The Wager, part 1

Pascal's
Pensées
Week 3 - July 31, 2014


How is your reading going?  Have you read pense #233 yet, the one that features "The Wager?"  Over the next few weeks I'll be focusing on this one topic, since it's far and away the most famous of the entire collection.

We start with the set up before the discussion of the wager.

Have you ever tried to prove to someone that there is a God?  Someone might have revealed to us that they don't believe, or asked us about our reason for believing.  Perhaps we've tried to prove God's existence for ourselves during an episode of doubt.  If you've tried, you've probably failed at some level.  It's not your fault.  It's that the very nature of the God we believe in is beyond human understanding.  If God was fully explainable, God wouldn't be God!  That puts us in a conundrum when we try to state our reasons for believing.

Before he introduces us to the wager, Pascal makes the point that believers are being entirely reasonable in not being able to prove that God exists.  If you haven't noticed by now, as a mathematician Pascal is really into logic.  He uses logic to defend why Christians can't prove the existence of God.  Think of it as a formula:

God is incomprehensible
+
Christians not being able to give a fully comprehensible explanation of God
=
This makes total sense!

The bottom line is this: if we could convince people of God's existence with demonstrable proofs, then the God we believe in would not exist.  There is inherent mystery in the Christian belief in God (as in other religions, I might add).  This fact drives some people crazy.  While we should use this fact to excuse us from giving a reasonable explanation for our faith, our reasonable explanations should always include the truth that ultimately we can't fully explain God.

Pense #233
Penguin, p. 121 (Section 2, II.418)
Classic, p. 66

"Let us now speak according to natural lights. 

If there is a God, He is infinitely incomprehensible, since, having neither parts nor limits, He has no affinity to us.  We are then incapable of knowing either what He is or if He is.  This being so, who will dare to undertake the decision of the question? Not we, who have no affinity to Him.

Who then will blame Christians for not being able to give a reason for their belief, since they profess a religion for which they cannon give a reason?  They declare, in expounding it to the world, that it is a foolishness, and then you complain that they do not prove it!  If they proved it, they would not keep their word; it is in lacking proofs, that they are not lacking in sense."


Reflection Questions:
Feel free to use the comments link below to post your thoughtful responses

• What's your experience of trying to "defend the faith?"

• What do you think skeptics are looking for in their questioning?  Do you think they'll ever find what they're looking for? 

• How do you experience the "incomprehensibility" of God?  Does it bring you anxiety, comfort, or both?

• What spiritual practices help you reflect upon the mysteries of a God who is beyond human comprehension?

Diversion...Why does contentment elude us?

Pascal's
Pensées
Week 2 - July 24, 2014


How is your reading going?  Do you ever find yourself distracted by other activities?  Perhaps you are dabbling in diversion.

Life in our society is full of diversions: shopping, hobbies, internet surfing, sports, television and movie viewing, reading, hanging out with friends, Facebook, home improvement projects, physical exercise...and the list goes on.  During the summer we hope to get some rest, and yet we tend to fill our free time with all the activities we want to do but can't the rest of the year because of our work schedule or the weather.  Sometimes we sense the weight of these diversions weighing us down, or distracting us from spending time with our thoughts - thinking through some of our own pensees.

Can Pascal shed any light of wisdom on our predicament?  Pascal sees diversion as something very much at the heart of the human condition - in his view, even international warfare springs from this source!  Helpful for those of us living in the year 2014 is the insight that diversion was just as much a core motivating factor of human behavior in Pascal's day as in ours.  Some of the diversions are different, but many Pascal describes in his day are still the same, including gambling, sport hunting, adventure travel, & career ambition.


Pense #139
Penguin, p. 37 (VIII.136)
Classic, p. 39

"Diversion.

...I have discovered that all the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber.

...I have sought to discover the reason of it, I have found that there is one very real reason, namely, the natural poverty of our feeble and mortal condition, so miserable that nothing can comfort us when we think of it closely.

...They have a secret instinct which impels them to seek amusement and occupation abroad, and which arises from the sense of their constant unhappiness.

...But will you say what object has he in all this? The pleasure of bragging tomorrow among his friends that has played better than another.

...However full of sadness a man may be, he will soon be discontented and wretched, if he be not diverted and occupied by some passion or pursuit which prevents weariness from overcoming him."



Reflection Questions:
Feel free to use the comments link below to post your thoughtful responses

• Why do you think we find it so difficult to "stay quietly in our own chamber?"

• What is your experience of avoiding solitude, deep thoughtfulness, or prayer?  

• How might this thought connect with the Christian life?  Consider what the Apostle Paul writes about in Philippians regarding contentment and God's provision (see below).  In what ways might you explore a deeper, abiding sense of contentedness based on God's provision? 

