The Existence Of God In Blaise Pascal's Wager

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), a Fideist and a seventeenth-century French philosopher, states through his Wager that if we are unsure of God’s existence, then we should believe in Him rather than risk not believing in Him resulting in harsh consequences. David Hume (1711-1776), an Evidentialist and a Scottish Philosopher, states his skepticism of miracles through his beliefs. While Pascal states to believe in God through his Wager and Hume discusses his disbelief in miracles, both are sufficient and persuasive views. Blaise Pascal states in his Wager that, “God is, or is not” (Pascal p. 191). Which side is right? Reason cannot make you choose, let alone make you defend either of the choices. Pascal offers a prudential reason to believe in God called the Wager, even if it is unlikely. The general idea of the Wager is that a person cannot come to realize that God exists through reason alone. Since it is highly suggested that you Wager, “You have two things to lose: the truth and the good, and two things at stake: your reason and …show more content…
The Wager says to live life as though God exists because there is everything to gain by living this way. For example, if we live as though God exists, and He does, we gain heaven. Pascal believes that you would be crazy not to think this way. It would be like somebody placing a dollar in front of you and telling you that if they flip a coin and it lands on heads, then you get the dollar and if it lands on tails, then you lose nothing. It would be crazy for you not to agree with that person. Of course you would take that bet because you could potentially win a dollar. If it lands on tails then nothing happens and you do not get the dollar, but life goes on and it does not affect you in anyway. I believe Wagering God exists is worth it because you have nothing to lose and everything to gain if He does. The reward of believing is infinite and therefore it is in our best interest to do