Pascal's Wager (simplified)

Blaise Pascal was a 17th century French philosopher who, through the use of decision theory, concluded that it’s safer to bet on God’s existence rather than not. The following is a simplified version of his reasoning:

You believe in God (Theist):

• If God exists, you gain everything.
• If God does not exist, you gain nothing and lose nothing.

OR

You don’t believe in God (Atheist):

• If God exists, you lose everything.
• If God does not exist, you gain nothing and lose nothing.

Atheism is the worst bet: everything’s at stake with no chance of winning the jackpot.