An interesting question for Atheists/Agnostics

[Aytumious]

[ QUOTE ]
For those that turned down the money: note that it's heaven if it exists. Also, I'm guessing a number of people who chose to turn down the money are theists already.

So, for the atheists that chose the money (like me): how little would it take before you refused the money, and took the "guarantee" instead?

I'd almost definitely take the $1million... but I'd probably turn down $100. So, what about $1000? $10,000? $100,000?

[/ QUOTE ]

$1

[chezlaw]

The existence of a bet that could guarantee a place in heaven if it exists, would be strong evidence that heaven exists.

chez

[Fillamoore]

First of all, you should probably put more money as an option rather than just 1 million. Anyways, that said, i voted heaven if it exists. However, I am a complete athiest. I dont think a true athiest (true being one who doesnt believe in god but is open to the fact that they cannot know) could possibly turn down heaven in the prospect that it may in fact exist. Here's a better question:

1 million dollars and hell if it exists OR
Nothing but a chance to go to heaven if it does exist

The second option changes things a bit. Would an athiest abandon his/her beliefs at the prospect of there being a heaven? Would an athiest sacrifice material goods if it denied any chance they had at getting in heaven if there indeed was one? Its like taking a risk if you take the million where as not taking is playing it safe.

[MCS]

Infinity is a long time. I think the second option is the +EU play.

I'm assuming eternal heaven and hell, and that difference is so huge as to render the money almost meaningless. If there is (almost) any nonzero probability that they exist, I'm inclined to guarantee heaven if I can. Since I do believe there is at least a very small probability they exist, I am taking Heaven+No_Money.

I'm trying to think how small the chance of their existence would have to be before I would take the money. I'm thinking it's in the one-in-a-trillion range.

[evil_twin]

I took the mill. I'm that certain.

I thought this question was supposed to be "interesting"?

[andyfox]

I took heaven. I'm assuming I get all the benefits of heaven when I get there. Forever. If heaven is truly heaven, and hell is truly hell, then it's worth more than $1,000,000 to me. Or $1,000,000,000,000,000.

[bocablkr]

It's easy betting with the nuts - I take the million. Hell does not exist.

I've revised my low number. $5, as long as it's a single bill.

Definitely would choose hell, even if there was not one dollar to take for it Infact I would even give money to avoid heaven). There is no way I would ever submit, or side, with a god, even if it did exist. I think it an abomination to even think it possible that something was responsible for the world as it is. I think this is the only possible moral position.

Just need to take away, or negate, cultural conditionning, and take a good look around [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Cheers