“The most simple reality, God, is the one which humanity has striven hardest to complicate. It has become the battle-ground of terrible conflicts, the cause of fratricidal wars. God, through the fault of the people, has ceased to be a bond which unites and has become a flag to be raised on fields of battle.” - Pierre Lacout, God Is Silence
I have been contemplating this quote from Lacout, a Quaker—Christian denomination that emphasizes inward listening and the contemplative path to God. I acknowledge that God as “simple reality” is not the truth for many people, but his words get at the polarity religion has created throughout time, even within Christianity (e.g. Protestants and Catholics in Ireland).
Today, we have lost touch with the potential simplicity of a relationship to God.
I have been listening to this podcast with Andrew Huberman and Dave DeSteno on science, religion and modern dilemmas about belief. They emphasize that we actually cannot know whether God exists. We cannot prove it to be true, but we also cannot prove it to be false. Even famous atheist scientists admit to that. So, we have to make a bet!
Pascal’s Wager: (pragmatic argument for belief in God) since we cannot know for certain whether God exists, we must bet one way or the other (living as if God exists or doesn’t exist are both choices). By nature of being born, you are forced into this bet. The core logic is:
If you believe in God and He exists → infinite gain (heaven) (everlasting life in a pleasurable way)
If you believe and He doesn’t exist → small loss
If you don’t believe and He exists → infinite loss (hell)
If you don’t believe and He doesn’t exist → small gain
Thus, Pascal’s conclusion is that spending finite time and resources worshipping God is worth the infinite reward, even if the reward’s likelihood is infinitesimally small. Pascal’s Wager has obviously attracted criticism, earning the name “the flawed wager.” I am not a philosopher or expert in probability theory, so feel free to investigate the caveats on your own time.
Perhaps the lengthy Reddit threads on the Wager are a testament to Lacout’s musings about religious conflict.
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Yes, Pascal was Christian, but people misunderstand—Pascal never intended his argument to be used as a reason why one should believe in God, but rather a reason why one should take the question seriously.
I believe he offers this advice to the skeptic who wants to believe but finds that reason prevents them from doing so.
Pascal later expanded his argument: religion isn’t just about Heaven and Hell later (especially relevant to our 21st century aversion to delayed gratification), but religion brings benefits to the here and now too.
I do hope Pascal found that eternal bliss and can see the studies being done today:
Epidemiological (15-20 yr period): People who engage with religion have a 30% cut to all-cause mortality
Cuts death from cancer and cardiovascular disease by 25%
Reduced anxiety and depression
Meaning, life satisfaction & social integration (flourishing components)
Its not just community— effect size is greater than the benefits of being part of say, a pickleball community meeting at similar cadences
Religious rituals (e.g. meditation) increase honesty and compassion
note that meditation is often associated with Eastern religious practice, but prayer and contemplative silence after prayer are certainly kinds of meditation
See a link to more studies and the podcast episode at the bottom
Professor Anne Harrington’s work on faith in the context of medicine—religion heals the body— brought me to the History of Science Department at Harvard. Furthermore, many of you reading this already know, I am passionate about the utility of psychedelic medicine. It was in part Harrington’s work and learning about the benefits of transcendence on the physical and mental body that spurred my interest in psychedelics. Transcendence is a key mediator for those who find long-term relief for treatment-resistant conditions in psychedelic clinical trials. Those who have taken the time to understand psychedelics, and those who first brought them to light in the 1960s, have seen time and time again that the substances are a short-cut to interaction with the divine.
“I didn't have one whiff of God until I took psychedelics." - Ram Dass (Richard Alpert, popularized Eastern spiritual practices in the West via his book Be Here Now).
That attitude actually caused a lot of issues in the late 60’s, but the point is that psychedelic research is actually another avenue to understand how aspects of transcendence, God, expansion lead to overall improved quality of life, and in extreme cases, alleviate severe, debilitating mental health conditions and end-of-life anxiety/depression.
Like Pascal’s writing, this is in no way to push or convince, but a presentation of evidence and musings as much for my own benefit as I hope for yours.
Until next time!
Kate, I just finished listening to a podcast series that I really think you would enjoy because it dives into so much of what you are writing about. No pressure if not your cup of tea but if you happen to listen, I would love to discuss! :) https://qcpodcast.gospelinlife.com/
Love this - had never heard of Pascal’s Wager… and the framing makes sense to me. Appreciate you digging this up and sharing!!