What You Lose by Being Religious | An Atheist's Response to Pascal's Wager

Religious theists often think they have nothing to lose by being religious. That is definitely not the case. Religious people miss out on things in reality in order to obtain things they'll never see outside of their fantasies. If belief is a gamble, your earthly life is a part of the stakes.

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[GeneticallyModifiedSkeptic]

Is there anything I missed? What else is there to lose by being religious?

[professionalmemeenthusiast]

Biggest problem with Pascal's wager: An all knowing God would know if you chose to believe insincerely just to get to heaven, so he would not treat you as a faithful believer.

[NN-wcdl]

About thought-crime. Having "bad" thoughts you don't act upon proves you are a morally functioning person.

[fduranthesee]

"Sleeping in on Sunday's are pretty great."
Amen.

[Mehk]

“You missed the opportunity to advance human rights, instead of fight against them”.

Now THATS a quote. I’m subbing to you for it. It’s incredible to view the fight for human rights as an opportunity to be proud of.

[buzzbarnes]

I was a saked out Christian for 62 years. When I started studying the bible 6-7 hours a day with evefry study guide I could find, None of it made sence to me and before long I was not believing anything I red. It took me 3 years before I could comfortably say I was an atheist. I am now 76 and am so much happie without all that stuff hanging over my head. Abd I am not afraid to die anymore. Good thing, I'm almost there...lol

[CosmicSkeptic]

A great point. I wish I'd have thought of this! The wager is really a false premise.

[derby]

You succinctly stated every reason (I can think of anyway) that Pascal's Wager is a load of crap.
As a gay man who was kicked out of the house and disowned at 17 for being gay by his entire Southern Baptist family, I can relate to everything you said.
Instead of going to college, life became a struggle for survival.
If religion wasn't a factor, I would had a very different (and probably better) life.
Great video! 😊
I am s subscriber, so I look forward to seeing more videos from you.
Thanks.

[a-bird-lover]

Another argument I don't understand is the "if nothing matters, why not just commit suicide?" Things _do_ matter! Friends, family, food, life itself! If you're on Earth, you might as well enjoy it while you can.

[ardocon]

When I was a Christian, I never felt like I had my mind to myself. God was always listening in and I felt guilty for even the most innocent thoughts, just because they weren't about him. "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Now I have my mind to myself. I love the silence. I love being able to think about whatever I want.

[ZackeryCochran]

Since I became atheist, I stopped being afraid of the dark. I find comfort in logic.

[stevenduvall]

Great video. I am gay, and you make a great point about the LGBTQ community. Thank you for that!
I live in Los Angeles now, but I'm originally from Oklahoma in the middle of the infamous Bible belt. I was never religious myself, but I saw religious people around me doing these things you mention - being their true selves in spite of the church. But they were themselves only to be wracked with guilt and shame, living as hypocrites. You explained very well what they would gain if only they could overcome their indoctrination. They would gain their true selves.

[roblovestar]

"You've lost the opportunity to live and intellectually honest life. Exploring science and philosophy openly and honestly is extremely rewarding...". Amen!

[RobinP]

After coming out as a transsexual not one person that belonged to a church in which I had been very active and was one of the original founders would even talk to me. But that turned out to be a huge positive. I read the Bible from cover to cover and without someone else telling me what this or that should mean I compared what I read to logic as well as archeological, historic and geological records. The Bible lost. That was over a decade ago and since then I've lived a much more fulfilling life, have spent more time helping others and no time praying for their well being.

[daleskidmore]

You would have to "Pascal" the hell out of all of the 4000 odd religions to be

[-chippedstars-]

The majority of my family is religious, and from a young age I was expected to be feminine. I grew up with my mom constantly showing me feminine clothing, guilt tripping me try on or buy dresses I never felt comfortable in. The past few years I started buying guys clothing. I'm not uncomfortable in my gender, I love being a girl, but I mostly don't wear girls clothing. I'm really excited to move out eventually so I can branch out with my fashion choices.

[BryanSchlundt]

Freedom in Christ? I think not! I have never been freer since shedding religion, and, in spite of the dire warnings of the religious, I am not "shackled by my sins".

[von]

Honesty is Not actually a strong point in any religion.
The 'appearance' of honesty is a Very big point for religions.

[stephenchildress]

As a Christian, I gotta say, your videos have really helped me out. They've allowed me to be open minded and to think and consider the uncomfortable questions and realities of not only my faith, but also the atheist worldview. While some of your statements are true, some are not, and some are a misunderstood and misinterpreted view (even while you were a Christian), it has convicted me of some things that I need to do better in as far as building relationships with anyone and everyone.

I loved your video on the essential oils and how you became an atheist. I can definitely see how you came to the conclusion you did. I suppose the reason I still believe is because I've seen evidence of God in my own life. I had a very real encounter with the Holy Spirit in my dorm room my freshman year of college. Since then, I've continued to grow in fellowship with people of all different backgrounds and beliefs and in my faith in ways that are exactly how the Bible describes them to be. The proof was in how it changed me in the exact way it said it would upon reading it after the change took place.

[imranbug]

Few things an ex-muslim will realize he/she have lost:
+ Many Muslims waste a lot of time in learning to remember entire Quran word by word (320, 015 words), a big part of their early childhood is spent in this learning activity.
+ Muslims are obligated to pray 5 times a day & 1 prayer can last 10 mins + including wazo ... that's possible 1hr + a day
+ some muslims manage to do Hajj or umra a special tour to medina which requires you to spend good amount of money and time.
+ Some muslims avoid watching porn or even normal movies which have girls showing their hairs of cleavage..
+ Girls have to spend life in agony of wearing hijab even in hot weather or having to face trouble in eating meal with face niqab.