Pascal’s Christianity for modern pagans “...one of those writers who will be and who must be studied afresh by men in every generation.” -T.S. Eliot

Life 1623 – 1662 Child Prodigy Pioneering physicist, mathematician, inventor, mechanical and civil engineer Religious Polemicist and defender of heretics Apologist for Christianity

2nd Conversion The year of grace 1654, Monday, 23 November. From about half past ten in the evening until half past midnight. Fire 'God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob,' not of philosophers and scholars. Certainty, certainty, heartfelt, joy, peace. God of Jesus Christ. My God and your God. 'Thy God shall be my God.' The world forgotten, and everything except God. He can only be found by the ways taught in the Gospels. Greatness of the human soul. Sweet and total renunciation. Total submission to Jesus Christ and my director. Everlasting joy in return for one day's effort on earth. I will not forget thy word. Amen.

Inluence and reception Philosopher? Apologist? Both? Neither? “[Pascal] would probably be better classified as a Christian apologist than as a philosopher” (Frederick Copleston). “...that faith of Pascal which resembles in a terrible fashion a protracted suicide of reason” (Friedrich Nietzsche). “One of the finest philosophers of all time, a Frenchman named Pascal...” (George Grant). “This book is about Pascal the philosopher. Some notable scholars assert there is no such person. Therefore this book is controversial” (Graeme Hunter). “Even if it were true we do not think that the whole of philosophy would be worth an hour’s effort” (Blaise Pascal).

overview The Pensées First Modern Apologist Intellectual Project: Against autonomy Pascal’s Wager

Pascal’s Wager

Pascal’s Wager

The big question: Who am I? It cuts to the core of his entire thought Most important, in his own words The question men are most apt to ignore

The big question: Who am I? “What people want is not the peaceful life that allows us to think of our unhappy condition, nor the dangers of war, nor the burdens of office, but the agitation that takes our mind off it and diverts us. That is why we prefer the hunt to the capture.” “If our condition were truly happy we should not need to divert ourselves from thinking about it.”

The big Question: Who am I? Human nature is dual Wretchedness Greatness Scepticism vs. Dogmatism Scepticism = Wretchedness Dogmatism = Greatness Christianity alone can account for both states

The big Question: Who am I? Conclusion: The Christian story of The Fall best explains our unhappy condition. Therefore, the Christian offer of salvation by grace through faith in christ is the best (only) solution to our unhappy condition. “Man is nothing but a subject full of natural error that cannot be eradicated except through grace.”

Further Reading Peter Kreeft, Christianity for Modern Pagans: Pascal’s Pensées Edited, Outlined, and Explained Thomas V. Morris, Making Sense of it All: Pascal and the Meaning of life James R. Peters, The Logic of the Heart: Augustine, Pascal, and the Rationality of Faith Diogenes Allen, Three Outsiders: Pascal, Kierkegaard, and Simone Weil Ernest Mortimer, Blaise Pascal: The Life and Work of a Realist Ben Rogers, Pascal: In Praise of Vanity