Below is proof that I occassionally get long stretches at work that need filling. . . .
Pascal's FollyBack in college philosophy, I learned of Pascal's Religion, an attempt by that venerable gentleman to explain logically why one should embrace Xianity. There are, he postulated, four separate possible outcomes for souls, depending upon one's
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Pascal's Challenge also ignores the fact that there may be consequences to believing in god if no god exists.
Pascal's payoff matrix has two neutral outcomes, one positive outcome, and one negative outcome. The reality is different. Suppose you believe in god and god does not exist. Neutral outcome? No, not if as a consequence of that belief you miss opportunities to better your life on earth or--worse yet--participate in atrocities in the name of the church.
"It takes just as much faith to deny the unprovable than to affirm it."Not necessarily. An atheist may point to logical contradictions or logical fallacies within a belief system about god, or point to the fact that with almost all such belief ( ... )
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And sadly, you are right on about the actions in life wasted toward the speculative afterlife. I've heard anedotal reports about how much time in church many are obliged to spend in the Deep South. Maybe that's what leads to some of their intractability?
Great quote, too!
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That sounds more like nontheism to me; the believe that the question is more or less moot, whatever you think the answer is. Me, I believe that there is no god or higher power, but the former agnostic in me acknowledges that should some form of empirical evidence ever be brought forth, I would reconsider my claim.
As an aside, I wouldn't have bothered to post this if it weren't for the fact that I thought I had at least a small sliver of information to offer. As to why I'm here...well, anyone who adds you gets free overnight color for their MindMap. The irony being, I already have color, but I figured I should check it out, and I'm rather glad I did as you are a rather entertaining and thought-provoking individual. So, you're on my friend's list. Tacit might wind up there too; he's pretty interesting too.
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You won't be dissappointed by Tacit, and I hope I don't bore too much. My brother's MindMap tentacles of influence continue to spread, I see!
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As a bit of an aside, one of the other journals that recently added you is also mine: the_earth_moved. It's where I post material and thoughts that some of my friends have found too...upfront. It's more or less my not-safe-for-work journal.
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