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Noooooo, Pascal's Wager!
You said one should believe in God for safety's sake, to prevent one from being punished in the after life. It is like wearing a helmet on a motorcycle. Your helmet example is flawed, however. We know that head injury is a common result of a motorcycle accident. We do NOT know that one will be punished or rewarded in the afterlife. In fact, we know absolutely nothing about it. I could just as easily say, "It's possible that a God who hates ass-kissers exists. This God punishes those who believe in him and rewards those who don't. Obviously, if this God exists, it is 'safer' to disbelieve in it. Think about that. Also, what if your God is jealous? If you believe in Allah but not Christ, you go to hell (according to Christianity). But if you believe in Christ but not Allah, you also go to hell (according to Islam). How do we determine which is correct? We can't. Unlike with motorcycles, where head injury is documented and proven, we have NO evidence of what happens in the after life. An example that better reflects your claim is, "Whenever one is walking around Jupiter, one should wear a pin that says 'kiss me' for safety's sake." This is more representive of your claim than a motorcycle because we don't know that wearing such a pin is really protective, nor do we know what it is like when walking around on Jupiter with or without such a pin.
You said everyone you know who believes in God is happier than those that don't. So? How many people can you possibly know? How many atheists or agnostics do you know? You do realize that there are millions of us, right? You do realize that there are millions of depressed, sad, or angry theists, right?
Anyway, this is my last question on this topic. I do hope you've come to realize that you can't justify your belief using science or "Pascal's Wager" through this discussion. There are other, better arguments for God.
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Maybe give some free advice about: Spirituality?
Here's my last argument, believe it or not and I'm sure this isn't your first time hearing it. God is like air. You can't see it, you can't, you can't hear it, but you can feel it and you know that without it, you will die. Sure you can't see God, and most can't really hear him, but without him I believe you will be doomed during your afterlife. I believe in Christianity because no other religion that I have ever studied in school or otherwise has the morals and beleifs upheld in Christianity. Plus, if you want to get all "scientific" on me, science relvolves around proof. Believe it or don't. When I believe in God, I feel a difference and a better one at that. There is someone who is always there for me and who loves me no matter what. It's like a childhood friend for a kid. Believing in any God gives a human the need for purpose in life that one is always, whether you think so or not, searching for. Believing produces a sense of purpose and love. It's also somewhere to place what some may call coincidences. Whether a God exists or not is only part of the overall faith. Faith helps one live a better life because people with morals and beliefs have backbones and are more determined and focused people. They don't sit around whining over nonsence and doing only God knows what year after year. So YES believing does make you a better and happier person if you are true to the religion because you will have guaranteed love and you will have a rulebook which I believe is necesarry for all individuals. Another support to my argument that religion makes happier people is that religion gives you hope in a world of despare. Who can be happy knowing that soon they are going to die and everything and everyone they ever loved is gone? Who can be happy when they are so scared of death which meany people are no matter what they say. Who could? Then on the other hand, look at how much happier one can be to know that there is an afterlife and that one day they will be soo happy despite how screwed their life may be right now. I don't know about you but I'd be much happier if I knew that one day, everything would be better and I'd be happier than ever. Now, believe as you may, but weigh the pros and cons and find that believing definately is worth a try. Hope you better understand my points and beliefs and hope you are more for a relationship with a supernatural being. :)
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