The Most Important Sermon Since Genesis: Loss Aversion
The Folly of Giving Up Faith Because of Loss Aversion
Losing eternity by begrudging offerings, time, energy and feelings
When we skip church or avoid a life of faith because we begrudge the offerings, money, time, energy, emotional drain — or even our looks — it's because of loss aversion.
Loss Aversion Is a Fatal Bug in the Brain
The core error that ruins lives
Loss aversion is a bug in the brain (an error, a defect).
Losing something feels far bigger than gaining the same thing. If you don't overcome this bug, both your faith and your life will fail.
Pascal's Wager: The Most Rational Choice in Terms of Probability
Calculating heaven and hell
Pascal was one of the key founders of probability theory.
He calculated heaven and hell like this:
A: Bet that God does not exist
→ What you gain: finite money, time and pleasure
→ What you lose: eternal hell
B: Bet that God exists
→ What you lose: finite pleasure
→ What you gain: infinite heaven
Even if the probability that heaven and hell exist is extremely low (even 0.000…001%), believing is overwhelmingly advantageous.
The Value of Heaven and Hell Can't Be Measured in Money
Infinite value
In heaven, joy is eternal; in hell, suffering is eternal too.
Any amount of money — even trillions — converges to zero in the face of eternity.
Because heaven's value is infinite, all the money on earth combined couldn't buy an "admission ticket."
Overwhelming Testimony of Miracles
Real experiences of hundreds of millions worldwide
About 38% of American adults say "God performed a miracle for me."
Many of the world's 2.6 to 2.7 billion Christians report personal miracles or answered prayers. Miracle experiences are common stories in China, Africa, Latin America and Asia as well.
Why Christianity Is the Safest Religion
The paradox of exclusivity and safety
Other religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.) tend to acknowledge or accommodate Christianity,
but Christianity says Jesus is the only way.
→ Believing another religion carries the risk of infinite loss (hell).
Conclusion
The bug of loss aversion and probability miscalculation
People who don't go to church or live a life of faith
are, foolishly, living inside the bug of loss aversion plus a miscalculated probability.
