Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Betting on Faith: Exploring Pascal's Wager {Reflections}
Can betting on faith lead to infinite happiness? Join us on the Reflections podcast as we close out our mini-series on the arguments for God's existence with a look at Pascal's Wager, one of the most intriguing and debated theories out there. Blaise Pascal, the Renaissance man and brilliant philosopher, suggests that we should gamble on belief—an idea that resonates deeply with me as a Christian. The wager argues that believing in God, with the potential for infinite fulfillment if He exists, outweighs any downside if He doesn't. Mike Lauer, my co-host, isn't as sold on this concept, but that’s why this dialogue is rich with insights and perspectives.
In my personal journey, living according to Jesus's teachings has brought profound meaning and joy into my life. Forgiveness, reconciliation, and caring for others are not just abstract virtues but practical tools that enrich each day. Embracing this wager has allowed me to live a life free of fear, full of giving, and open to love, ultimately making my world a better place. Whether you're a believer or a skeptic, this episode offers a chance to reflect on how faith—or the gamble of it—can transform our lives and relationships. Tune in for a reflective conversation that may just challenge the way you think about belief and happiness.
Join us! Facebook | Instagram | www.clcelkriver.org
What is up everybody? Hey, welcome to our Reflections podcast. I am Ryan Braley. I'm your host for this evening or this morning or whatever time of day it is when you're tuning in. I'm in studio with Mike Mike Lauer, and we are wrapping up our series like a little mini-series here on different arguments for God, and I actually love this one. This next one we're going to talk about Mike hates this one because Mike's a hater, so that's why I'm not giving him a microphone today, because he's hating on my last argument. Mike hates this one because Mike's a hater, so that's why I'm not giving him a microphone today, because he's hating on my last.
Speaker 1:I love this argument. He's got some points, though, but here's what it is. This is called Pascal's wager. There's this brilliant philosopher, french philosopher, mathematician. He was kind of a Renaissance man in every way. His name was Blaise Pascal and he's just a really great guy, but he had this wager.
Speaker 1:He says essentially look, it's really impossible to prove or disprove the existence of God, and I would agree with him that you can have all these great arguments that I think really point towards this existence of a God, but it's hard to like. You cannot empirically show that God in fact does exist. I think it's overwhelming like you cannot empirically show that God in fact does exist. I think it's overwhelming the evidence, the reason and these kinds of things, but at the end of the day you can't prove it. So he's like, fine, so he takes on this idea out of gambling. So therefore, if you're a gambler, you're going to love this argument. But here's what he says Like look, it's not possible to prove whether or not God exists. So really we should bet on what would benefit us the most in our lives. So here's the argument.
Speaker 1:Basically he says look, if God exists and that's true and you believe in God and believe in God's existence, you will gain kind of infinite happiness. If God exists and you don't believe, then it will be a dark time for you. So then he says hey, if God doesn't exist and you believe anyway, then you receive again, your life is better off. So if God doesn't exist and you don't believe, then it doesn't really matter. But you still fail to reap these benefits in life while you're still alive. So okay, I'll simplify it. You could simplify it with two kind of ideas. Number one if God exists, then you're better off as a believer than a non-believer. And so if God exists and here's the wager he says hey look, take the wager. Like, lay the bet down that God exists and watch what happens. So bet on and live as though God does exist, sort of jump right in and become a believer Because your life will be better off if God exists. Of course that's the truth.
Speaker 1:And so for me, as a Christian, I love this argument, because for me, jesus and now again this argument can get a little bit fuzzy. When you talk about which God are we talking about, whether it's the Judeo-Christian God or other gods? But I'll just speak specifically to the Christian God. And if God exists, then I'm in, and Jesus has made my life infinitely better. I feel like the resurrection has brought dead things in my life back to life.
Speaker 1:Forgiving others is a great way to live. Asking for forgiveness, healing, reconciliation, taking care of each other, speaking up for the ones who can't speak up for themselves, you know, loving my neighbor across the street and around the world these all make life better for me. I can go to bed at night. I don't tell lies, so I don't have to worry about if anyone's going to catch up to me or come knocking on my door about a lie. I told I've forgiven as much as I can and asked for forgiveness so I can sleep well at night, knowing that I don't have these things hanging over my head. I give money away in an effort to do good in the world. I feel good about that and I'm working to raise my children in these kinds of ways as well. It's a better way to live life, as opposed to a nonbeliever who might live according to a different kind of philosophy or methodology or, you know, have a different aim in their life.
Speaker 1:To me, jesus is the ideal human, and he teaches us and shows us how to live as an ideal human. This is what it means to be fully alive. And so, if God exists, you're better off to just jump in, go to church, put some money in the offering basket, volunteer, love your neighbor across the street and around the world, be kind to people, live like it's Christmas all year long. These kinds of things and for nonbelievers I'm generalizing here Pascal is too, but it's just better than the life of many non-believers who oftentimes live in a variety of ways that can bring darkness or shame or other things in their life. And so he says then okay, that's premise one.
Speaker 1:Premise two, then, would be like even if God doesn't exist, you're still better off. So premise one is if God exists, you're better off as a believer than a non-believer. And then premise two is even if God doesn't exist, you're still better off. Your life will still. You know you'll reap the benefits of this kind of living. You know how you spend your money, how you tell the truth and how you show up on time and put your effort into all that you do and how you try to. You know love others to all that you do and how you try to love others and take care of them and have a sense of civic responsibility and social responsibility and take care of the planet and be good to animals and to babies and these kinds of things.
Speaker 1:It's even if God doesn't exist, you're better off living this way, following the ways of Jesus, than a non-believer. And for me that's the idea. That's why I actually follow Jesus, because to me, without that, I just don't know what else I would use as my compass or my guide or what would be the thing that I'm tethered to, that I'm tied to, that gives my life direction. I want direction so bad. I want to have some sense of meaning and fro and just sort of indulging in my own, you know, selfish ways and desires, which I think would lead me to lots of dark places. And so for me, and Pascal was saying if God exists, or even if God doesn't exist, to live as though there is a God and to follow I would add, to follow in the ways of Jesus. Even if, for some reason, jesus wasn't resurrected and wasn't the son of God, it's still better off to live as a believer. So here's the deal Take Pascal's wager, dive in, jump in headfirst, whatever the hurdles are, you know, remove them, jump over them and buy in and see what happens.
Speaker 1:Give it a year or two years, three years, and forgive others and ask for forgiveness, and share your wealth and your resources and take care of your neighbors and help serve your communities and volunteer at church or at the nursing home, down the road or reading books to kindergartners, or be a coach for your son or daughter's team or all the things. And read the Gospels. And what is Jesus like and how does he treat people and women and kids and the elderly and those on the outside of the religious walls in his day, how does he live and try it on and see what happens. So there you go, that is the final argument for God. Again, it doesn't necessarily prove God's existence and Pascal would say, hey, you can't really prove it, but give it a try and see what happens, and I would bet. I would bet that it just might make your life a lot better and you could sleep better at night.
Speaker 1:All right, love you guys, peace. Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends. And don't forget, you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 830, which is our liturgical gathering, or at 10 o'clock, our modern gathering, or you can check us out online at clcelkriverorg. Peace.
