StephentheHeathen's Blog

Blaise Pascal, a 17th-century philosopher and mathematician, made contributions to the construction of mechanical calculators, the study of fluids, helped create the studies of projective geometry and probability theory, and strongly influenced the development of modern economics and social science. His namesake is also shared by a programming language and a unit of measurement.

Then he had a "mystical experience" and he abandoned his scientific work and devoted himself to philosophy and theology. It was during this time that he formulated "the Wager";

 

"If there is a God, He is infinitely incomprehensible, since, having, neither parts nor limits, He has no affinity to us. We are then incapable of knowing either what He is or if He is ... you must wager. It is not optional. You are embarked. Which will you choose then? Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager then without hesitation that he is."

 

Based on a probabilistic argument, it goes something like this:

 

If you believe in God and God does exist, you will be rewarded with eternal life in heaven; thus an infinite gain.

 

If you do not believe in God and God does exist, you will be condemned to remain in hell forever; thus an infinite loss.

 

If you believe in God and God does not exist, you will not be rewarded; thus a finite loss.

 

If you do not believe in God and God does not exist, you will not be rewarded, but you have lived your own life; thus a finite gain.

 

Mathematically a finite gain or loss is negligible compared to an infinite gain or loss. Therefore, he concluded that it was a much better choice to believe in God rather than to practice atheism.

 

There are many problems with this statement. One, which does not constitute a logical fallacy in its own right, is the fact that there are an infinite number of hypothetical gods. If there was no possibility of more than one god's existence, the statement would make logical sense, however, there is no evidence that the Christian god is more real than any of the Hindu gods or even the Orbiting Tea Pot. Even in the limited world-view of Christian monotheism, various individual Christian sects disagree with one another about what is necessary for salvation.

 

Pascal's wager sounds deceptively simple. Many a religious person finds such a call attractive: one only needs to believe without considering the evidence and one would immediately be in a better position than that of the non-believer. After all, they say, if I believe and then it turns out to be true I get to enjoy heavenly bliss; but if my belief turns out to be false, and there is no God, then when I die, I lose nothing. An atheist, the religious person may continue, if he turns out to be wrong will suffer an eternity of torment. If the atheist turns out to be right then it is only equal to the believer's "worst case." Obviously then, the believer will say, you must wager on the side of belief.

 

But Pascal's argument is seriously flawed. The religious environment that Pascal lived in was simple. Belief and disbelief only boiled down to two choices: Roman Catholicism and atheism. With a finite choice, his argument would be sound. But on Pascal's own premise that God is infinitely incomprehensible, then in theory, there would be an infinite number of possible theologies about God, all of which are equally probable.

 

Pascal's negative theology does not exclude the possibility that the true God and true theology is not one that is currently known to the world. For instance it is possible to think of a God who rewards, say, only those who purposely step on sidewalk cracks. This sounds absurd, but given the premise that we cannot understand God, this possible theology cannot be dismissed. In such a case, the choice of what God to believe would be irrelevant as one would be rewarded on a premise totally distinct from what one actually believes. Furthermore as many atheist philosophers have pointed out, it is also possible to conceive of a deity who rewards intellectual honesty, a God who rewards atheists with eternal bliss simply because they dared to follow where the evidence leads - that given the available evidence, no God exists! Finally we should also note that given Pascal's premise, it is possible to conceive of a God who is evil and who punishes the good and rewards the evil.

 

The argument against Pascal's wager is as such:

 

If you belive in a single God, you will have to choose one out of  infinite possible varieties.

 

If any percent of the possible gods will punish you eternally, then there is an infinite number of gods who, if they exist, would punish you for eternity.

 

If there is only one god, then your chance of worshipping it, and not a nonexistent entity instead, is one out of infinity.

 

Therefore your chance of picking the correct "One True God" is very close to zero.

 

So if a god does exist, the chance of you going to any variety of heaven is infinitesimal, regardless of whether you are religious or not.

 

 

Believe or not the choices are yours, but leave the wagering in the casinos.

 

 

I have been doing research on the Pagan roots of things for some time now, then I came across this poem. It has all of the facts and written better than I ever could.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS, YOU PAGANS
by
William Thomas

T'was the long night before God's Sun shone through the land,
And every creature was rockin' and lovin' to beat the band.

His Mom was quite extra special, you Digg,
And Light returning to a superstitious world - well, this was big.

