The Divine Lottery: Debunking the Myth of God as a Safe Bet

When I first came out as an atheist (20+ years ago), I received a lot of pushback from other humans. The most frequent question I would get asked (and still do) is, "Why not assume there is a God? If you do, you'll go to heaven; if you're right and there is no God, you're not out anything. At least you'll have your bases covered."

If you're still in the closet or are newly out, it's not easy to explain against this line of thinking.

Here is what I recommend...

Believing in a God won't automatically get you a golden ticket to heaven, just like believing in unicorns won't make them appear in your backyard. And honestly, assuming there's a God without any evidence is like assuming that the only reason you haven't won the lottery yet is that you haven't bought a ticket.

So, don't let anyone guilt you into believing in something because "what if it's true" — question everything and base your beliefs on evidence and reason, not fear or wishful thinking. And hey, if there is a God, they'll understand.