The greatest truths are natural - what's left over is a waste of time.

Pascal's Wager is as follows:

1 - We don't know whether God exists.

2 - If we chose to believe in God and God exists then when we die we will go to heaven.

3 - If we chose to believe in God and God doesn't exist then when we die we will simply cease to be.

4 - If we chose to disbelieve in God and God exists then when we die we will go to hell.

5 - If we chose to disbelieve in God and God doesn't exist then when we die we will simply cease to be.

6 - Because we can't know whether God exists we must place our bets on (2) and (3) or on (4) and (5).

7 - It is better to place our bets on (2) and (3) than on (4) and (5).

THEREFORE: We ought to place our bets on (4) and (5); we ought to believe in God.

The biggest problem with this argument seems to be that it assumes that God would reward us for believing in Him and punish us for not believing in him. And this strikes me as straightforwardly wrong when we consider what compels people to believe in God. The world is beautiful and morality is as natural a part of the world as color or geometry. So why do people go to church? It isn't to do justice to the world - if they wanted to do that they would file into forests, or simply hold the hand of their loved ones. People turn to the supernatural for one reason: to deny or reject the natural. It is only discontentment with creation, or Creation, that leads to a belief in more than the natural world. And God would reward that discontentment? It would be like putting on headphones in the middle of a concert - the Conductor wouldn't be especially pleased.

Of course, not all natural truths are beautiful. I can't imagine finding much beauty in cancer or AIDS, and so I don't blame someone the least for turning to the natural. I have been incredibly lucky, and if my luck were to turn then a denial of nature might seem pretty pleasant. And in such dire circumstances, I also can't imagine that God would look down on someone for denying, or wanting more than, the natural world. It seems clear to me that God wouldn't really care whether we believed or disbelieved, only that if we did we did so for good reason.