tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21219785.post114206566882114091..comments2024-03-25T17:35:02.238-04:00Comments on Debunking Christianity: Pascal's Wager (Assorted quotations, beginning with Pascal)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21219785.post-1142144824985879972006-03-12T01:27:00.000-05:002006-03-12T01:27:00.000-05:00Bringing someone to accept Christianity is a point...Bringing someone to accept Christianity is a point against, not for, Pascal's Wager.Nihlohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10212972916007086778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21219785.post-1142144566086983432006-03-12T01:22:00.000-05:002006-03-12T01:22:00.000-05:00nedbrek -Like I said, it's environmental and then ...nedbrek -<BR/>Like I said, it's environmental and then what one is exposed to. If christianity hadn't been presented to you by another "flawed" human, no invisible being was going to tap you on the shoulder and say "hey, lookey here! Believe this or die!"<BR/><BR/>I also want to point out that you can't make someone believe, so to say "what do you have to lose by believing" is absurd to me. Pretending to believe is not going to make something real. And if there was a god (which I don't believe there is) a pretend belief is NOT an honest belief.Stardusthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10560872454564355114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21219785.post-1142138915960709442006-03-11T23:48:00.000-05:002006-03-11T23:48:00.000-05:00"I was born into a Christian culture"Stardust1954 ..."I was born into a Christian culture"<BR/><BR/>Stardust1954 :<BR/>"Exactly, and if you were born in India chances are you would be Hindu"<BR/><BR/>Sorry it wasn't clearer. I was born into a Christian culture, but I was not a follower of Christ. It was only after thinking things through that I made my decision for Christ.<BR/><BR/>You must separate culture and habit from belief (faith).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21219785.post-1142133495632450502006-03-11T22:18:00.000-05:002006-03-11T22:18:00.000-05:00nedbrek said... "If Pascal's Wager helps one perso...nedbrek said... <BR/><BR/>"If Pascal's Wager helps one person come to Christ, then it's worth endorsing."<BR/><BR/>Another thing about Pascal's Wager I don't understand: I thought christians considered gambling sinful.Mark Plushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03859046131830902921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21219785.post-1142133369988518782006-03-11T22:16:00.000-05:002006-03-11T22:16:00.000-05:00I don't capitalize "christian" because "christs" d...I don't capitalize "christian" because "christs" don't exist. I do capitalize "Muslim," by contract, because it comes from an Arabic root meaning "submission," an observable human behavior. (And a primate one, I might add. Read Jane Goodall's books about her studies of chimpanzees in the wild for some examples.)Mark Plushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03859046131830902921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21219785.post-1142125167799442392006-03-11T19:59:00.000-05:002006-03-11T19:59:00.000-05:00I was born into a Christian culture Exactly, and i...<I>I was born into a Christian culture </I><BR/><BR/>Exactly, and if you were born in India chances are you would be Hindu, if you were born in Japan you would be Shinto Buddhist, if you were born in Iraq you would most definitely be Muslim, and so on. It's environmental and then what one is exposed to. No magical entity taps one on the shoulder in the middle of nowhere and says "I am the right god" ...because humans create their own gods.Stardusthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10560872454564355114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21219785.post-1142122128281092702006-03-11T19:08:00.000-05:002006-03-11T19:08:00.000-05:00My observations and the resulting logic are unique...My observations and the resulting logic are unique to my life and my situation. I doubt they would specifically help you.<BR/><BR/>Tell me your situation, and I will try to help you.<BR/><BR/>If you are dying to know, I have been moved especially by the following books: Daniel, 1 John, and the Gospel of John.<BR/><BR/>I was born into a Christian culture (Catholic). I met my first atheist in college. I learned evolution in my Catholic high school.<BR/><BR/>I now consider myself saved by Christ (I was not before).<BR/><BR/>EnjoyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21219785.post-1142106952235925052006-03-11T14:55:00.000-05:002006-03-11T14:55:00.000-05:00If Pascal's Wager helps one person come to Christ,...If Pascal's Wager helps one person come to Christ, then it's worth endorsing.<BR/><BR/>I do not depend on chance. My faith is based on observation and logic.<BR/><BR/>I'm curious what your thinking has been to bring you where you are today.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21219785.post-1142106308570676712006-03-11T14:45:00.000-05:002006-03-11T14:45:00.000-05:00Is it courage or fear that causes atheists to not ...Is it courage or fear that causes atheists to not capitalize Christian?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21219785.post-1142098727882538432006-03-11T12:38:00.000-05:002006-03-11T12:38:00.000-05:00Maybe someone can explain this to me. "Wager" can ...Maybe someone can explain this to me. "Wager" can mean something of value put at risk in a game of chance, like money you bet at the roulette wheel. Considering that Pascal helped to found the theory of probability, I think he meant it in that sense. <BR/><BR/>Now, christians express horror at the idea that "we got here through chance," that is, that humans arose through a natural process without "divine intervention." Why do at least some christians who endorse Pascal's Wager like the idea that they have to depend on chance that a god and its plan of salvation exist? It looks to me as if they feel conflicted about the role of chance in the universe.Mark Plushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03859046131830902921noreply@blogger.com