Who are Pascal's Bettors?

Pascal's Bettors are a group of atheists, philosophers, and skeptics who want to talk about religion's impact on society, ethics, and the understanding of our universe. Admittedly, those are pretty broad topics, and we reserve the right to expand on our realm of topics or home in on one specific aspect. Here are the members in their own words:

Elizabeth Bradlaugh

Elizabeth Bradlaugh and her godless cat Tobi may not always have much to say but enjoy being on the side of reality and rationality.

John Gauss

John is always willing to stand up for what he considers right. While his opinions can be influenced by emotion more than the other bettors, he still values rational consideration of the facts. In order to truly fill out the role of "republican demagogue's wet dream" he is not only gay, liberally minded, and atheist, but also considers communism- the idealized form of communism of which Marx spoke- to be superior to capitalism. He graduated from UNC with a major in computer science and finds almost all gadgets fascinating and fun.

Matthew Faraday

An agnostic because of science, an atheist because of probability, an anti-theist because of religion. After being raised southern methodist in rural North Carolina, I went to undergrad for a degree in biology, then graduate school for a PhD in cell and molecular biology, and now I am a postdoctoral scholar at UCSF medical center in San Francisco. Somewhere in undergrad I became agnostic; at the beginning of graduate school I became an atheist; by the end of graduate school I became an anti-theist. I believe that education is our greatest tool in fighting superstition, and thus oppression, tyranny, and injustice. I try to live by a two-word philosophy: 'Embrace Reason'.

Nikolas Laplace

Nik is the group's quota-filling red head ("ginger"). He stresses his agnosticism a bit more than some of the other members, but this is to be expected: he's studies philosophy (and mathematics) at UNC. (Eventually, he'd like to go into cognitive science research.) On the podcast, he runs the Ethics Corner, and is a regular contributer to the blog ("Without Any Gods"). He's been Mormon and Wiccan, and has lived in California, New York, Virginia, Florida, Utah, and now North Carolina. On a pleasant day, you'll find him reading outside or going for a hike. His favorite book is "Diaspora" by Greg Egan, and his favorite movie is "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) directed by Billy Wilder.

Do you hate Christians/Religious People?

Absolutely not! We welcome religious opinions- after all that's a great way to make sure we fully understand the positions we espouse. We also love to hold civil, respectful dialogues with anyone who wants to have a serious discussion. Some of us can be more vocal in than others, but don't mistake passion for malice.

What are you trying to do?

We're trying to encourage a rational discussion about religion and faith-based thinking.