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Offline Some old threads came to light, so there's a silver lining. Here's a little quote from the website answeringinfidels.com. This is in response to 'The End of Pascal's Wager: Only Non-Theists Go to Heaven' by Richard Carrier.
The response can be found HERE.
...But this is not the belief of biblical Christianity. Instead, a core tenant of the faith is that one’s moral goodness or badness is not what qualifies or disqualifies one for Heaven. While Christians can acknowledge that some people are more virtuous than others, the Bible teaches that no person is virtuous enough—“good” enough—to earn salvation. The only goodness that can qualify a person for Heaven is that which God confers on her through her faith in Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice. That is, God makes her good through grace. She cannot make herself good through works. Not good enough, anyway, for Heaven.
The whole 'response' has the same theme.
"Don't seek these laws to understand. Only the mad can comprehend..." -- George Cosbuc
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An interesting idea. However, that too fails to address the core issues of Pascal's wager.
For one, the wager provides no direction on which one should even attempt to deal with the idea. Let's say, just for shits and giggles, that one is going to try to fake a ticket into heaven. OK, so which god is one supposed to throw in with? The one that other people in your city are aiming for? What if that is the wrong one? Then you would probably be fairly well screwed should it turn out that there is some big invisible dude who wants a bunch of sycophants kissing the heavenly arse.
Second, the wager fails on the ground of it being an attempt at logic. Bad logic but even so, using more suspect logic to refute it is not really a strong case. Heck, if that is a useful direction to go in, then whatever the strong logic that rips the wager to shreds is not yet discovered. Possibly, we are closer today but the fact that we are still discussing the subject shows that we are probably not there just yet.
Third, refuting the suspect refutation with yet more suspect logic is, at best, showing why the second order logic is still not a fully clear deal that can generally be accepted. Perhaps, such might help to improve such refutations as are current but it still fails to be the coffin nail on the matter.
Fourth, the wager is not even consistent with christianity. Consider Romans 10:9
OK, so the wager will not work because those who would play it would be trying to get into heaven on a forged ticket. There are, of course, many other NT quotes that one might pull on the matter but the basic idea is going to be the same. Heaven is reserved for those who are really into the deal. If you are not into the deal then you are a liar. Now lying is only one sin and that should be covered by the crucifixion but that is one lie that even god can't get around.
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Doing good deeds is worthless. Got it. Hooray for Christian morality.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare