Easy Money
Here’s an imagined conversation with someone about Pascal’s Wager. It’s an easy way to make a point (and possibly some cash).
Christian A. Strawman: Just in case God exists, wouldn’t it be better to act as though you believed? I mean better safe than sorry, right?
me: Wouldn’t that involve a lot of sitting in boring church meetings?
Christian: Sure, but that’s such a small price to pay for an eternity of bliss.
me: Perhaps, but I don’t need all that. I’ve already got the answer to life, the universe, and everything. I’ll even share it with you if you give me $20.
Christian: 
Whatever. You do not have the answer to everything.
me: How can you be sure I don’t? What if I do? Shouldn’t you give me $20 just to be safe?
Christian: I think it’s very unlikely that you have the answer to life, not likely enough to give you $20.
me: You’ll just have to trust me. I mean $20 is a much smaller price to pay for eternal happiness than a lifetime of prayers and churchPer ogni mano, uno o piu giocatori sono nominati a fare le scommesse forzate per generare un palo iniziale per cui i giocatori di poker o casino contesteranno. meetings.
Christian: I don’t think so.
me: What do you mean? What happened to “better safe than sorry”?
Christian: … Fine, here’s your 20 bucks. What’s the answer to life?
me: [pocketing money] 42.
Christian: … What’s that supposed to mean? That’s just a number. How is that the answer to life?
me: Just be patient and faithful to the end. Everything will be made clear after you die. Trust me, it will be worth the wait.
Tags: Pascal's Wager, religion
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chandelle said,
June 10, 2008 @ 5:07 pm
very astute.
June 10, 2008 @ 5:44 pm
I was going for funny, but I’ll take astute.
Bekah said,
June 11, 2008 @ 3:10 pm
Perfection. I guessed the end of the conversation after about four lines, though, having been a long-entrenched supporter of DNA. (By the way, my parent wants me to say that I’m TAG’s daughter.)
June 11, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
Hey Bekah,
DNA is missed. He died too young.
Tell your parental unit I said hello.
June 12, 2008 @ 11:46 pm
Ah, yes. I much prefer the number 42. And what a deal … $20. One thing is missing, though. Jonathan, please consider the possiblity that Christian A. Strawman’s claim to know the mind of god might utterly shield him from falling for your claim.
Best to offer him a place in your MLM downline or a time-share somewhere near an empty field in Missouri. Try piling-up some rocks in he center of said field. Claim it’s the alter of Adam. You’ll make more money.
June 13, 2008 @ 5:27 am
Jonathan, please consider the possiblity that Christian A. Strawman’s claim to know the mind of god might utterly shield him from falling for your claim.
Then he’s made my point, though he probably wouldn’t admit it. He says he knows the truth and doesn’t need to act on my counterclaim to truth. He cannot reasonably expect me to act on his claim if he doesn’t act on mine.
Best to offer him a place in your MLM downline or a time-share somewhere near an empty field in Missouri. Try piling-up some rocks in he center of said field. Claim it’s the alter of Adam.
Ah, yes. Adam-ondi-ahman, the place where I got hives all over my body. Good times.
June 13, 2008 @ 6:35 am
Heh, my mistake. I thought this was about making money.
Ah, so you’ve been to that field too! I realize that Mormons are generally looked upon with respect but the farmer who owns that field certainly sees what a bunch of looks we are.
June 13, 2008 @ 6:42 am
… er, kooks. I remember my mother telling me that the alter had always been there but that the locals just helped out a bit by piling a few extra rocks on to replenish the supply that Mormons kept walking off with. Isn’t god brilliant how he uses non-believers to preserve the faith of his people?
June 13, 2008 @ 8:37 am
Yeah, I never saw the altar. I had to go back to the tour bus and hang out in the air conditioning. I did however collect some thorns from the trees around the field which we thought were a literal fulfillment of “cursed is the ground for thy sake; … Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;” (Genesis 3:17–18) Hmm. Too bad I gave up my ticket to be there when the Ancient of Days returns to his altar, eh?
That thing about the locals replacing stones for the church history tourists reminds me of that thought experiment where you replace a neuron in your brain with a functionally equivalent artificial neuron. Are you still you? If we replace each neuron one-by-one at what point are you no longer you, if ever?
If we replace one stone at a time, at what point does the altar stop being the altar that Adam built?
June 13, 2008 @ 9:57 am
Good point. I’ll take you one more … at what point was it ever the alter that Adam built … or at what point were we ever who we think we are?
June 13, 2008 @ 10:08 am
At one level, identity seems meaningless, doesn’t it.
Really, I wonder who first built the altar. I wouldn’t put it past Ol’ Joe. He seemed to be into midnight rituals and stuff.
Richard Wade said,
June 14, 2008 @ 8:51 am
Jonathan, Thanks for this excellent response to Pascal’s coffee shop sophistry. I’ve heard several other responses but this is new to my experience. It’s both astute and funny.
June 15, 2008 @ 12:17 pm
Thanks for stopping by, Richard.