If God exists and I commit to God, that would be a very good thing. They might even have some serious doubts about God’s existence. The person I have in mind isn’t certain that God exists. But this isn’t a necessary feature of taking Pascal’s wager. Of course, it is possible to take Pascal’s wager with poor motives. Finally, I’ll bring these two together, and show how someone might faithfully take Pascal’s wager. I’ll elaborate on what it means to take the wager, and discuss the nature of faith. I’ll also argue that there’s a way of taking Pascal’s wager that demonstrates genuine religious faith. Here, I offer a response to this objection: taking Pascal’s wager need not reflect poor or selfish motives. And if God isn’t pleased with wagering, the wagerer might not get the benefits described above, anyway. ![]() Thus, taking Pascal’s wager doesn’t result in a genuine theistic commitment-it’s just a gamble. But these are bad reasons to commit to God. The idea is this: those that take Pascal’s wager are motivated by a fear of hell or a selfish desire to get the rewards of heaven. While there are many objections to the wager, here, we’ll focus on a specific objection that has to do with the motives associated with taking the wager. As long God’s existence is a live possibility, it is prudent to commit to God. If God doesn’t exist, then whatever you do has merely finite consequences. If you don’t commit to God and God exists, you miss out on these infinite goods, and may even face an infinite loss-going to hell and being separated from God. If you commit to God and God exists, you gain something infinitely good: going to heaven, being united with God, and having a relationship with God. The wager concludes that you should commit to God, as there is much to gain, and little to lose. The conclusion of Pascal’s wager is slightly different. ![]() Most theistic arguments conclude that God exists.
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