Pascal's Wager and Being Able to Think!

JMJ

The Intro

Pascal's Wager is an argument to pursue virtue and according to Wikipedia, was published post-posthumously with the basic structure:

God is, or God is not. Reason cannot decide between the two alternatives"
"A Game is being played ... where heads or tails will turn up"
"You must wager; it is not optional"
"Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing"
"Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. ... There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain."
"But some cannot believe. They should then 'at least learn your inability to believe...' and 'Endeavour then to convince' themselves."

The Risk

I have been a risk manager and like to put things in that frame. However, before that we need to examine quickly the possible end-points of our mortal existence:

Heaven: We die in a state of grace and are saved for eternity.
Hell: We die in a state of mortal sin and are damned for eternity.
Dissolution: We dissolve into nothing.

Its either good, bad or nothing.
Most religions have some version of #1 and #2, whereas atheists etc believe that death is just the end as opposed to the beginning of eternity. Some religions believe in a version of Heaven and Hell that are temporary way-stations until they are ready for reincarnations again.

So, the wager wouldn't make sense to them - unless they had been exposed to the Catholic / Christian and were presented with an argument that if the Catholic / Christian belief is correct. Then the wager would make sense.

... moving on ...

So, no matter what, you are now alive and nothing can alter the fact that you are making decisions and will die. Death, that first of the last four things that is a surety.

The uncertainty surrounds the existence of God and the wager (what you give up) to attain salvation should He exist.

“Because of <one or more causes>, <risk> might occur, which would lead to <one or more effects>.” Risk Meta Language - David Hillson

Because

It is possible that God exists,
you have been born,
are making decisions every day between

virtue
and vice

and will eventually die,

a judgement of your actions might occur
which would lead to either receiving

eternal reward (Heaven), (Purgatory being a temporary state - even measured in 100's of years),
or eternal punishment (Hell).

The Wager

So, what are you willing to bet that God doesn't exist?

If God exists and

you live a life of virtue, you stand to gain Heaven - i.e. eternal happiness,
you live a life of vice, you will almost certainly lose Heaven,

If God does not exist,

you live a life of virtue, you will lose nothing,
you live a life of vice, you will lose nothing,

A rationale betting man or woman would chose to live a life of virtue

Following Pascal's wager, every rational unbeliever would live a life of virtue on the chance that a much greater reward awaits those who practice virtue.

Death, Judgement, Heaven, or Hell

The wager isn't an argument for the existence of God, it is simply a bet that we are each making by our decisions.

In this case, he was making the case of the wager that the Christian God exists, I obviously am making it that the Catholic Church is the Church of Christ who is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity,and is God.

Catholic Teaching states that there are four last things - as mentioned earlier death is a certainty for all of us.

Next comes judgement - in which souls in the State of Grace and State of Mortal Sin are judged and their reward or punishment determined. In other words Heaven and Hell are not the same for everyone.

Then comes Heaven or Hell, depending if you are in the former or latter group.

For ever.

Conclusion

What you stand to gain by living a virtuous life is Heaven.

What you lose in exchange for an eternity in Heaven, are the pleasures and vices that you gave up in the short years of your life here on Earth.

That is infinite vs finite aka ∞ / 0 = ∞ (Infinity divided by zero still equals infinity).

Said another way, is living a life of vice comes with the price of a lost opportunity.

The scales tip towards living a life of virtue.

P^3

Pascal's wager - Wikipedia

Hermeneutic of the Hermeneutic of Continuity - sspx.org

+ JMJ Since I'm looking at the 'four things', I thought this article would be good. Unfortunately, with the new SSPX.org website, I've been unable to locate the original article. This is a copy the I emailed to myself. This is an article that, I believe, was written in response to a conference given by Msgr. Pozzo. P^3

Rome,the SSPX and this time of Crisis - Updated

+ JMJ Obviously there's lots of events right now. First we have the April 1st - I almost thought it was April Fools - meeting between Pope Francis and Bishop Fellay. Nothing really news worthy as this is a natural progression as Rome appears to be considering fulfilling Archbishop Lefebvre's wish to 'accept us as we are'. Second we have the April 8th publication of what will be a verbose exhortation of the Synod of the Family. I'm willing to bet that the Pope will give with one hand (unilateral regularization of SSPX) and take with the other (ambiguous document that opens the flood gates of sin further). Much to pray for. P^3

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making. It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX. The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience. The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members. It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...

Validity of new rite of episcopal consecrations - Courtesy of SSPX.org

+ JMJ In the blogosphere there are number of responses to this crisis in the Catholic Church that lead to conclusions that run counter to Catholic Doctrine and Dogmas - if taken to their logical conclusion. The validity of the New Rite of Episcopal consecrations is one such hotspot within more extreme sections of the 'traditionalist' culture. Validity of new rite of episcopal consecrations Courtesy of SSPX.org Why the new rite of episcopal consecration is valid Introduction This comprehensive study was compiled to settle a debate that has been circulating in traditional Catholic circles. Some writers have examined the new rite of episcopal consecration and concluded that it must be invalid. Since this would cause manifest problems if it were true and due to the heightened awareness of such a theory, we present a study of this question concluding that it is valid. Following the Council, in 1968 a new rite for the ordination of bishops was promulg...

Comparision of the Tridentine, Cranmer and Novus Ordo Masses

+ JMJ I downloaded the comparison that was linked in the previous article on the mass (here) . ... a very good reference! P^3 From: Whispers of Restoration (available at this link) . CHARTING LITURGICAL CHANGE Comparing the 1962 Ordinary of the Roman Mass to changes made during the Anglican Schism; Compared in turn to changes adopted in the creation of Pope Paul VI’s Mass in 1969 The chart on the reverse is a concise comparison of certain ritual differences between three historical rites for the celebration of the Catholic Mass Vetus Ordo: “Old Order,” the Roman Rite of Mass as contained in the 1962 Missal, often referred to as the “Traditional Latin Mass.”The Ordinary of this Mass is that of Pope St. Pius V (1570) following the Council of Trent (1545-63), hence the occasional moniker “Tridentine Mass.” However, Trent only consolidated and codified the Roman Rite already in use at that time; its essential form dates to Pope St. Gregory the Great (+604), in whose time the R...

Tradicat

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