What are you Going to do about Jesus?
Hello dear friends. For many years my husband and I were atheists. After we married, we abandoned religion and were getting along just fine without it. Besides, we had a lot more fun things to do on Sunday mornings than sitting on a hard church pew.
Today we're going to be talking about a mathematician named Pascal who used Game Theory and Probability to decide logically what the risks and benefits are for obeying Christ versus living a life that pleases one's self.
Introduction
No one can prove there is a God, because no one walking the earth today has seen God. When Joe and I married, we could not agree on what to do about God. We equated going to church with believing in God. He was raised a Protestant, I, a Catholic. He didn't want to convert to Catholicism and I couldn't bear the thought of falling away from the one true Catholic church.
Since we couldn't agree, we decided to both quit attending church for awhile. This was easy for Joe, but I had been indoctrinated in the Catholic schools. I was terrified that I would go to hell if I didn't attend weekly Mass. Because of my guilty conscience, I would sneak away to Mass on Saturday night. I would make up the excuse that I needed to buy milk. This worked for a few weeks. But then one night I came home without the milk. My lies caught up with me and I finally had to admit I was breaking our agreement. From then on, we put religion and God on the back burner. Many years went by before a life crisis had us dusting off a Bible and searching inside.
No matter how much we might try to avoid the topic, eventually we have to confront the question, "Is there a God? And, if so, did He create us to just do whatever we think is right?"
Many people are hostile or indifferent toward the idea of God. They run their own lives. They have no need for God. For them, they see no advantage in believing in God. This reasoning has the obvious benefit that if they don't even believe God exists, they don't have to be subject to Him or obey what He says. They can have an outward appearance of getting along with other men and women. And they usually restrain their anger enough to avoid winding up in jail. Some are kind and generous. But always, they are the ones in control. Their lives revolve around satisfying themselves. This is the way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12
There is an historical fact that gets in the way of nonbelievers.. What about Jesus? Was He a holy man? Was He a prophet sent from God? Was He truly the Son of God? If He is God's son and He came to tell us how to live to please the Creator, maybe we need to take heed and do what He says.
Pascal's Wager: Why We Should Believe Jesus
Over 400 years ago a famous French mathematician named Blaise Pascal used Game Theory and probability to work out whether believing in God is a smart idea. He concluded that the best course of action is to believe in God regardless of any lack of evidence, because that option has the biggest potential for gain.
Here's how Pascal's Wager goes. Either what Christ taught is true or it is false. If you bet that it is true, and you believe in God and submit to Him, then if it is true, you've gained God, heaven, and everything else. If it's false, you've lost nothing, but you've had a good life marked by love for your neighbor and peace that the world cannot give.
If you bet that Jesus Christ is not the Truth, and you are correct, you've lost nothing. But if you bet that Jesus Christ is false, and it turns out He is the Truth, you've lost everything and will be cursed for all eternity.
Pascal's Wager can also be seen in table form and it becomes clear that belief gives you a reward or an insignificant loss while disbelief gives you punishment or an insignificant gain.
| God exists | God does not exist | |
| Believe in God | Infinite gain in heaven | Insignificant loss |
| Disbelieve in God | Infinite loss in hell | Insignificant gain |
Pascal said, "In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't."
If you feel lost and floundering, looking for more to life and a better way to live, then check out the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament. They record what Jesus taught. See what you can find in them to help you answer the question, "What am I going to do about this man called Jesus?
For ourselves, following the way of Jesus brings peace to the soul and health to the bones. It's a good way to live in the here and now, free from worry and anxiety, depending on our Heavenly Father for our every need. Loving and helping others is also a tonic for our own sorrows. And we have found the teachings of Jesus in his famous Sermon on the Mount, Matthew Chapters 5 through 7, are tried and true and offer the best way to a joyful, abundant life.
After Pascal did his analysis, he made this conclusion:
Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists.
May the Peace and Joy of Jesus Christ be with you.
Wake up and repent. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
