Blaise Pascal: A Look at His Work in Apologetics, the Pensð¹es

BLAISE PASCAL

A Look at His Work in Apologetics, the Pensйes

By

Michael C. Meyer

A paper prepared for

David A. Dorman, Ph.D., Professor

GTHE501/History of the Modern Church

March 11, 2003

A CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BLAISE PASCAL (1623-1662) 1

LIFE AND WORK OF PASCAL HISTORICAL EVENTS

1623 Born in Clermont-Ferrand, June 19. Death of Pope Gregory XV. Alliance between France, Savoy, and Venice.

1626 Death of his mother, Antoinette.

1631 Family moves to Paris, his father Plays of Comeille, Mairet, Balzac

Йtienne appointed to government post. being shown in Paris.

1635 Blaise begins to show his Formation of scientific academy

precocity in science. by P.Mersenne, one of the first in Europe.

1640 Pascal family moves to Rouen. Monetary reform in France.

Йtienne appointed Tax Commissioner. First

publication of Pascal, "Essay on Cones."

1642 Pascal's first attempt to make End of English Civil War: Death of French

a calculating machine. cardinal and statesman, Richelieu.

1646 Pascal family becomes committed in

Christian faith.

1647 Return of Pascal to Paris for health reasons.

1648 Blaise and his sister Jacqueline begin Treaty of Westphalia ends Thirty Years' War:

to relate with Port-Royal community. Revolt of Paris against Louis XIV, October 21.

1649 Family seeks refuge in Clermont-Ferrand.

1651 Death of his father, September 24. Struggle between French Parliament and monarch.

Rise of Turenne.

1652 Jacqueline enters community of Port-Royal, Louis XIV retakes Paris, October 21.

January 4. Blaise begins notes on the Pensйes.

1654 Blaise experiences his conversion Reconciliation between Mazarin and Cromwell.

to Christ, November 23.

1655 First stay at Port-Royal, and leads the

duc de Roannez to Christ.

1656 Writes the first Provincial Letter, January 23. Partition of Poland between Sweden and

The remaining 17 letters continue until 24 Brandenburg.

March 1657. He collates the Pensйes. His niece

Marguerite miraculously cured, March 24.

1657 Composes Elements of Geometry for the French-English Alliance.

students of Port-Royal, and the next year begins

correspondence with Europe's leading

mathematicians, Carcavi, Hugheus, Latouere.

1658 Convenes a conference to explain his Pensйes Creation of the Academy of Science in Paris.

or Apology of the Christian Religion.

1659 Pascal seriously ill until June Marriage of Louis XIV to Marie-Therese and English

Restoration.

1660 Probably composed his prayer during this time. Catholic bishops censor the Jansenists.

1662 Death of Pascal, August 19. English Act of Uniformity against Puritans.

Introduction

Blaise Pascal was first introduced to me at a high school youth camp near Glacier National Park in northwest Montana. The speaker had mentioned Pascal's Wager in the message and gave a paraphrase of it that was appropriate for the understanding of teenagers. It appealed to me because it was a source of stability in logic that I associated with to counter my emotional tendencies. It told me that there was a logical reason for the emotions that I was having in regards to my salvation. As Pascal states "The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of." In my mind, this doesn't necessarily speak against logic or reason but instead speaks of a logic and reason that is rarely understood by cognitive discernment. The heart speaks its own reasons. This is more pronounced when you are surrounded by the glory of God's creation and one cannot but help to believe that God exists and is the God of all creation when you are surrounded by such visions of nature.

This sent me to read the Pensйes over the course of many years. It is a large work that can be an undertaking all at once. I chose not to drive myself crazy trying. In my readings I discovered other jewels of insight that Pascal spoke of in the work. One of those is number 67. "The vanity of the sciences--Physical science will not console me for the ignorance of morality in the time of affliction. But the science of ethics will always console me for the ignorance of the physical sciences." 2

The Pensйes have seemed to go largely ignored by the Christian community as a work that should be studied. Knowledge of the "Wager" and that the Pensйes was an exercise in apologetics seems to be the only association people have with Pascal . Actually, there are many non-apologetic observations within the text that just deal with human relations. Lately, though, a few writers have taken the work and reordered the individual Pensйes in a way to form an apologetic that is more accessible to the general reader. This paper