Friday, October 7, 2011

Does God Exist?


Let's look at this in a mathematical, logical way. There are only two sides. God either exists or he doesn't. That means that there is at least a 50% chance that God exists and a 50% chance God does not exit. He either exists or He doesn't. That is a wager that everybody must take.

Three criteria decide whether or not a wager is intelligent. If you put any wager or gamble into this equation, you will be able to determine whether or not you should take the wager. The three criteria are the size of the prize, the size of the risk, and the chances of actually winning the prize. In a big lottery, the prize is very large and the risk is very small (the cost of the ticket), but the chances of winning are very small. That means that investment of even a small amount of money in such a wager may not be wise. (I do not believe in gambling, but I am not making a case for or against gambling; just bear with me for the point of illustration.)

Let's pretend that all of us who read this are not Christians and think this through logically. Let's take a look at the gospel wager. Since the Bible is the basis of Christianity, let's look at one verse in the Bible that is basically the focal point of the Bible. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

If this is true, what would be the prize? Everlasting life. That is an infinitely incomprehensibly large prize. Living forever means that the first billion years will only be a second in light of living forever. We just can't comprehend that. To look at Christianity by its own claims let's read another verse from the Bible, Mark 10:28-30. In these verses, one of the followers of Jesus, Peter, asks Jesus a question—basically “what do we get from following you, from taking this gospel wager. “Jesus answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time--houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions--and in the age to come, eternal life.'” Jesus says that if we are obeying and following God, we will have a hundredfold better life in this life and when this story of earth wraps up, we will eternal life. Anyone who has lived a life as a non-christian and has been truly converted can testify to the fact they they are much happier after they become a Christian than before. The possible prize of eternal happiness, both now and for eternity has infinite value.

On its own terms, what is the chance of winning? “Whoever believes” receives the prize. If you have capacity to believe anything, you can win this wager. That means that the chances of winning the prize is 100%—100% of those who take the gospel wager will receive the prize.

What is the risk involved? There is no risk at all. To show that there is risk, you would have to prove that the life of a non-christian was superior in either quantity or quality to the life of a Christian.

The question must be asked, should I choose to live as though God exists or as though God does not exist? The safer choice is to live as though God does exist. If I am right, I gain everything (infinite happiness) and lose nothing. If wrong, I gain nothing and lose nothing.

The prize is infinitely large; the chance of winning is 100%; and there is absolutely no risk involved. Who wouldn't take a wager like that? If you take this wager, you will lose nothing because there is no risk involved. If you hold to your belief that there is no God and you are wrong, when this life wraps up, you have lost everything. On the contrary, if I hold to my beliefs that God does exist and choose to live the way He wants me to and I am wrong, when this life is over I will have lost nothing.

Won't you take the wager?