• Pascal mentioned that our human condition is so miserable that nothing can comfort us when we think of it closely. How might the Heidelberg Catechism give us hope? (Hint: Read Question 1 and its corresponding answer, below)

Philippians 4:10-13 ... CONTENTMENT
¹⁰ I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:19-20 ... GOD PROVIDES
¹⁹ And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.  ²⁰ To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Heidelberg Catechism

Q. 1. What is your only comfort, in life and in death?

A. That I belong—body and soul, in life and in death—not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil; that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit his purpose for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Making sense of so many diverse thoughts...

Pascal's Pensees
Week 1 - July 17, 2014


How is your reading going?  Have you started?  Have you gotten bogged down in detail already?  Reading Pensees is not easy.  Pascal's thoughts are presented without context; it is a rare look into a brilliant man's notepad.  With some of his thoughts, we can see why he's thinking them. But with others, we can only guess what was really on his mind at the time.  Each thought is fairly simple, yet we do not readily see it's meaning as a part of a whole.  We trust that it will all make sense, that by reading them we'll develop a perspective on Pascal's thinking. 

There's one thought of Pascal's that helpfully illustrates the challenge of perspective and the contrast between unity and diversity of thought.


Pense #115
Penguin, p. 18 (III.65)
Classic, p. 36

"Diversity. Theology is a science, but at the same time how many sciences?  A man is a substance, but if you dissect him, what is he? Head, heart, stomach, veins, each vein, each bit of vein, blood, each humour of blood?

A town or landscape from afar off is a town and a landscape, but as one approaches it becomes houses, trees, tiles, leaves, grass, ants, ants' legs, and so on ad infinitum. All that is comprehended in the word landscape.'"


Reflection Questions:

• How does this thought about diversity apply to Pascal's collection of diverse thoughts?  Does it give you perspective for reading them (perspective that might make reading Pascal more enjoyable or simply possible)?

• How might this thought connect with the Christian life?  What connections to do you see with the way the one church is described as a body with many diverse members/parts in Romans 12 (v 3-8) or 1 Corinthians 12?

Welcome to the Pascal Reading Group!

Pensées

By Blaise Pascal

 

The title is the French word for “thoughts,” pronounced pon-say.

Recently, I’ve had numerous conversations with people who are looking for what Pascal provides: a passionate and persuasive defense of the Christian faith that emerges from a scientific worldview and makes sense to those struggling to make rational sense of Christianity.  For believers, a great growth opportunity that will deepen our sharing of the gospel.  For those yet unconvinced, a worthwhile read of a not-to-be-missed classic.  I’ll be reading Pascal’s Pensées this summer…join me!”
 

Choose your version

There are two radically different ways that Pascal's many "thoughts" are arranged in published books: 

1. In numbered order.  Older versions, E-books and the PDF version available from CCEL (see below) feature the pensees in numerical order, 1-914, organized into 14 sections.
2. Grouped by topic.  The newer published version, including the Penguin Classics (1995) version favored by Dr. Peter Gilbert, follow this pattern.  The numbers of the original pensees are included on the right hand column in parentheses.

I have decided to read the old version on my Kindle.  Others of you may want to follow Peter Gilbert's guide and read the Penguin Classics version.  Because we'll be reading the Pensees in very different orders based on our choice of text, I've decided not to provide a reading schedule with page numbers. 

We'll monitor our reading progress with by percentage.  There are seven weeks, and each week we'll want to cover at least 15% of the book we're reading...that way we'll finish by the end of August.

Here's the schedule:

Each week begins on Thursday, when I'll publish a new post on the blog

July 10-16            15%

July 17-23            30%

July 24-30            45%

July 31-Aug 6      60%

Aug 7-13              75%

Aug 14-20            90%

Aug 21-27           100%

 Here are the links to the free digital versions of the Pensees, also available on Amazon or through the public library:

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pascal/pensees.html
http://www.ccel.org/

 

THINK … and record your thoughts in a journal or on this blog

In a journal, record your own thoughts and reflections as you read.  I'll be posting a weekly thought to respond to in the comments section of this blog...this is how we'll discuss with each other!

When I post the weekly thought/question, I'll focus on one particular pense.

 

CONSULT A TOUR GUIDE … Read Dr. Peter Gilbert’s book

Dr. Peter Gilbert, who was an F3 speaker at North Creek on June 25^th, is the author of the book Pascal’s God-shaped Vacuum: A Guided Tour of The Pensées (2012).  He holds a PhD in Biostatistics and works on developing a preventative AIDS vaccine.  As an agnostic college student, reading Pascal’s writings led him to seek God.  Today he helps others consider Pascal’s defense of the Christian faith.