From: iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Ivan A Derzhanski)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Subject: Re: You should be a Christian because (30 words max):
Date: 19 Dec 92 10:54:52 GMT
Organization: Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh, UK

In article <1992Dec16.123522.12825@waikato.ac.nz> arron@waikato.ac.nz writes:
>Hi Ivan ...

Hello, Arron.

>how's it going ...

Fine, thank you.

>It does SEEM to be a bit of a thing
>in New Age philosophy that it doesn't matter much how you get to
>heaven/whatever. That's not true for me, Christianity is the only way,
>we just want to share it with anyone who will take time to try it.

That's all right, but don't say that it is a safe bet.  If it turns
out not to be the true way, Christians risk a mighty long time in some
other religion's hell (such as the Islamic one, or the Aztec Mictlan).

>>>for aethiests
>> 
>> High time to learn the spelling of "atheist".

Sorry for the spelling flame, but this word has a high frequency here,
as well as on alt.atheism, and none the less it is very frequently
misspelt -- perhaps more often misspelt than spelt correctly.  The
same holds for "believe" and "deity".

>Apologise for that, it doesn't matter much to me how it is spelt though, as I
>am hoping that there will not be anyone to use it on in the future.

I hope so too.  When everyone is an atheist, there'll be no point in
calling people that, will there?

>(Not likely, but you have to have some goals eh !!!)

I'm glad we have the same goals.

>>>it's a safe option if you ARE wrong.
>> 
>> No, it isn't.  This is the only life I have, and I'm not going to
>> waste any of my (limited) time and energy on rubbish.
>
>Yes it is the only life YOU have, for me it's just a start. I enjoy my life a
>lot, and I have a joy when I see people come to the Lord, and that happens
>pretty regularly, so I'm regularly pretty happy !!!

I trust you are.  Of course, there are ex-Christians around who will
witness that they are happier as atheists, Jews, Muslims or whatever
else they are now than they have been as Christians.  I reckon it is
whatever floats your boat.

>My limited time has purpose and direction.

Which can be true even if it is a void purpose, and a direction to nowhere.

>And it IS safe, because if you ARE wrong you have the Lord, if
>yoy ARE right, you will have enjoyed life just as much anyway !!!!

You will have enjoyed it, but you will have wasted time and energy
that you could have put to the service of your fellow human beings.
This kind of enjoying life sounds more than a trifle selfish to me.

Besides, it is not the case that either Christianity or atheism have
the right idea.  Maybe we are both wrong, and we'll meet Osiris or the
Great Unicorn after we die.  He may choose to treat Christians more
severely than he treats atheists.  Or maybe the Hindu/Buddhist model
is the correct one, and you'll have accumulated more karma by enjoying
life in the way you described above, and you'll be reborn in some
miserable form, further away from salvation than I.  In those cases
being a Christian is a clear loss.

My apologies for using up bandwidth for explaining Pascal's wager.

-- 
 `D'ye mind tellin me whit the two o ye are gaun oan aboot?' (The Glasgow
Ivan A Derzhanski  (iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk; iad@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu)    Gospel)
* Centre for Cognitive Science,  2 Buccleuch Place,  Edinburgh EH8 9LW,  UK
* Cowan House, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Park Road, Edinburgh EH16 5BD, UK
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc,alt.atheism,alt.slack