Atheist's wager
The Atheist's wager, coined by the philosopher Michael Martin and published in his 1990 book "Atheism: A Philosophical Justification", is an atheistic response to Pascal's wager regarding the existence of God. One version of the Atheist's wager suggests that since a kind and loving god would reward good deeds – and that if no gods exist, good deeds would still leave a positive legacy – one should live a good life without religion. Another formulation suggests that a god may reward honest disbelief and punish a dishonest belief in the divine. Explanation. Martin's wager states  that if one were to analyze their options in regard to how to live their life, they would arrive at the following possibilities: The following table shows the values assigned to each possible outcome: Given these values, Martin argues that the option to live a good life clearly dominates the option of living an evil life, regardless of belief in a god. Whether one believes in god has no effect on the outcome.