A snappy reply to the Wager: Wager them back! :D
We all know that the wager is fallicious as an argument and is used as psychological terror trick to bulldoze dogma through brute force. The thing is, it is usually used in a hit and run context, wheras they'll throw in the single line it takes and then you've only got a couple of seconds to retort, and managing to cram an effective rebuttal into those couple of seconds is a difficult task, especially if they are philosophically ignorant.
So here I present some ideas for snappy replies.
Admittedly, I have only used them in imaginary scenario's where the fundy conveniently sends me the phrase I need to execute the rebuttal and they are suitably stupified after my 'perfect' reply, but hey, you've got to think up these things somewhere!
I think that the best way to intuitively grasp how terrible the wager is is to have someone use it on you, so when someone wagers you, a good way to show them just how bad their argument would be to present an equally bad one back at them. For example:
"What if you're wrong and God sends non-Christians to hell?"
"What if you're wrong and God sends Christians to hell?"
"But that doesn't really happen. God actually does send non-Christians to hell!"
"In that case you're not talking about 'what-if's anymore.
You're standing by what you think to be the true.
If you want to convince me that Christianity is true then
use reason properly instead of trying to scare me with 'what if's!"
Or:
"You're going to hell, and that's a fact!"
"No! You're going to hell and that's a fact!"
"What are you talking about?"
"It's a fact that people who believe in Jesus will suffer for eternity in the afterlife!""You're just be stupid now. I'm not going to listen to a word you say!""Dude! You're finally thinking like an atheist! "
Think they'd work in a real conversation?
- Login to post comments
That'd probably work. Next fundy to come along try it!
I tryed it before.
I couldn't tell what happened, becuase people who bring up PW tends to drop it as soon as possible.
Sorry, the god box is completely impervious to logic and have absolute proof (well by Ray Comfort standards it's absolute proof).
Back in highschool I had one friend who was quite evangelical. What follows is a conversation we had.
Me: What do you think of other religions like Isalm or Hinduism?
Him: They are all wrong.
Me: How do you know.
Him: Because christianity is right.
Me: What whould you believe if you had been born into a different family and raised in a different religion
Him: I'd believe in that ...but I'd be wrong
So close
Oh, a lesson in not changing history from Mr. I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!
I always went in with 3 points when arguing against pascals wager. They always drop it after I say them.
* It is impossible to make yourself truly believe out of fear/(just-in-case), god would/will(if he existed) know if you lying or not, so you will still go to hell. Sorry.
* There is thousands of religions, which god? Oh, that god? What proof leads you to this god?
* What if god only puts atheists in heaven, and everyone else goes to hell? They ask why that would be I simply respond "If I was god, i would not want stupid fucks in heaven with me, to make a test to see if someone is stupid I would release a holy text with all false information, and see who believes it, even after being proven wrong. If they do, then I know they do not deserve heaven".
Always worked for me. Even before I knew what Pascal's Wager was(I knew the concept, but not until I was here did I know it had a name for the argument)
"When I die I shall be content to vanish into nothingness.... No show, however good, could conceivably be good forever.... I do not believe in immortality, and have no desire for it." ~H.L. Mencken
Thank god i'm a atheist!
And then you down the vodka!