Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662) was a French mathematician and theologian. His Pensées (Thoughts), a collection of short theological writings collected after his death, is considered a French national treasure and has been called “the most eloquent book in French prose.” He was a devout Christian and strong Catholic, who sometimes took his faith to extremes. When he realized how much he loved doing math, he thought that anything this pleasurable must be a sin and quit the subject for a number of years.

Pascal made many contributions to mathematics including being the co-discoverer of the theory of probability. The theory originated in a series of letters, motivated by some gambling problems, between Pascal and the mathematician Pierre Fermat. By the end of their correspondence they had determined the basic definitions, concepts, principles and theorems of the subject.

Pascal would later give a probabilistic argument for belief in God, now called Pascal’s Wager. He said that everyone must make a decision, if only by default, to believe or not believe in God; that is, everyone has to place a bet. His argument was one of expected value. If God does not exist, the cost of belief in Him is small (only a few worldly pleasures), whereas, if He does exist, the gain from belief is infinite. Thus even if the probability of God’s existence is small, only a fool would bet against Him.

I love mathematics and mathematical arguments, but to me Pascal’s Wager is unconvincing. For example, similar arguments could be made for other “gods”, and they can’t all be correct. I don’t think that we should gamble on God, or think of Him as giving us a long shot at a possible amorphous prize at the end. Besides could this argument result in a genuine belief?

If we believe, God’s grace comes to us now; He relieves our guilt and gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us through life’s trials. This is wonderful proof that God loves YOU and me unconditionally.

Jim