It's an old midnight story of that other Madonna and her sacred Infant, of course,
When celebrants left Nativity rituals happily crying, “The Virgin has brought forth!”

Then came three kings, revered as Magi and invoked for their healing herbs and spices,
With the words, “Pray for us now and at the hour of our deaths” later copied without license.

We're not talkin' Bethlehem, Jesus and Mary - a story quite porous,
But ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, Mesopotamia, Persia, Mithra, Diana, Artemis, Ishtar, Isis and Horus.

The Babylonians bowed before the Queen of Heaven,
While in Semitic lands, Isis became Astarte with gold stars numbered seven.

As for the death and resurrection of Osiris, also known as Horus,
Plutarch describes joyous processions celebrating the dead God reborn, in chorus.

Isis and Her baby Horus were later recast as Mary and Her child, Aurilus recorded,
In iconic carvings and imagery too confusing for either pair to be readily deported.

Yet the Virginity of Christ's mother the Bible never mentions, nor throws any roses,
Though Dionysus was born of a virgin - like Hercules, Merlin and Moses.

So too, Pythagoras, Plato and Alexander all issued from women blessed by the holy spirit -
Who was really a “she” until changed to a “he” by those who would not hear it.

The whole thing was really wrapped up in Virgo giving birth to the Sun on the year's darkest night,
But Pope Pius IX waited until December 1854 to declare the Immaculate Conception was actually right.

Still, the gospels never mention the day of Christ's birth,
And the early Church didn't celebrate it, until noticing Rome's mirth.

For Mithraism was bigger than Gladiators, and worshipped as far as Westphalia,
So the Romans threw in Saturn at Solstice, and called their festival Saturnalia.

Now Saturn was the god who controlled the pulse of plants and planets, you see.
Until Emperor Valerian in 274 declared December 25th the birthday of Sol Invictus, with glee.

So in the land of Saturnalia and Invictus, Christianity became a hard sell with each party-goer,
Who enjoyed the December 24 gift-giving, when an Unconquerable Sun didn't get any lower.

The Son of God newcomers charged that earlier festivities were all works of the devil,
But for thousands of years the Sun God had first dibs on those who would revel.

Augustine was choked, and badgered his brethren, “Don't celebrate this heathen day of old Sol.”
Paul was pissed, too, and Leo likewise rebuked a swingin' season that was not properly droll.

So when 4th century Christians refused to give up celebrating the 12-day Yule this way,
Church leaders co-opted the pagan's fun, and moved the Nativity to this day.

Stealing Mithraism's moniker, the Church “Fathers” must have partaken intoxicating fluids,
To use tall tapers for Christmas High Mass, and Mistletoe sacred to the Druids.

For those ancient Priests of the Oak loved decorating pine trees like early Solstice TV pilots,
In bright woolen bands to encourage new crops, and candle-lit strings of the prettiest violets.

The candles came from ancient Aryan Yule ceremonies, not to light ditches,
But to ward off the thunder, storm and tempest gods - and later, witches.

Yet even in the newest Christian nation, Jesus never made it onto the dollar bill,
Where the Eye of Horus looks over a Masonic Pyramid still.

At least Saint Nicolas was a real 11th century bishop, you see,
A persecuted prelate who after his death became a cult figure in Italy.

The Greeks and Russians were also major Nicolas fans, which was hardly shocking,
For he was said to give money to good needy families, in the first Christmas stocking.

The Dutch called Saint Nick, “Sinterklaas” - you see where this is going.
Brought by immigrants to America, he became “Santa Claus” - and kept right on growing.

It turns out that Dutch kids not busy at leaky dikes were used to receiving presents put down the chimney,
While Boxing Day saw Norman French nuns giving to the poor from their church's alms box, nice and simply.

The Germans brought over the Christ Bundle, which they called Christkindl.
But Americans couldn't speak their lingo, and referred to “Kris Kringle.”

When Clement Clark Moore wrote a poem tagged “A Visit from Saint Nicholas”.
His tale of eight reindeer was repackaged as “The Night Before Christmas”.

Harpers Weekly paid Thomas Nast to draw Santa Claus cartoons during a bleak Civil War of so many dead.
And later the McLaughlin Brothers printing company debated colors for Santa's garb, and decided on red.

In 1931, Coca Cola hired Haddon Sundblom to draw Santa as a new brand.
And children still love that Scandinavian's jolly countenance right across the land.

