Pascal's Wager

"Scio cui credidi" (I know whom I have believed) was the motto of 17th century French inventor, religious philosopher, mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal. Pascal only lived to be 39 years old but in his short life, he puzzled over and commented on some of the greatest mysteries of life.

One of his most important contributions to religious philosophy was his "Pensees," a collection of notes and observations about reason, uncertainty and humanity's relationship to God.

"For after all," Pascal wrote, "what is man in nature? A nothing in relation to infinity, all in relation to nothing, a central point between nothing and all, and infinitely far from understanding either. The ends of things and their beginnings are impregnably concealed from him in an impenetrable secret. He is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness out of which he was drawn and the infinite in which he is engulfed."

From this dilemma, Pascal devised the "Wager," built on the Pensees' theme wherein Pascal systematically dismantles the notion that we can trust reason, especially in the area of religion, as follows:

Uncertainty in all- "This is what I see, and what troubles me. I look on all sides, and everywhere I see nothing but obscurity. Nature offers me nothing that is not a matter of doubt and disquiet."

Uncertainty in reason-"Nothing is so comfortable to reason as to disavow reason."

Uncertainty in science-"There no doubt exist natural laws, but once this fine reason of ours was corrupted, it corrupted everything."

Uncertainty in religion- "If I saw no signs of a divinity, I would fix myself in denial. If I saw everywhere the marks of a Creator, I would repose peacefully in faith. But seeing too much to deny Him, and too little to assure me, I am in a pitiful state, and I would wish a hundred times that if a God sustains nature it would reveal Him without ambiguity. We understand nothing of the works of God unless we take it as a principle that He wishes to blind some and to enlighten others."

Even uncertainty in skepticism- "It is not certain that everything is uncertain."

Having thus shredded the trees of certainty, Pascal then asks the reader to analyze our position. If reason is truly corrupt and cannot be relied upon to decide the matter of God's existence, we are left with a coin toss. In Pascal's assessment, placing a wager is unavoidable, and anyone who is on the fence like he is, incapable of trusting any evidence either for or against God's existence, must at least face the prospect that infinite happiness is at risk. The "infinite" expected value of believing is always greater than the expected value of not believing (i.e., it is a better "bet" to believe in God than not to do so.)

The wager also entails obeying God's commandments and living a Christian life in every respect to ensure that one has done all that he or she can do to earn eternal life; after all one can do, faith in Jesus Christ is the ultimate commitment one makes in placing the wager to believe. So, even if it turns out that there is nothing after death, then, one has lived a good, moral life and can leave this life with no regrets or misgivings.

As far as I am concerned, Pascal's Wager is the best alternative to joining a church. At the very least, I can study the Bible, be kind and helpful to others, and choose to live a Christian lifestyle. For now, that will have to do.