My Response to Pascal’s Wager

You’ve probably heard of Pascal’s Wager. It’s the argument that it’s better to hedge your bets and believe in God. If there is no God you lose little by believing, if there is a God you gain an eternity in heaven.

Here’s my response as a theistic Satanist.

My question is not so much whether God exists as whether God is good.

I believe God is not good, and that the Devil is. I chose to live by my values, which are opposed to God, rather than submit to His rules.

If I am right, then I shall have a lifetime of freedom and an eternity of freedom after.

If I am wrong and God is good and the Devil is just leading me into damnation… well, at least I will have lived a human lifetime of freedom and adherence to my own ethics before that.

If I were to submit to God’s rule, then I would have a lifetime of obedience and an eternity of more obedience after. No freedom, ever.

Either way, freedom is guaranteed only by defiance against God. If I am wrong and destined to burn, then at least I will have tasted liberty for a short time in life. If I am right, the I will be free forever.

I choose to gamble with my soul in exchange for freedom.