Thursday, October 06, 2011

On Pascal's Wager

"If I knew nothing about the tenets or history of a religion except that it claims its adherents are destined for eternal bliss while nonadherents are destined for eternal torment, I would expect upon further examination to find that the religion has some very, very good -- indeed, irrefutable -- supporting evidence.  Otherwise, I would conclude that the inducements of heaven and the threats of hellfire serve merely as mechanisms to gain and keep adherents, the religion not being able otherwise to stand on the evidence.  I reject Pascal's Wager as mental enslavement."

Ken Daniels, from Why I Believed: Reflections of a Former Missionary

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