Philosophy was always my favorite subject in High School and College. I loved all the logic and the way you could argue your points and be right. If only life were like my philosophy class! I try that with Ben and I can be “right” but still very wrong.
My favorite philosopher was Blaise Pascal and I didn’t know until this year that he was a Christian Philosopher when I discovered he wrote one of my favorite quotes. “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus” which I used in another blog. His logic was so practical to me that it helped shape my whole belief system. I had studied other religions to help define my own, and separate my faith from my parents’. Pascal’s Wager is basically this: (copied from wikipedia so I didn’t butcher it too much, it’s been awhile since college philosophy!)
-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 and lose nothing.
-You live as though God does not exist.
-If God exists, the text is unspecified, but it could be implied that you go
to limbo, purgatory, or hell: your loss is either null or infinite.
-If God does not exist, you gain nothing and lose nothing.
On the other side the Atheist’s Wager suggests that:
“You should live your life and try to make the world a better place for your being in it, whether or not you believe in God. If there is no God, you have lost nothing and will be remembered fondly by those you left behind. If there is a benevolent God, he may judge you on your merits coupled with your commitments, and not just on whether or not you believed in him.”
I don’t claim to be a philosopher at all, it just seems to me, if someone was looking at the two wagers that Pascals’ would still win out! I’d rather have eternal life and be considered a fool than have been a fool for not accepting the simple truth. C. S. Lewis also summarized it: “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, is of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” One thing to mention is that Pascal’s Wager is just a starting off point, Google his name and read more of his writings, they are very interesting and insightful.
It seems the biggest critics of faith are people who can’t grasp the humble nature of God- that an all powerful God would send his son to die, then be raised, and all they have to do is believe in that. It’s just too easy… it’s easier to think of reasons he doesn’t exist, than reasons that he does. I read this book Love the Lord Your God with all Your Mind, and it said how for centuries the church was the intellect of the world. Hard to believe now, people who are believers in God are now considered ignorant, and honestly that has become more and more true. To say you believe something, “just because” is ignorant. While I believe that “Faith like a Child” is great, it’s no excuse for laziness is striving to understand WHO God is. When people think of a Christian… people like that lady from Wife-Swap are what come to mind! I am NOT like that. I doubt the authenticity of people like that actually. It’s so showy… and crazy. That is not who Jesus was. If we are to be like Christ, then we need to at minimum carry the faith with some dignity… that’s all, I could go on and on… but I have a life…