Atheos The Devil's Gambit

It's safer to believe in God. Why risk eternal punishment?

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Accepting Jesus as my savior is my ticket to Heaven.

If that ticket gets you on board the crazy train.

Trust in reason is my ticket to truth.

Does that mean that my trust in reason & logic is my ticket to hell?

How do you know that?

What makes you think there's any truth in those ideas (Heaven, divine saviors, etc.)?

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Belief in Gods never hurt anyone.

Tell that to the millions of innocents slain in the name of a God. What do you think they'd say?

Aren't people whose beliefs align with reality more likely to contribute to human flourishing than those who accept harmless fictions?

Oh, yes it has.

What about suicide bombers, the murder of abortion clinic doctors, religiously-motivated warfare, etc.?

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Better safe than sorry, so I’ll believe in God.

Well, you'll definitely be sorry for having lived a lie when you die, don't you think?

This is just a case of Pascal’s Wager.

Is it really possible to turn belief on & off like that? How is it possible for one to truly lend belief on that basis?

Every deistic tradition claims theirs is the truth. How should one decide which God(s) to accept as real?

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I believe in God because, if He exists, I’ve hedged my bets.

You sound like you're headed for Vegas, not the afterlife.

The fallacious reasoning of a gambler is a poor way to live your life.

How did you decide which deity to believe in? Aren’t you risking offending thousands of other possible Gods?

It doesn't sound like you truly believe. Why not just be honest with yourself & admit that?

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I don’t want to spend eternity in Hell, so I choose to believe in God.

That is simply an unnecessary wager. Don't theists want you to fear Hell so that you will fall victim to their indoctrination?

That is what is called 'Pascal's wager,' & it is widely known to be a bad argument.

What makes you think there's any risk of being sent to a Hell in the first place?

How did you decide which deity to accept & which Hell to avoid?

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I lose nothing by believing in my God.

Don't you lose your credibility with reasonable people?

What about your autonomy—your freedom to be self-determined & self-directed?

Is that the only reason why you believe in your God?

Don't you lose time & energy worshipping & thinking about an imagined entity? And, if you've chosen the wrong God, don't you lose even more?

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I want to go to Heaven.

There is no heaven. Life just stops & then you're dead forever.

Unfortunately, our wants don't determine reality, no?

Doesn't the high number of conflicting beliefs in heavenly afterlives prove that heaven is just a human fiction?

So, you believe Heaven exists because you want to go there?

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If I’m wrong about God, it’s not a big deal. If you’re wrong & there is a God, then you’ll burn in Hell for eternity.

Are you sure it's 'not a big deal' if you're wrong about God? Think of all the ways your beliefs shape your choices every day.

You offer Pascal's Wager, which is a hedge-your-bets fallacy. Do you really think that's a good reason to believe?

Given the number of possibilities, it seems most likely that we're both wrong. In that case, wanna be Hell roomies?

It's a big deal for you as well, considering all that you'd sacrifice in order to play make-believe all your life.

What about all the other Gods we could both be wrong about? Aren't we taking similar risks with respect to all other possible deities?

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If you don’t believe, then you will burn in Hell for eternity.

I don't currently believe that. How can I confirm that it's anything more than a threatening story?

That quite serious! I'm interested to learn how an independent inquirer could confirm the truth of that claim.

Oogity boogity! Sorry, I outgrew scary stories when I reached the age of reason.

Heaven for eternity isn't much better. Can you imagine how boring it would become?

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I’m a Christian just in case it’s the truth.

There are thousands of religious traditions. Why not accept them all, just in case?

Why don’t you become a Buddhist, or a Jain, just in case one of those traditions is true?

Yeah, I wear clean underpants in case I get in a car accident. Except car accidents are real...

You should switch to Islam or maybe Buddhism, as their hells sound the worst. Don't you think?

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I'm just covering my bases. If I'm wrong, what have I lost?

A life based in reality & truth. Why would you not embrace this?

What about the alternate theistic claims you reject? If you're wrong, & they're correct, then you've lost big. Really, really big. No?

You've lost a lifetime of autonomy & freedom. You've let religious dogma guide your every decision & action. Doesn't that seem grave?

Lots of wanton pleasures & otherwise frowned-upon joys that life has to offer.

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I think it was Isaac Newton who said, 'If I was to believe & be wrong, I'll rot in the grave. But if I was to be right, I'll see you at the Holy Gates.'

Personally, I'd be very upset to find I'd devoted my entire life to a false belief. What do you think?

I'd say that wager would be much more sensible if there was only one possible God to worship—but there are thousands! What do you think?

I didn't realize Newton hung out with Blaise Pascal. Do you find any merit in believing something just in case you happen to be correct?

This sounds a lot like Pascal's Wager. Are you confusing Isaac Newton with Blaise Pascal?

I don't want to be rude, but I think you're confusing Isaac Newton with Blaise Pascal (hence the name for this reasoning: 'Pascal's Wager').

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Why not believe? I’m not hurting anyone.

You've crippled your capacity to see the world around you as it is. Wake up.

Even if your belief doesn't negatively impact anyone—including yourself—don't you care whether it's true?

You as an individual may not be, but your religion & the blind faith of the masses is harmful.

How do you know you’re not harming yourself by acting on insufficiently-justified beliefs?

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You’ll go to Heaven if you do believe & to Hell if you don’t.

What's your evidence for that assertion?

It's better to burn out than to fade away!

I'd rather go to Hell to avoid people like you.

That's not a belief I share. What could one say to convince an objective inquirer that it's true?

Sounds like a lose-lose wager to me. Good thing I'm not a gambler, yeah?