Ask an atheist - Why not believe in God, just in case?

This question tends to be proffered by some Christians who sincerely wonder why I, and others like me, wouldn't choose to be Christians just to hedge against the possibility that the God described in the Bible actually exists. The question presupposes, wrongly I think, that the God of the Bible would even accept such provisional believers. What I would agree with is the proposition that, since the penalty for unbelief if this God is real is so steep, it would behoove us to look into the matter before . The thing is, I have. Now, after knowing what I know of the question, I see no reason to believe that such an unlikely being exists. Therefore, my answer:

It smacks of cowardice to subscribe to a system of belief that seems so highly unlikely, simply to cover my bases. And it smacks of a lack of integrity. It's as if you are saying, "This is totally bizarre, there's almost no evidence to support it, everything I know to be true about the world contradicts it, more and more so every day, but, I'll go along with it just in case." That's not going to happen. I might as well knock on wood, throw salt over my shoulder, and pay lip service to every other major religion, just to be safe.

Suppose Mormonism is right? Suppose Seventh Day Adventists are right? Suppose Jehovah's Witnesses are right? What possible system of belief could encompass them all and so avoid going to hell if one of them is true? What if L. Ron Hubbard is right? Most Christians choose not to subscribe to the doctrines of most other denominations because they think they are untrue. That's what I'm doing with Christianity. I don't believe it is true.

You may say, what if I am wrong? Doesn't it make sense to adopt belief just in case?

I could do a lot of things to mitigate risk, but when I judge that risk to be so small as to be insignificant, and the price of mitigating it far too great, then, no. I don't consider that smart at all. There is a tiny but non-zero risk that I will be killed in a car wreck tomorrow. Should I stay off the streets to remove that risk? That would be irrational.

I invite your comments.

Follow me on Twitter. Golden Platypus is updated often; the easiest way to get your regular dose is by subscribing to our news feed. Stay on top of all our updates by subscribing now via RSS or Email.