Adams had reportedly been receiving end-of-life care for the past week, just over six months after he announced his prostate cancer had spread to his bones
“Next, many of my Christian friends have asked me to find Jesus before I go. I’m not a believer, but I have to admit the risk-reward calculation for doing so looks so attractive to me, so here I go. I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and look forward to spending an eternity with Him. The part of me not being a believer should be quickly resolved if I wake up in heaven. I won’t need any more convincing than that. I hope I’m still qualified for entry.”
What an absolute fucking goober. Good luck with that one, chief.
How about the fact he used his status as a conservative voice to skip the line and get priority experimental cancer treatments? Not only did he die, but somewhere out there there is another person dead or dying because they got bumped from the treatment
Pascal’s Wager is hilarious because it implies that their “omniscient” God is so stupid he can be tricked into thinking you sincerely believe. Sounds blasphemous to me!
I suppose it depends on if you think faith is inherently important or it’s just the behavior.
I mean his paragraph is pretty much outright silly, but broadly you can decide that acting “right” might happen to help you in an afterlife scenario. Some specifics prescribed by religion are kind of arbitrary, but there’s some common things about trying to be good to others.v Going MAGA like he did would seem to be a perilous move in that context.
I refuse to believe the pantheons of gods didn’t predict pascal’s wager and hide an antipascal clause similar to Matthew 25:31 where not being an asshole will send you to heaven and being an asshole sends you to hell.
To be fair, that’s a very Southern Baptist way to look at it. If you’ve ever read a Chick Tract (I’m so sorry), you’ll know that many end with someone who lived mired in sin earnestly repenting and believing in God right before they die, and it’s shown to work. Some other branches of Christianity, notably Catholicism, relax the emphasis on belief and put more stock into your actions while you lived – although they also believe most but not all sins can be pardoned if you confess and perform penance.
However, I would suggest that believing in God because of Pascal’s wager is:
Obviously idiotic (this part we all know). There are an infinite amount of gods you could believe in that would have the belief requirement. Even if you assert that it’s a belief in “a” god, how are we supposed to know it wouldn’t be some god who values empirical reason and would look down on this belief? These infinitesimal odds you’re wasting your only known life on aren’t even strictly positive.
Something the God of the Bible probably wouldn’t appreciate? Within the shared fiction of Christianity, he knows exactly what’s in your heart, and I’m sure “I’m cooperating just so you give me the goods” doesn’t play well. Granted that’s kind of on God for being an abusive parent and threatening eternal damnation to anyone who doesn’t, but I’m still sure he doesn’t like people who game his abusive system for selfish ends.
I was hoping to find and share an image macro of Leela and Nibbler discussing the meaning of life, with Leela remarking, “So every religion is wrong!”
Unfortunately, all I could find is Leela/Nibbler porn. Lots and lots of it. Goddamn, humans. We should be lucky there’s no judgemental god watching us all.
Seconding that Chick Tracts are comedy gold (Exhibit A). They’re so feverishly deranged that they become an unintentional parody of evangelical Christianity. Solidly “so bad it’s good”.
“Next, many of my Christian friends have asked me to find Jesus before I go. I’m not a believer, but I have to admit the risk-reward calculation for doing so looks so attractive to me, so here I go. I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and look forward to spending an eternity with Him. The part of me not being a believer should be quickly resolved if I wake up in heaven. I won’t need any more convincing than that. I hope I’m still qualified for entry.”
What an absolute fucking goober. Good luck with that one, chief.
That’s Pascal’s wager, and it’s nothing new.
There’s plenty more about him that can be criticized.
How about the fact he used his status as a conservative voice to skip the line and get priority experimental cancer treatments? Not only did he die, but somewhere out there there is another person dead or dying because they got bumped from the treatment
I prefer the one where he was such a shitty father that he mused about not having to murder his own teenaged son after he ODed
Things are “experimental” because we don’t know if they work, not because they are better.
Yeah, it could be that his final, worthwhile contribution to humanity was to be a line on a spreadsheet.
Pascal’s Wager is hilarious because it implies that their “omniscient” God is so stupid he can be tricked into thinking you sincerely believe. Sounds blasphemous to me!
I thank god everyday that I was made to be an atheist.
That’s why this guy is better known for his contributions to computer science
I suppose it depends on if you think faith is inherently important or it’s just the behavior.
I mean his paragraph is pretty much outright silly, but broadly you can decide that acting “right” might happen to help you in an afterlife scenario. Some specifics prescribed by religion are kind of arbitrary, but there’s some common things about trying to be good to others.v Going MAGA like he did would seem to be a perilous move in that context.
I refuse to believe the pantheons of gods didn’t predict pascal’s wager and hide an antipascal clause similar to Matthew 25:31 where not being an asshole will send you to heaven and being an asshole sends you to hell.
Don’t believe in God, until you’re standing at the pearly gates. St Peter hates this one weird trick
To be fair, that’s a very Southern Baptist way to look at it. If you’ve ever read a Chick Tract (I’m so sorry), you’ll know that many end with someone who lived mired in sin earnestly repenting and believing in God right before they die, and it’s shown to work. Some other branches of Christianity, notably Catholicism, relax the emphasis on belief and put more stock into your actions while you lived – although they also believe most but not all sins can be pardoned if you confess and perform penance.
However, I would suggest that believing in God because of Pascal’s wager is:
Obviously idiotic (this part we all know). There are an infinite amount of gods you could believe in that would have the belief requirement. Even if you assert that it’s a belief in “a” god, how are we supposed to know it wouldn’t be some god who values empirical reason and would look down on this belief? These infinitesimal odds you’re wasting your only known life on aren’t even strictly positive.
Something the God of the Bible probably wouldn’t appreciate? Within the shared fiction of Christianity, he knows exactly what’s in your heart, and I’m sure “I’m cooperating just so you give me the goods” doesn’t play well. Granted that’s kind of on God for being an abusive parent and threatening eternal damnation to anyone who doesn’t, but I’m still sure he doesn’t like people who game his abusive system for selfish ends.
I was hoping to find and share an image macro of Leela and Nibbler discussing the meaning of life, with Leela remarking, “So every religion is wrong!”
Unfortunately, all I could find is Leela/Nibbler porn. Lots and lots of it. Goddamn, humans. We should be lucky there’s no judgemental god watching us all.
I fucking love Chick Tracts and collect them. They are so wildly unhinged it’s great
Seconding that Chick Tracts are comedy gold (Exhibit A). They’re so feverishly deranged that they become an unintentional parody of evangelical Christianity. Solidly “so bad it’s good”.
You know that Jesus allegedly has said many times that not believing in God is the sinnest of sins? Down to hell with you, then.
“The vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives,” so goes the old hymn.
Les paris stupides…
Gods hate him!
See how he faked his way into heaven using this one weird trick!