Reason for belief: Pascal's Wager

[Popeyesays]

You may not believe in God, and God exists, in which case you will go to hell: your loss is infinite.
It is this very last invalid statement that any person of reasonable intelligent will feel insulted. Even if God exists, and even if there is hell, the statement "you will go to hell" may not be valid, and there may be other alternatives.

Evangelist using this way for spreading the good news (Gospel) is not doing what Jesus want them to do.

It certainly isn't, and as a Baha`i it is spoken of directly in my sacred text:

"WORSHIP thou God in such wise that if thy worship lead thee to the fire, no alteration in thine adoration would be produced, and so likewise if thy recompense should be paradise. Thus and thus alone should be the worship which befitteth the one True God. Shouldst thou worship Him because of fear, this would be unseemly in the sanctified Court of His presence, and could not be regarded as an act by thee dedicated to the Oneness of His Being. Or if thy 78 gaze should be on paradise, and thou shouldst worship Him while cherishing such a hope, thou wouldst make God's creation a partner with Him, notwithstanding the fact that paradise is desired by men.
Fire and paradise both bow down and prostrate themselves before God. That which is worthy of His Essence is to worship Him for His sake, without fear of fire, or hope of paradise.
Although when true worship is offered, the worshipper is delivered from the fire, and entereth the paradise of God's good-pleasure, yet such should not be the motive of his act. However, God's favour and grace ever flow in accordance with the exigencies of His inscrutable wisdom.
The most acceptable prayer is the one offered with the utmost spirituality and radiance; its prolongation hath not been and is not beloved by God."
(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 77)

Regards,
Scott

 

[RagnarGalt]

Pascal also doesn't account for the final option 5) You don't believe in God, and God really exists, and God gives you a chance to come to know him before he makes a decision on whether you go to "hell".

 

[St0ne]

Firstly it doesn't bring true believers to whatever religion it was designed to bring them to, it just brings scared people.

Secondly...

• You may believe in God, and God exists, in which case you go to heaven: your gain is infinite.
• You may believe in God, and God doesn't exist, in which case your loss is finite and therefore negligible.

The first is true no denying that but the second is not as the only way to discover this is through death your loss is a life of freedom not bound by an non-existant Gods laws but of your own which is infinite. If you put life on a timeline it seems insignificant but to a living thing if it only has one chance at life no matter how short it is that life is infinitely significant.

Of course to a theist though a life without god like that just doesn't rub the way I described.

 

[JerryL]

You may believe in God, and God exists, in which case you go to heaven: your gain is infinite.

Or...

You may believe in God, and God exists but he hates theists (at least of the religion you've chosen) in which case you go to hell: your loss is infinite.

 

[MdmSzdWhtGuy]

Jerry,

Just like Homer Simpson said, what if we pick the wrong God? Aren't we just making him angrier and angrier every Sunday? Ahh, the wisdom of Homer.

B.