Pascal's Wager was a theological argument presented by 17th century philosopher Blaise Pascal positing that everyone is essentially involved in a life-long gamble regarding belief in the existence of God. Pascal's contention was that every rational person should adopt a lifestyle consistent with the existence of God and believe or at least strive to believe in God. He reasoned that if God doesn't exist, then believers would incur only minor losses from being incorrect such as potentially sacrificing certain worldly pleasures or luxuries. However, if God does exist, believers stand to gain immensely, especially those of the Abrahamic faiths, which promise an eternal afterlife in heaven while simultaneously avoiding an eternity of burning in hell.
