A rigged wager

Are you familiar with Pascal’s wager? It is a theory based on probability and is thought of as a game-changer for many of those who are religious and wants you to convert to their religion. Here’s the main gist of Pascal’s argument for why one should live as if a god exists. Here is a condensed version of Pascal’s wager of his collection of unpublished works “Pensées”:

1. If you believe in God and God does exist, you will be rewarded with eternal life in heaven: thus an infinite gain.
2. If you do not believe in God and God does exist, you will be condemned to remain in hell forever: thus an infinite loss.
3. If you believe in God and God does not exist, you will not be rewarded: thus a finite loss.
4. If you do not believe in God and God does not exist, you will not be rewarded, but you have lived your own life: thus a finite gain.

Comfort is not truth

A firm basis for intellectual honesty is being open to the possibility that the truth is not what you want to hear.