The ROI of believing in God
October 30th, 2007 by KenricSo today in philosophy class we were discussing Pascal’s Wager. The Wager says that it is a better “bet” to believe that God exists than not to believe, because the expected value of believing is always greater than the expected value of not believing.
- You live as though God exists.
- If God exists, you go to heaven: your gain is infinite.
- If God does not exist, you gain nothing & lose nothing.
- You live as though God does not exist.
- If God exists, you go to hell: your loss is infinite.
- If God does not exist, you gain nothing & lose nothing.
I love philosophy because these arguments have been around forever and will never be solved however I don’t completely agree with his statements that “If God does not exist, you gain nothing & lose nothing.”
Believing in God does cost you something during your lifetime. This was an interesting conversation when put into investment terms. So what would be your investment of believing in God? Let’s say that you believe in God and you attend church and make donations weekly. Let’s say that your investment is 2 hours every Sunday and say $100 per month donation. Over the course of 75 years, your investment would be 7800 hours and $90,000.
If you believe in God and God exists, the return on your investment just cannot be measured. Can you really say that 7800 hours and $90k was too much to pay to go to heaven? However, if you don’t believe in God and you find out that God exists, you go to hell and live an afterlife of misery. Was it worth saving 7800 hours and $90,000 at the risk of living in hell forever?
Based on this, Pascal is saying that it would be a no-brainer investment to believe that God exists.
Click here to read more on Pascal’s Wager.
Posted in General | 6 Comments »
Stumble it!
Belief (or non-belief) is not a choice. So ROI doesn’t enter the equation.
By knuckleheaded on Oct 30, 2007
The Pascal’s wager argument can be used for any supernatural situation. For example, you can apply it to whether or not you believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It also does not account for the costs of believing in the wrong mythos.
* You live by religion #1
* if religion #1 is correct, you go to heavean. gain is infinite
* if religion #2 is correct, you are an infidel. you go to hell. loss is infinite
* if neither is correct, no gain or loss
* You live by religion #2
* if religion #1 is correct, you are an infidel. you go to hell. loss is infinite
* if religion #2 is correct, you go to heavean. gain is infinite
* if neither is correct, no gain or loss
* You live by neither religion
* If religion #1 or #2 is correct, you are a heathen. go to purgatory. loss is large.
* if neither is correct, no gain or loss
By AllAboutVoting on Oct 30, 2007
“Choosing to believe” is another interesting discussion. I believe that Pascal understood that which is why his exact words were “live as though God exists” and not live believe that God exists.
By Kenric on Oct 30, 2007
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By dafodilkemmy on Oct 30, 2007
Believing in God is no guarantee that you go to heaven. Satan believes in God too!
One goes to heaven when they accept the fact that Jesus paid the price for their sins. (Before Jesus came to the earth, one had to give an offering before God and God would grant forgiveness for that sin and they would be heaven-bound.) But after Jesus came and died, there is no need to give offerings to God anymore, simply aceepting that Jesus already made the offering for them is sufficient. It was His gift to us, a gift that everyone has the choice to accept or reject.
Furthermore, you can’t “buy” your way into heaven by attending church and making donations. Many people have gone to heaven who have never attended church or donated a single penny. It’s all about receiving the gift of salvation.
By Mindi on Oct 30, 2007
Mindi said: “One goes to heaven when they accept the fact that Jesus paid the price for their sins.”
Several religions contain “heaven” analogues. Not just the one with Jesus in it.
When people ask me “Why don’t you believe in Religion-A?” I answer “You’ll understand when you ask yourself why you don’t believe in Religion-B.”
Invariably they think for a second or two, and then become obstinate. The fact that they don’t then wish to speak with me further is an additional benefit.
By BB on Nov 1, 2007