‘Make them wish it were true… and show it’

Last month I ended with some words from Blaise Pascal (1623–1662). Here’s the full quotation:

‘Men despise religion. They hate it and are afraid it may be true. The cure for this is first to show that religion is not contrary to reason, but worthy of reverence and respect. Next, make it attractive, make good men wish it were true, and then show that it is.’

It’s one of Pascal’s many Pensees (Thoughts) published after his death. These tweet-length nuggets were intended for book-length treatment, but the philosopher and mathematician died aged 39. What remains to us are these fragments, but their wisdom rings across the centuries with as much relevance as ever. It’s so worth remembering that the ‘despising of religion’ is not a 21st-century novelty. It’s not as though Christianity ascended to cultural respectability with Constantine in 312AD, held steady for a millennium and a half and then, in the West, began its nosedive in 1963. That’s a surprisingly common understanding of history and it is utter nonsense. The ‘sea of faith’ has had many high tides as well as many lows. Pascal’s France was so faithless he could present hatred of Christianity as a universal fact: ‘Men despise religion.’

Thankfully, he also offers a remedy. It’s threefold. First present the respectability, then the desirability, and then the truthfulness of Christian faith. What sets Pascal’s advice apart is his insistence on those first two steps. He does not advise bald truth-telling. Respectability and desirability are vital. Perhaps that surprises us if the only other things we know of Pascal are his triangle and his wager. As a mathematician we might expect him to be a rationalist, merely presenting truth in a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum. Such an impression may be strengthened if we’re aware of Pascal’s Wager. Have you come across it?

Usually Pascal’s Wager is misunderstood as a rational challenge to unbelievers: ‘Bet on God’ – because if God exists you gain eternity and if He doesn’t you’ll rot in the grave like everyone, but all you’ve lost is an hour on Sunday, so to speak. So far, so rational. And yet Pascal is not recommending rationalism. He doesn’t want us to take his wager. He wants us to notice that almost no-one does! If we were rational people then we would bet on God. But few people are so calculating. ‘Men despise religion’ says Pascal. They might dress up their hatred in the language of scepticism and rational objections, but underneath it’s a heart issue. We are so irrational in our hatred of God that most people won’t even invest that hour on a Sunday for the chance to win an eternity of bliss. This fact alone should demonstrate human irrationality.

Pascal knew that Pascal’s Wager doesn’t work. That was the point. He was interested in pointing out why it doesn’t work. It fails because faith is shaped by desires more than deduction. And the reverse is true: doubt begins with despising.

Scripture agrees. Our thoughts spring from our hearts: ‘Every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time’; ‘Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it’; ‘Out of the heart come evil thoughts…’ (Gen. 6:5; Prov. 4:23; Matt. 15:19). To change minds, we must address hearts. Hence Pascal begins with the respectability and desirability of the gospel. What would such three-stage evangelism look like? Next time we’ll use concrete examples, but for now…

Imagine your friend brings an objection: ‘I can’t believe in any God who would say X. It seems so irrational and bigoted.’ Pascal would advise:

1. Respectability…

‘I’ve had that objection too. You’re right, it would make no sense if God said it that way. But I’ve come to look at it from this angle.

Pascal’s wager

If you see things this way, it starts to make sense. And in fact, in my experience and in our church, I’ve seen Christians embrace this in a life-giving way…’

2. Desirability…

‘Because actually life viewed from this angle is charged with meaning, purpose and value. It means treating people and the world with dignity and worth. I’ve found it a beautiful vision, and that’s why…’

3. Truthfulness…

‘The Bible says X. It can sound stark and uncompromising and it is. But that’s because it’s vital to stand for such a beautiful truth.’

Next time we’ll consider some specific examples, but first I wanted to persuade you that this approach is desirable. After all, we think with our hearts!