h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Pascal's Wager, in my opinion, does not stand up to much logic.
It goes something like this:

1.I do not believe in God.
2.If God does not exist, nothing positive nor negative will happen to me when I die.
3.If God does exist, I will be cast into Hell for eternity, a negative consequence.
4.Therefore, to save my own skin, I should believe in God.

Doesn't God look down on those who do things for themselves and no one else? Aren't they cast into the lake of fire like all the other sinners? Is a man who chooses to be Christian for the sole purpose of getting to Heaven any better than the one who volunteers in charity services for the sole purpose of meeting chicks? Both are selfish actions. The man who volunteers is actually a better man than the one who converts to Christianity, because his choice results in a positive outcome for society. The man who goes to church only listens to sermons.
What I am trying to say is that if you are to believe in God, you must do so with all your heart and mind--not just a sense of self-preservation. In the (paraphrased) words of Terry Pratchett, "When [Pascal] died, he woke up in a circle of gods, holding big sticks and looking menacing, who said, 'This is what we do to Mister Clever Dick.' "

Thought, reason and a healthy sense of criticism.
~Wes

ok, everyone here seems to know a whole lot more about anything on this site than i do, (i'm new, only 14, but douglas adams is my hero so here i am), but it seems to me like trying to believe in all that to save your soul doesnt make sense, because different religions contradict each other, so you're screwed no matter what. the way i see it, we could be judged in the afterlife on the sole purpose of how many fruit loops we ate in our life, so we might as well just go with whatever seems to make the most sense (to me, atheism, but whatever). who knows, maybe atheists go to heaven for some odd reason and all the christians go to hell. there arent any safe bets. errr, i dont know how long after the first post i was supposed to send this, but hey... hope i did this right

just a tad late on this topic. but im atheist and a few of my friends tell me i should believe just incase there is a god so im not in hell. wouldnt this god know if i do or do not believe in him, all knowing and he cant tell what i think about him/her/it.