of a while ago....and then a couple of days back, I got to know that someone came up with this like 300 years ago....

So assuming that a Person A strongly believes in god.. If god doesn't exist, he wont lose anything..and if he does, A's soul goes to heaven which is a good thing...

A person B is athiestic. If god exists, he'll be punished for not believing in god (according to the Bible...and other religious texts...but correct me if I'm wrong).. And if god doesn't exist, he doesn't gain anything anyway...

A:
Worst Case: neutral...After death...he'll cease to exist..
Best Case: He goes to heaven

B:
Worst Case: torture in hell
Best Case: neutral...ceases to exit...


This is just a statiscal way to look at it, assuming that the probability of god existing is not equal to 0.
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  #2  
Old 02-18-2006, 01:26 PM
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What if the universe was created by a God who hates theists? Then A goes to hell and B goes to heaven? What if there is a God, though it's not the one A believes in; and while this God can understand doubt (atheism), infedility (worshipping a false God) is abhorrent to hem. Then, again, A goes to hell and B goes to heaven.
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Old 02-18-2006, 01:36 PM
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Plus, you know, really strong belief doesn't just come from looking at the odds and picking what seems to be the best bet. I know my deepest convictions wouldn't change like that.

And you're only looking at what happens after death. Shouldn't you also look at what goes on during life and factor the positive and negative sides to that in? I mean what if (say, and I'm not implying that this is true in all or even most cases, but it's possible) the believer is a nasty person due to misguided beliefs, and the atheist ends up a scientist who makes important contributions to humanity. Shouldn't that count for something? Or things could go the other way round, with the believer being the contributor due to their beliefs. This life counts too.
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Last edited by standing_on_one_foot; 02-18-2006 at 01:40 PM.
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Old 02-18-2006, 01:41 PM
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Ever heard of 'Pascal's wager'?????

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Old 02-18-2006, 02:01 PM
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The worst case for A, in their beliefs is ceasing to exist, but then you put best case is being in heaven. How can this be? If best case is something that they don't even believe could happen, wouldn't worst case also be something they didn't believe in, ie eternal torture in hell?
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Old 02-18-2006, 02:03 PM
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we have little choice in the matter, though - most of us tend to believe what we feel is more likely.
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Old 02-18-2006, 02:35 PM
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You fail to account for every other god or goddess in the history of humanity. Maybe he's worshipping the wrong one? Maybe they all want to be worshipped? Maybe how he's supposed to worship has been twisted and he's unwittingly doing it incorrectly?

It's not just A or B.
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Old 02-18-2006, 02:35 PM
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By that logic, we should all believe in the Invisible Pink Unicorn, too. After all, a believer has nothing to lose; but if you don't believe in the IPU and she exists, you'll have to shovel her manure for all eternity.

*I apologize for bringing up the IPU, to those who have seen it like a million times *
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Old 02-21-2006, 06:25 PM
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You thought of that yourself you say? I recall seeing it in a popular science maths book :P
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Old 02-21-2006, 06:41 PM
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My problem with the Pascal's wager is that you are accepting something that you don't believe, as an insurance. That's to me, strike the nerve of being a hypocrite.

Either I fully believe in God or gods, and then join the religion, or I don't believe in their existence and not join in any religion. It is important that I remain true to myself, instead of placing wager on both religion and atheism.

Heck, I don't even like to gamble!
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