Given today's technology, proving that God exists or does not exist is very difficult or perhaps impossible. I have witnessed many arguments between theists and atheists that were very entertaining, but rarely productive. There simply is not enough proof one way or the other.
Given this, should you believe that God exists? Blaise Pascal thinks you should.
Blaise Pascal was a seventeenth-century French inventor, physicist, mathematician, philosopher, and writer. In pondering the pros and cons of believing that God exists, he came up with a type of reasoning called Pascal's Wager.
Pascal's Wager states that the pros far outweigh the cons when it comes to believing in God.
The pros far outweigh the cons, because if you believe that God exists and you die, and God really does exist, then you spend an eternity in heaven. But if you believe that God exists and you die, and God really doesn't exist, then you lose nothing; you simply die just like all living things eventually do.
So if you believe that God exists, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
Now let's look at the converse of what has been discussed. Let's suppose that you are an atheist and you die. If God exists, you spend an eternity in hell, since you led an ungodly life. If God doesn't exist, you lose nothing; you simply die just like all living things eventually do.
As an atheist, you have everything to lose and nothing to gain.
In considering the afterlife, believing that God exists is the logical thing to do. But what about the current life? Does belief in God benefit or detract from your current life? Let's use Pascal's Wager and find out.
Regarding your current life, the benefits of believing that God exists are as follows: the feeling of control over your life via prayer; not fearing death, since you believe that you will go to heaven when you die; and having definite guidelines to live by, eliminating any doubt of knowing the right thing from the wrong thing to do.
The cost of believing that God exists is as follows: feeling constrained in your behavior, in that you can't do sinful things even though they may be fun.
Regarding your current life, the benefits of believing that God exists far outweigh the costs.
Now let's look at the converse of this. Does atheism benefit or detract from your current life? If so, how exactly does atheism do this?
Regarding your current life, the benefit of atheism is as follows: feeling liberated in your behavior, in that you can do fun and sinful things without feeling guilty about doing them.
The costs of atheism are as follows: feeling powerless over your life, since you believe that you are but an infinitesimal cog in the vast machinery of the universe; great fear of death, since you believe that death is final and permanent oblivion; and not having guidelines to live by, leading you to feel lost in knowing the right thing from the wrong thing to do.
Regarding your current life, the costs of atheism far outweigh the benefits.
As we see, believing that God exists gives you a better quality of life than atheism does. Believing that God exists leads to hope and empowerment, fearlessness, and self-control in your current life. Whereas atheism leads to depression and powerlessness, terror, and promiscuous behavior in your current life.
After reading this article, the logical thing to do is crystal clear. The logical thing to do is believe that God exists or at least live your life as though He does.
This is Pascal's Wager.
