If it's one thing everyone on here is familiar with, I assume, it's Pascal's Wager. It seems to be a favorite thing for folks to harp on when proselytizing, and it's been covered and picked over to death...
Often times, the concept goes that if it takes no effort, why not accept the gift of eternal life to avoid an eternity of torment? It's free, after all!
Here's the thing, though...
No one said anything about "eternal torment" until it was brought up by the person offering "eternal life." It's like someone giving away nightlights and saying, "Why not have these free night lights in your house? It makes it easy to see if you need to get up to go to the bathroom and don't want to stub your toe, and plus it's the only thing that keeps away the blood starved boogie men from stripping the flesh from your bones in the most horrific ways imaginable." No one would have ever thought about boogie men eating them until the person giving away these night lights told them about it.
It's not really a "free gift" then, is it? There's strings attached. If anything, altering everything about the way you are, the way you live, and (especially) the way you think is a pretty steep price to pay...
In what way is any religion truly "free" without strings attached? Are there any religions out there that don't introduce concepts of spiritual danger (such as hell)? Is respecting Pascal's Wager just acquiescing to intimidation and manipulation, or is it actually a valid way to understand the nature of reality? If not, what would make it valid?
Often times, the concept goes that if it takes no effort, why not accept the gift of eternal life to avoid an eternity of torment? It's free, after all!
Here's the thing, though...
No one said anything about "eternal torment" until it was brought up by the person offering "eternal life." It's like someone giving away nightlights and saying, "Why not have these free night lights in your house? It makes it easy to see if you need to get up to go to the bathroom and don't want to stub your toe, and plus it's the only thing that keeps away the blood starved boogie men from stripping the flesh from your bones in the most horrific ways imaginable." No one would have ever thought about boogie men eating them until the person giving away these night lights told them about it.
It's not really a "free gift" then, is it? There's strings attached. If anything, altering everything about the way you are, the way you live, and (especially) the way you think is a pretty steep price to pay...
In what way is any religion truly "free" without strings attached? Are there any religions out there that don't introduce concepts of spiritual danger (such as hell)? Is respecting Pascal's Wager just acquiescing to intimidation and manipulation, or is it actually a valid way to understand the nature of reality? If not, what would make it valid?