Should We Respond To Pascal's Objection To Religion?

People believe in god for many different reasons. Some believe that there is a greater power, some need an explanation to what life holds after death, and some just need answers for the things we cannot explain. "Pascal assumes that there are just two options for wagering: either believe in the God of Christianity, or don't. But those aren't the only options. There are lots of religions with rival accounts of who God is, how to serve him, and what happens in the afterlife.” I believe this is the strongest objection because when given too many options, one does not know which one to choose. Also, believing only in the God of Christianity does not exponentially become the best option because the other religions would have more to offer and another way of reaching eternal happiness. …show more content…
Pascal assumes that there are only two choices: either believing in the God of Christianity or not. Pascal uses an appeal to self interest to convince us that it is better to believe in the Christian God than not to. Using his same logic, when given more options it is in one’s best interest to explore the other religions because they might have a greater reward and no consequences. Pascal tries to cover all his bases in the wager by showing that if the Christian God does exist, and one does not believe in him he/she will receive infinitely great punishment. The Too Many Options objection counteracts this because one could believe in a completely different religion with a different god and still receive infinitely great reward, even though the Christian God does exist. Also, the Too Many Options objection helps us realize that there is more to believing in God than just self interest. The other religions help level the playing field and one can start comparing the pros and cons of each