Wagering!

[Fide et Amore]

This is from here.

"Another curious argument of Pascal's is that which is known as the argument of the wager. God exists or He does not exist, and we must of necessity lay odds for or against Him.

•If I wager for and God is -- infinite gain;
•If I wager for and God is not -- no loss.
•If I wager against and God is -- infinite loss;
•If I wager against and God is not -- neither loss nor gain.
In the second case there is an hypothesis wherein I am exposed to the loss of everything. Wisdom, therefore, counsels me to make the wager which insures my winning all or, at worst losing nothing. "

I've been lucky to be raised Catholic and to have faith in God. I have stumbled, sure, but I have always had Him at my side when I needed Him. I've never thought of it in this way, and it really is good logic for those who aren't so certain. If I wasn't sure, I would wager in defense of God's existence, because I can win everything, and at worst lose nothing, instead of risking losing everything, or losing nothing but also having no opportunity of gain. mrgreen  

[Zukato Nokuchiku]

I get a certain feeling when reading this, its the kind of feeling when people only believe to save themselves and only that. Wheres the love for God? Believe in God because He is worthy of our love, not just only to save ourselves. Humans gain, and gain, and gain, but, how about God? Im not sure if anybody understand what im trying to say for the moment. Its that kind of way wich sounds like "Its better to believe in God...just to be safe!". I apologise if im abit blunt, but I don't mean any harm against anyone. Its just the impression I got when reading that.  

[Fide et Amore]

I get what you're trying to say. It is kind of selfish, that is true. At first, I just saw the reasoning that seems to say, "Believe, just in case God is real". I can recognize why you dislike it. It is ridiculous just to believe, so you can have all your bases covered.

But the reason I like the thinking is because it seems so... optimistic. It seems to say, hey, there's really no reason that you shouldn't put everything toward God. There's no logic in you not devoting yourself to Him. It's not going to hurt anything if you decide to look for God, and give Him a try. It's like a proof in math, it gets rid of all the other options.

I got the link from an athiest-turned-Catholic, and it seems to fit that bill. If you were someone who didn't believe in God, you would only take a chance on Him because it wouldn't hurt you to try, you wouldn't be losing anything. Once you discovered God's love, you would have a different reason for setting store by Him. So I definitely see where you're coming from, but the somewhat selfish desire for people to save themselves is what leads them to God, for salvation, and leads them to a deeper relationship with Him.  

[Crimson Raccoon]

I do think you're both right. It is true that we should love God simply because he is God and he is good and he created us. We should, but none of us ever would because we're sinners, and that's why we need the salvation. If Christ hadn't redeemed us, none of us would ever love God on our own.

I think our relationship with God does begin with putting our faith in Christ for salvation; but that is only the beginning. Once we truly understand the weight and penalty for our sins, and the salvation Christ can bring us, then love immediately follows. From that point on, now that we've been saved, the focus of our relationship should be loving God for who he is and all he's done, as Pettos said. Because now we're able to, thanks to Christ.  

[Zukato Nokuchiku]

*Edit*

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