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Betting on Pascal's Wager.

Article Excerpt
Most believers and nonbelievers are familiar with Pascal's Wager, the argument designed to persuade us that the only rational thing to do is believe that God exists. If you do believe, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. If you don't believe, you've got nothing to gain and everything to lose. This is the "safe bet" strategy.

Although a devotee of rationality, I have imagination. When I think of Pascal's Wager, I like to indulge in a flight of fancy. Let the reader come along. Assume that God exists and that His existence cannot be demonstrated through reason or sense experience, that is, neither rationally nor empirically. Now, consider the appearance of three fictitious characters at the final bar of justice: (l) the knee-jerk theist, (2) the knee-jerk atheist, and (3) the thoughtful, reflective agnostic. What might be the destinies of the three? Would God prefer the knee-jerk theist to...