Pascal's Wager = ???

“God is, or He is not.” But to which side shall we incline? Reason can decide nothing here. There is an infinite chaos which separated us. A game is being played at the extremity of this infinite distance where heads or tails will turn up... Which will you choose then? Let us see. Since you must choose, let us see which interests you least. You have two things to lose, the true and the good; and two things to stake, your reason and your will, your knowledge and your happiness; and your nature has two things to shun, error and misery. Your reason is no more shocked in choosing one rather than the other, since you must of necessity choose... But your happiness? Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is... If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. - Blaise Pascal

Pascal's Wager, boiled down, seems to mean, if you bet on God, the chances of his existence are 50/50. Betting that God exists, you gain all or nothing. Betting that God doesn't exist, you lose all or nothing. He also insists that you MUST wager. No other option is available.

I'm not much of a betting person and I believe that there are more choices than “God is, or He is not.” So I MUST reject Pascal's insistence that I must wager. I have many gods to choose from, or not. I'm currently an Agnostic and I have the freedom to change my mind whenever I have proof that satisfies me one way or another, this god or that, or no god(s). I don't have to buy into anyone's rationale or god(s). Right now there are a few incentives in not believing like saving money and time. Right now I might be wasting my time thinking about and writing my thoughts on this ancient apologetic philosophy. Fortunately I haven't spent any money on the research. So since I'm even on the money but possibly losing more time that I could use for my own selfish reasons, I will end here.

REALLY? SERIOUSLY?

I will never move to Michigan! Hell I don't even want to visit again! This is the most intrusive legislation I have seen, ever! Wonder if this will make it to the US Supreme Court?

http://www.scribd.com/doc/168607697/2-12-cv-10285-74

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION

Civil Action No. 12-cv-10285

...1. Responsible procreation and child rearing are well-recognized as legitimate State interests served by marriage.

Responsible procreation and child rearing are well-recognized as legitimate State interests served by marriage. One of the paramount purposes of marriage in Michigan — and at least 37 other states that define marriage as a union between a man and a woman — is, and has always been, to regulate sexual relationships between men and women so that the unique procreative capacity of such relationships benefits rather than harms society. The understanding of marriage as a union of man and woman, uniquely involving the rearing of children born of their union, is age-old,universal, and enduring. As illustrated by a plethora of research, social scientists have consistently recognized the essential connection between marriage and responsible procreation and child rearing...

Sunday's Suck...

Sunday's have always been depressing for me. When I was a small child, I had to get up early to dress for Mass which usually began around 6:30 am. My father was 'the Catholic' and my mother was 'the Convert'. I just went along for the ride. I never had any interest in reading the Bible with the thee's and thou's and other archaic words I had to look up. I even took Latin in high school so I could understand what the priest was saying at the altar. I thought it was some secret message he got from God. I found out that it was more or less crap, and it was repetitive crap. Ok, ok, I also took Latin because I thought I had a head start on an 'A' in class because I heard it chanted by the priest every Sunday. I could say the whole mass by heart. "Et cum spiritu tuo." I thought it would make fulfilling my language requirement in high school easy. It helped a little. What made Sunday's really sucky when I was a kid was that my Dad didn't have to go to work. Sunday was his day off and he wanted to make the most of it. After we left church at about 7:30 am, he let us know how he was pissed off about the content of the Sunday Sermon and railed about it and the #@$% priest all the way home. He used the rest of the day to direct me and my brothers on the finer points of 1) mowing the lawn 2) waxing the boat 3) cleaning out the fireplace 4) organizing his tool room 5) vacuuming and dusting the house 6) and anything else he could dream up. I actually said to him one Sunday, "Even God rested on the Sabbath." Not the smartest thing to say to my Dad when his list was only partially completed. Sunday's still suck for me. I don't go to Mass or any other service now. I don't miss sitting on hard pews and genuflecting/kneeling on even more uncomfortable kneelers. I can't actually put my finger on my problem with the one day I'm supposed to enjoy, but I don't enjoy it. I'm sure it's psychological. If I could make Saturday into Saturday, and Saturday2 instead of Sunday that would help. Maybe it's just the word, Sunday. I feel like Eeyore whenever I say the word Sunday. "Oh Pooh...It's all the same to me", Sunday Sucks!