Although Linda’s argument, especially the latter half, may seem similar to my argument, Linda’s argument is not sound, but rather a weak counterargument to the objection made, because Linda makes Pascal’s Wager more of a religious recruiting tool than an actual legitimate argument by itself. The distinction between our arguments is that I argued Pascal’s Wager causes an individual to follow the religion for its benefits, temporarily becoming a selfish person before becoming a selfless individual, whereas Linda argues that the Wager itself does not create a low view of God and of religious people because the Wager is not faith in and of itself but rather the Wager is just the beginning of the path to sincere faith. Meaning, similar to the “greater good” argument about evil discussed above, I argue that Pascal’s Wager is a “greater good” argument for a necessity to temporarily be selfish until one becomes selfless, whereas Linda views the Wager more as a path for atheists or christians who are having second thoughts about believing in
Although Linda’s argument, especially the latter half, may seem similar to my argument, Linda’s argument is not sound, but rather a weak counterargument to the objection made, because Linda makes Pascal’s Wager more of a religious recruiting tool than an actual legitimate argument by itself. The distinction between our arguments is that I argued Pascal’s Wager causes an individual to follow the religion for its benefits, temporarily becoming a selfish person before becoming a selfless individual, whereas Linda argues that the Wager itself does not create a low view of God and of religious people because the Wager is not faith in and of itself but rather the Wager is just the beginning of the path to sincere faith. Meaning, similar to the “greater good” argument about evil discussed above, I argue that Pascal’s Wager is a “greater good” argument for a necessity to temporarily be selfish until one becomes selfless, whereas Linda views the Wager more as a path for atheists or christians who are having second thoughts about believing in