Does Gcb Exist

In one way or another, we have all experienced that moment. The moment when, staring up at the late night sky or down at your newborn child, our own existence is thrown sharply into perspective and life appears both small and magnificent all at once, leaving us to wonder, “How is this possible?” And by “this” we mean life itself. The smallest questions often pose the most difficult to answer and the question of life’s existence is certainly no exception. Many theories have been offered as solutions to how the world and life as we know it was created, most purporting the existence of a greater sentient, intelligent being that created it all. These theories are a form of theism, while those that support the opposite argument that the world was …show more content…
For example, I could choose to accept that a GCB exists and decide to become a theist, which, as far as I am aware, would grant me eternal bliss in heaven (Pascal). If I choose to accept that a GCB exists and I refuse to believe in it, then I am accepting damnation for all of eternity, which I am made to believe is very unpleasant and undesirable (Green). On the other hand, if a GCB does not exist and I choose to believe in him, I have wasted a good deal of piety, but otherwise I have escaped unscathed (Green). If a GCB does not exist and I do not choose to believe in him, no harm, no foul; by Pascal’s reasoning I have gained nothing and I have lost nothing. Where Pascal’s line of reasoning becomes a wager is when I choose how much each of the four outcomes outlined above are worth to me, by which I mean I assign a utility to each outcome. Whichever outcome has the highest expected utility, that it the outcome I should choose and according to Pascal, the outcome with the highest expected utility is …show more content…
The philosopher J. Cargile supported this objection, writing, “How do we know that the possible owner-operator of the universe is the sort of being who will send religious people to Heaven” (Green)? This is a rather horrifying proposition for theists to consider; imagine the piety wasted on a GCB that in actuality was unwilling to hold up its end of the bargain in the first place. What if the idea of heaven is incorrect, and the GCB actually supports reincarnation based on the acquisition of good karma? What if the GCB does many things, sending some souls to heaven, some souls to hell, and reincarnating the rest? Pascal’s decision matrix is looking rather messy now; in fact, the decision to become a theist has not become easier, but much harder. This uncertainty is reason enough to choose not to become a theist; we do not understand the GCB’s motivations enough to have confidence that it wants to be worshipped, never mind if it is actually worthy of our worship or what will happen to us after death if we do worship it. Instead of gambling our future we must accept that a GCB is not something that we fully understand. In doing this we reject theism as a viable answer to that great “Does a GCB exist?”