20. Pascal's Wager (My favorite and the last one!)

Here we are at the last proof.  Technically, the last "proof" of God's existence was number nineteen.  Today's argument notes that there are good arguments for God's existence on both sides.  This argument presents the question, "Where are you going to place your bet?" 

If you place your bet with God and he does exist, you win everything! You win perfect happiness and eternal life! If you place it with God, and he doesn't exist, you "lose" nothing, because God does not exist.  If you place your bet against God and he does exist, you lose everything: perfect happiness and eternal life.  If you place your bet against God and he does not exist, you neither lose nor gain anything.  To simplify it further- if you believe in God and "win", you win everything.  If you lose, you lose nothing.  But if you don't believe in God and he exists, you lose everything.  If he doesn't exist, you gain nothing.  So there is everything to gain and nothing to lose!  Examine the chart below:

The rows indicate the "wagers" and the columns indicate the two possible realities.   Consider the blue cells.  If God does not exist, but I believe in him, then after death heaven does not await me.  Instead it is nonexistence.  But what if I do not believe in God and he exists?  "He offers me his love and his life, and I reject it.  There are answers to my greatest questions, there is fulfillment of my deepest desires; but I decide to spurn it all.  In that case, I lose (or at least seriously risk losing) everything."  (Handbook of Catholic Apologetics: Reasoned Answers to Questions of Faith, pg. 92). 

The Wager cannot- or should not- coerce belief.  But it can be an incentive for us to search for God, to study and restudy the arguments that seek to show that there is Something- or Someone- who is the ultimate explanation of the universe and of my life.  It could at least motivate "the prayer of the skeptic":  "God, I don't know whether you exist or not, but if you do, please show me who you are."" (Handbook of Catholic Apologetics: Reasoned Answers to Questions of Faith, pg. 92, emphasis mine). 

Pascal says that there are three kinds of people: those who have sought God and found him, those who are seeking and have not yet found, and those who neither seek nor find.  The first are reasonable and happy, the second are reasonable and unhappy, the third are both unreasonable and unhappy.  If the Wager stimulates us to at least seek, then it will at least stimulate us to be reasonable.  And if the promise Jesus makes is true, all who seek will find (Mt 7:7-8) and thus will be happy.  (Handbook of Catholic Apologetics: Reasoned Answers to Questions of Faith, pg. 92, emphasis mine)

For more on this argument, check out Handbook of Catholic Apologetics or this free article on-line by Peter Kreeft. 

I'll leave you with a quote from the previously mentioned article:

"Atheism is a terrible bet. 
It gives you no chances of winning the prize."

One last little note: it took some work to figure out how to incorporate a chart into a blog post.  Just mentioning in case you want to be impressed.  :)

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