Wanna Bet?

From Rational Wiki:
Pascal's original text is long-winded and written in somewhat convoluted philosophy-speak,[2] but it can be distilled more simply:
If you believe in God and God does exist, you will be rewarded with eternal life in heaven: thus an infinite gain.
If you do not believe in God and God does exist, you will be condemned to remain in hellforever: thus an infinite loss.
If you believe in God and God does not exist, you will not be rewarded: thus an insignificant loss.
If you do not believe in God and God does not exist, you will not be rewarded, but you have lived your own life: thus an insignificant gain.

My comments: The wager is a very popular point of discussion. I remember thinking about it when it was introduced to me in high school class. It sounded false and nonsensical. It didn’t seem right to bet on the existence of God in order to make a gain for yourself.
My current responses are a little more complex but can be summed up in the following scenario.

An atheist, a true believer, and a skeptic who has made Pascal’s wager by making an effort to believe in God just in case all die at the same moment when a meteor crashes into the TV studio where they are having a debate. To the surprise of two of them, they find themselves in the presence of Jesus who is about to judge them.

Jesus looks at the true believer and says, “Not only did you believe, You just happened to believe in the right God and not only that, but also in the right sect. Go straight to heaven!”

Then he turns to the atheist. “OK. You didn’t believe in me but your beliefs were honest and you lived a really decent, good, moral life. I have to respect someone who makes an honest effort and really works hard define the nature of reality and seeks the truth as best he can. You go to heaven too.”

Then he looks at the man who made the bet. “I really hate hypocrites. Do you really think I was stupid enough to think you were sincere when you were just trying to hedge your bets? You disgust me! Go to hell!“

Maybe Pascal’s wager isn’t such a good bet after all. You know what they say about race track touts...if they know the winning horse, why don’t they just bet their own money on it?