Have you heard of Paschal’s Wager? If you haven’t its an apologetic philosophy encouraging one that there is more risk in unbelief than in belief. The argument is quite simple. There are four basic options:
- Option #1: You believe and God does exist. This leads to infinite gain.
- Option #2: You believe and God does not exist. This leads (according to Paschal) to minimal loss.
- Option #3: You don’t believe and God does exist. This leads to infinite loss.
- Option #4: You don’t believe and God does not exist. This leads to minimal gain.
According to Paschal it is safer to believe in God even if there is no evidence that He exists.
There are numerous philosophical and even biblical reasons why Paschal’s wager is not a great apologetic. For one, he contradicts the apostle Paul when he says that believing and then finding God does not exist leads to only a minimal loss. According to 1 Corinthians if there is no resurrection (God does not exist) we are to be pitied more than all.
My main concern isn’t to engage Paschal’s Wager philosophically but pastorally. I believe there are many in our congregations that have embraced this wager and it is detrimental to missions.
The main problem, pastorally speaking, is that nobody dies for Paschal’s Wager.
If I believe simply because I think it’s safer, then I’m doing nothing more than hedging my bets. Nobody dies for a hedged bet. You don’t take the gospel to areas of violent opposition “just in case” it is true.
A person that hedges his bets could come to the end of his life–find out that God did not really exist–and still be able to say, “Well at least I still had ______”. Such a life is foreign to that envisioned by the apostles. Consider Peter’s words in John 6: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Peter was all-in. He wasn’t hedging his bets. If Jesus isn’t who he says he is, then Peter has nothing.
Or consider Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:19, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” Why are we of all people most to be pitied? Because we’ve foolishly thrown away everything for a farce.
You’ve got to ask yourself today, do I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only way to the Father or do I not? Enough of this living as if belief in Jesus is just a safe bet. It isn’t a safe bet. It’s an all-in bet or it’s nothing.
