The great French scientist, mathematician, and philosopher, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), lived a short but amazingly productive life. In his brief 39 years on earth, Pascal, according to Henry Morris: “was one of the greatest early philosophers and mathematicians and is considered the father of the science of hydrostatics and one of the founder of hydrodynamics. In mathematics, he laid the foundation for the modern treatment of conic sections, as well as differential calculus and the mathematical theory of probability. His other scientific and mathematical contributions were legion, including the development of the barometer.”1
In addition to his scientific achievements, he was a deeply spiritual man who believed that: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.”2 This quote has down through the centuries proven so true. True peace, joy, and purpose can only be found when man reconnects with God through Jesus Christ – there just is no other way. Pascal’s saying lines up perfectly with the Scriptures for we read: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6).
However, Pascal is also famous for formulating what is commonly called, “Pascal’s Wager.” According to the website, Got Questions: “The gist of the Wager is that, according to Pascal, one cannot come to the knowledge of God’s existence through reason alone, so the wise thing to do is to live your life as if God does exist because such a life has everything to gain and nothing to lose. If we live as though God exists, and He does indeed exist, we have gained heaven. If He doesn’t exist, we have lost nothing. If, on the other hand, we live as though God does not exist and He really does exist, we have gained hell and punishment and have lost heaven and bliss. If one weighs the options, clearly the rational choice to live as if God exists is the better of the possible choices.”3
While the argument sounds clever it unfortunately doesn’t line up with Scripture and as a result we should be careful to use it when sharing the gospel.
Some of the problems with Pascal’s Wager are first, according to (Romans 1) the knowledge of God is evident to all of us so that all of mankind is without excuse. When we look at the universe it cries out for a Creator and therefore we all know that there must be a God. Man, because he is utterly depraved suppresses the truth of God in unrighteousness. Second, there is the false assumption that belief in God is sufficient to get one into heaven. Intellectually believing in God is insufficient – we must believe that Jesus is God and that faith in Him alone, and repentance of sin is the only way to make it to heaven. Third, Pascal’s Wager mentions nothing of the cost of following the true God – Jesus. In order to follow Jesus, we must not just live a good life, but a very sacrificial life. We must give up much and count the cost, which often includes rejection and hatred by the world. And fourth, Pascal’s Wager smacks of trying to earn our way to heaven. One seems to be choosing to believe and obey God on the basis of receiving heaven as a reward. This misses the entire point of serving the Lord. We are thus making Jesus the means to our achieving and obtaining our goals, of making heaven and avoiding hell, rather then serving Him in faith and love.
Pascal for all his brilliance, in the area of his “wager,” advanced a poor argument for evangelism. The only effective way to share Christ is to proclaim the age old gospel message. Pascal, while an intellectual genius, needed, like all of us, to rely not so much on reason but on the power of the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures.
1 Henry M. Morris, Men of Science: Men of God (El Cajon, California: Master Books, 1988), p. 15.
2 Great creation scientist: Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) – creation.com