In 1941, the strummin' cowboy Gene Autry recorded the runaway hit, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” -
And 4,000 years of pagan idolatry morphed into Christ, Coke and Consumption using smoke and a mirror.

So there is nothing Christian about Christmas, at least not at first.
Just more hocus pocus from controlling men without mirth.

They're with us still, if you know the myth-makers I mean.
But I'd rather enrich than disturb your sweet Christmas dream.

Happy Yule season to all.

Any holiday that is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal or spring equinox sure sounds pagan to me.

The older European and pre-European holiday traditions were not based upon claimed religious phenomenon, but rather upon the seasonal characteristics of nature. The ancient traditions were founded by people who were highly aware of seasonal change and arranged their lives and festivities around them accordingly, explicitly marking the spring and fall equinoxes as well as the summer and winter solstices. These periods acknowledged and celebrated the Sun god and its relation to society. The Sun god was seen as the provider of the energy for life from which they prospered, and was therefore given reverence. Even today Judeo-Christians borrow extensively from pagan wisdom while otherwise slandering and misrepresenting paganism. If you go to a sunrise service on Easter, reflect for a moment about why the rising sun is an inherently powerful and appealing force to our inner spirit.

Early Conversion Attempts

"Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it."
- Will Durant, "The Story of Civilization"

When Judeo-Christians attempted to convert pagans from their traditional beliefs, the native people of Europe were initially resistant to discarding the beliefs and values that had guided them successfully for thousands of years. Realizing that it was difficult to get people to give up their relation to nature and the recollection of their past, the Judeo-Christian conversion effort adopted and modified the pagan traditions, while replacing cyclical nature with an invisible, inert god and a personal, linear human idol to worship as its representation.

The chosen people of the Judeo-Christian God did not like the worship of nature and knew this would be harmful to the successful propagation of their beliefs.

So he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.
- Ezekiel 8:16

Thus says the Lord: "Do not learn the way of the Gentiles."
- Jeremiah 10:2

In some translations the word "Gentiles" is replaced by "Heathens", but the two words have the same meaning:

Gentiles. All the people who were not Jews were so called by them, being aliens from the worship, rites and privileges of Israel. The word was used contemptuously by them. In the New Testament Greek is often used as its synonym.
- Peloubet's Bible Dictionary

Pagan Wisdom

The word pagan is derived from the Latin paganus, meaning one who lives in the country. Early conversion attempts occurred primarily in the city, thus giving rise to this distinction. Those who lived in the country were closer to nature and understood it better, making them less likely to forsake it. Because nature is the essence of life, someone who lives and studies among nature knows more truths about life than those who are separated from it and merely read about it in the cities.

Pagans were familiar with the cycles of nature that made life everlasting. Life and death were not considered personal ego-based conditions and feared as they are in Judeo-Christianity, but were seen as stages of growth and decay through which everything living inevitably passes. Instead of being afraid and needing to be "saved" from life, pagans loved this world and lived with honor and respect so that they were able to have the best lives possible. The notion of a "better world" reached by dying was not their life's goal. Instead, they believed in making this world better for each other and for their children. Here "better" does not concern itself with being meek or moralistic, but rather is focused on what is real and heroic in life, while also preserving its rich roots and heritage. This conception of life is that of a long chain to which every child is eternally connected and from which he inherits an entire history as his birthright.

Adopting Paganism

Early first century Christian practices revolved around the Jewish Passover, which is the tradition of the Bible when the word pascha is correctly translated as Passover. However, a mix between the will of emperors and the resistance of the people to give up their traditions and nature-worship for foreign anti-natural beliefs came to sway Judeo-Christianity towards the adoption of Easter.

The name Easter comes from an ancient European goddess of the dawn called Eostre by the Anglo-Saxons and Ostara by the Germanic peoples. She is also known as Eostra, Eostrae, Eostar, Eastre, Easter, Estre, Eástre, and Austra by various European peoples. Her name means "movement towards the rising sun" and is related to the Indo-European root word Aus which means "to shine". The English words estrus and estrogen are also derived from her name. She was considered the goddess of the growing light and spring, associated with fertility and celebrated with a festival of rebirth. One story has her entertaining children by performing a trick that changed her pet bird into a rabbit. This rabbit then laid colored eggs that she gave to the children. Given the history of these ideas which date back to at least 2000 years before the Christian era, it should be no surprise that the original symbols and practices of Easter persist today, just as our ancestors once celebrated them.

