What is OmniNerd?

Welcome! OmniNerd's content is generated by you, the reader. Through voting and moderation we strive to highlight the nerdiest of what's around and provide content that's a little more thought provoking than other sites.

Submit New Content

Voting Booth

Is it possible that in the distant future, President George W. Bush, the 43rd president, might be viewed as one of the greatest American Presidents?

View Results, All Polls
56 votes, 15 comments
0
Nerd-Its
+ -

RE: How Quaint and a revisit of the Atheist Wager

Comment comment by scottb on 09 July 2007

I don't entirely buy this line of argument. I don't think it's any better than VnutZ original statement you rejected.

The subject of the "atheist's wager" (or Pascal's, for that matter) isn't a matter of opinion. It's a matter of truth. No matter how much you trust someone, it doesn't change whether they know the truth of the question. In the case of Christianity (and all "faith" religions), your trust in your pastor has absolutely no bearing on whether Jesus existed or any of the relevant questions. This is because he's doing the same thing you are. He's relying on someone else, who's relying on someone else, all the way back for two thousand years.

Such a chain can only be as strong as its weakest link. If even one person misjudged the earlier steps in the chain, the whole thing collapses. And you have no way to even begin to judge the trustworthiness of most of the chain for yourself - they're too far back in time to know personally. The longer the chain, the weaker you have to judge it, regardless of the degree to which you trust the closest link.

You are a viewing a subset of a larger discussion.
View Full Discussion
Star This to Save in Your Profile Favorite
Thread parent sort order:
Highest Voted : Lowest Voted : Oldest : Newest
Thread verbosity:
Expand All : Minimize Replies to Comments
0 Nerd-Its - +
RE: How Quaint and a revisit of the Atheist Wager by Brandon :: NR9

My point wasn't concerning religious faith, but the common situation in which a decision must be made with incomplete knowledge. In such situations, the thoughts of others can be a useful tool.

The notion I rejected was "X must be true if Y many people believe it" - which is much different than, "X may be worth considering if believed by person A, who is deemed trustworthy based on criteria XYZ."

As I said, this isn't just a matter of religious faith, but concerning your points on that subject, I'm reminded again of the importance of personal revelation.

Posted 10 July 2007, Hide, Parent, Reply