All bets are off!

You can’t speak about god without factoring in culture and religion, a guiding principle in Pascal’s arguments in the wager. Or put simply, internal damnation.  It is in fear that he placed his bets in this Christian god. I ask you this; can anyone make a clear, thought-out decision with fear looming above them? I think not. One does not make rational decisions. Instinctively, your first move is self-preservation. This is exactly what this wager is.    

 

I was “raised” Catholic, or as I fondly like to remember it, as my childhood indoctrination into the church under the pressure of my (culturally) Irish Grandfather. Who himself married a protestant women of Scottish heritage. (Her family refused to speak to her for many years, and they treated my mother as a heathen). How ridiculous is that reality? To allow hate and fear dictate how you treat those you are supposed to love all because of a different interpretation of God? 

I had been taught mostly by my family to think critically in all other aspects in my life, except, in accordance to the teachings of the Catholic Church.  It is in this that I make my point. The rules of non-belief and belief are strictly a concept that has been created by us. Who is to say that if you don’t believe in a god or if you choose to be agnostic that therefore you will burn in the fiery depths of hell? If there is a god she doesn’t care about what set of cultural and religious rules we have made up or if you believed in her when you were alive. All that matters is being as awesome and as kind and as good as you can be. This message is still lost on most people. It is because of the fear of the other and the fear of the unknown that drives us to such insanity. 

One could say that this was a product of its time, it's outdated and no longer applicable. To the contrary it is actually quite relevant in today's society. The majority of people subscribe to some sort of religion and use it as a justification for discrimination.  (hashtag notallreligiouspeople) Fanaticism arises from fear and  illogical, incomplete ideas both of which is present in the wager. Pascals arguments still circulate to this day.

Pascal. When you placed your wager. You chose to play with missing cards. In doing so can anyone really win?