The Vernal Equinox

Most people are aware that the day of Easter moves each year, but few people remember the reason for this or the method of its calculation. When we celebrate Easter, it is the first Sunday after the first Vernal Equinox fullmoon. The Vernal Equinox signifies the astronomical arrival of spring and was considered the time to celebrate the rebirth and renewal as nature resurrects itself from the death it suffered in winter.

There is truly little attributed to Judeo-Christianity that is original, but to be fair it is difficult to conquer people sufficiently to destroy their traditions and instinctual feelings. This must be performed gradually by first coopting the traditions, slowly turning them against the spirit of the people, and then cutting the people off from their roots so they remain separated from their natural instincts and awareness of what is right.

Happy Easter/Vernal Equinox Everyone!

I have been studying Buddhism for a couple of months now and there is a sidebar that I would like your opinions on and any information you might have on Jesus' "Lost Years".

I've been on-line and have read some of the manuscripts that supposedly tell of Jesus' sojourn in India, Tibet and Nepal in the 18 year historical gap not accounted for in the Bible. I'm also reading Pagel's book 'Beyond Belief'.

Also I would like to know if there are any Buddhists in this blog-world that would like to help me in my studies.

After my wife and I watched the report on self-defense by Loren Halifax, my wife has asked me to write this post, which I totally agree with.

I applaud and am grateful for what the Kemp and Smith families and foundations are doing.

My wife, many years ago, worked at a stop-and-shop and was robbed at gun point. In about this same time frame she was a "victim" of an attempted rape. The quote "victim" is because she learned a valuable lesson and will not allow herself to be a victim again.

What Greg Smith is doing is exactly on track. AWARENESS. Not putting yourself in the position of being a victim is 90% of not being a victim. It's a sad and sorry time that we live in that we have to take the added concerns and stress to keep safe, but it has to be done.

One of the common threads to both stories is that these girls were alone. Our suggestion to to go somewere with someone. If someone is with you then the odds of being attacked are greatly reduced.

Another common thread is that they both thought that they were in a safe environment. Sorry to say that there isn't too many places that you can consider as being safe, including your own house sometimes.

If someone can't go with you then you have to prepare and be alert. Have your keys out and ready before you leave a building or car, heads up - scout out an area before you enter it, if you are alone in a building then check out the entrances before you are alone. I'm sure that Mr. Smith on Kelsey's website has many more tips.

Mr. Kemps' heart and motives are in the right place, but in our opinions, Bob and Jill Leiker are going to get many women seriously hurt.

Wailing on a dummy for 7 - 12 seconds looks impressive, and probably made the women feel good, but did you notice something was missing?

THE DUMMIES DIDN'T HIT THEM BACK.

Smack a man a couple of times and you better be prepared to get hit back, it's reflex, and especially if he intended doing you harm in the first place.

The comment that my wife made was 'could you see someone my size hitting someone your size for that long?' She's 5'6" and about 130 lbs., I'm 6'4" and about 250 lbs. She answered her own question with 'get real'. And before you ask it, yes I've been racked before, but give me two good breaths and you had better be gone, the fights I have been in have lasted an average of about 15 seconds - win or lose.

That's reality.

Stomp your heel onto his instep,

Hit him in groin with, well, anything you can,

If you have long fingernails or keys in your hands, go for the eyes and face.

These have been taught in many, many self-defense classes.

Let us also add this. After you have stunned your attacker with one or all of the above methods then;

TURN AROUND AND RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN AND SCREAM AS LOUD AS YOU CAN FOR HELP.

Don't stand there and try to duke it out with him, you will be one of the 99% that don't survive if you do.

I'm sure that the Leiker's are "champions" in a controlled fight setting, but in reality the rest of the world isn't.

Don't let them get you hurt.

One of the reasons that I started a blog here is that on my other blog(s) I keep bringing up subjects that concern the KC area and I quess that I wanted to keep local issues local.

Another reason that I wanted to blog here is the fact that I think that the TV news here......well......sucks. Sorry Fox4, but every chance I get to vilify you I will. But if it makes you feel any better the phrase "here" means ALL of the TV news in KC sucks.

I'm not a journalist, as a matter of fact, I now regret falling asleep in English and history class so much in high school. I also don't have a lot of time to write as much as I would like and the fact that I'm keyboard challenged means that things will be slow in coming.

I look forward to the interaction!