[BluffTHIS!]

Pascal's Wager has been discussed here numerous times, and I'm not going to rehash it. I have however stated that I believe it is a legitimate wager, and that although there are some rational critiques that some proponents of it don't consider, that it nonetheless holds up. Also as most of you will know, I assert christian catholic positions that are much more "lenient" than those held by more fundamentalist christians or fundamentalists of other major religions even. Thus I believe that those who either have never heard the gospel preached, or even having heard, still sincerely do not believe in it, can yet have the possibility of being saved. Again I have discussed how this can be so in previous threads and will not repeat same here.

Thus by my views, you can essentially get a free bet at this wager, although some minimal restrictions would apply, such as following the golden rule, including regarding omission versus commission. Even if you view such minimal "fine print" as a price somehow, you nonetheless still are getting a bet with ultimate payoff potential for nowhere near the correct price of that bet. That is if you consider not doing bad to others a price to be paid.

However, I believe that such an essentially free bet can be lost. Not by, even passionatley advocated, intellectually honest views against religion, but by strident ridicule and mockery of that religion and its beliefs and supreme being. Now this does not mean I think that respect and consideration should be accorded to every religious system, because I don't. If one of the super super longshots like one of the wacko personality cults or scientology comes in, then I am screwed for sure because I have in the past and will continue to mock such systems based upon the most preposterous of premises. But regarding the major religions with long histories, which means that over hundreds and thousands of years at least some very smart people have held such beliefs, then I believe it is not only considerate of the beliefs of others, but also smart not to mock such views very earnestly even if you believe the probability of their being true is extremely small.

Posters here like David and andy, except for the occasional sarcastic remark, have presented atheist and agnostic viewpoints based on evidentiary and logical arguements without resorting to such grossly mocking jibes. But many here have. And I think that is esentially like being given a free lottery ticket and tearing it up and throwing it down and spitting on it. Will the lottery chief have sympathy for such a person if that number comes in and offer to replace it? Not likely.

So even if you think there is no way that the God of Christianity or another major religion exists, you still don't have to mock Him. And if you say something along the lines of, "I'd rather burn in hell than believe in a god who would punish people in hell", then you just might get your druthers.

Good gamblers don't pass up free bets no matter how long the odds, especially when the potential payoff is huge.