In one of his most influential theological and philosophical works, Blaise Pascal defends Christian religion, referring to its complex nature, human thinking mechanisms and various misunderstandings that surround the issue. In this essay I shall demonstrate that throughout the discourse, Pascal appeals to spiritual agnosticism, when proving his point. This shall be established by analyzing the passage, which says: “We know truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart, and it is in this last way that we know first principles; and reason, which has no part in it, tries in vain to impugn them” (Pascal 29). Including subjective and rather emotional factor of knowing the truth, Pascal makes the truth rather individual and universally unattainable, which is how agnosticism views it.
First of all, the claim is to be deciphered. Knowing the truth means knowing whether there is God, knowing there is the Creator above us all. Reason is an umbrella term for logics, rational arguments and objective observation, which results into intelligent conclusions. On the other hand, knowing by heart means accepting and acknowledging by emotion, will, faith or other subjective and spiritual means. The confrontation of cognitive means leads people into discussion on religion, with some advocating atheism, deism or religion, Christianity in the case, which are three different grounds.
The philosopher encourages people to accept and support Christianity by stating it is a flexible spectrum, which is remote from “deism, almost as far removed from the Christian religion as atheism, which is its exact opposite” (Pascal 3). Being an atheist means stating that there is no God. Adhering to deism means firmly believing in God’s presence and worshipping it. Thus, if Pascal states that Christianity is remote from both, he gives the reader a hint that Christianity is not definite and radical in its statements, leaving room for agnostic interpretations. Also, considering how human mind works, the ability for such interpretations is our brain’s great strenght. Connected to the topic, Pascal also stated that “Atheism shows strength of mind, but only to a certain degree,” (Pascal 3) possibly meaning our mind should be open to something more and aware of its perceptual and cognitional limits. Later, he dwells upon the topic, stating that Christianity consists in “the mystery of the Redeemer” (Pascal 3). Using such a collocation implies the eternal enigma, rooted in the notion of God. The word “mystery” shows it is yet not solved and perhaps will never be, as the Redeemer unites “the two natures, human and divine” (Pascal 3) in his being. Having the confrontation between the two natures, one may assume that human nature is not capable of capturing divine nature objectively and reasonably, as was stated above. And if divine nature is absent as such, as atheists believe, we still shall never be able to state that without a doubt, since we shall be aware of our intelligence limits and flaws of cognition so to state something uncompromisingly.
Why Pascal’s the agnostic implications are still spiritual? Their spirituality lies in Pascal’s personal religious optimism. The man accepted Christian philosophy as something to revolve around, as it encourages the idea of God “who unites Himself to [our] inmost soul, who fills it with humility and joy, with confidence and love, who renders them incapable of any other end than Himself” (Pascal 5). Such a loving God is not just a scriptured figure, which is to be worshipped and feared, but also a symbol for peace, harmony and joy. As it all should be perceived by both logic and feeling, the experience and philosophy are of higher, so to say, spiritual matter. Thus, by means of spiritual optimism, philosophical encouragement for acceptance and hint for how limited human intellectual knowledge is, Pascal reassures us in usefulness of Christianity as a religion.
Another supporting argument is appeal to possible despair and feeling of being lost. Pascal argues that if man does not believe in anything, he is “left to himself, and, as it were, lost in this corner of the universe, without knowing who has put him there, what he has come to do, what will become of him at death,” (Pascal 9), which should make us think it is better to have faith or at least to hope that there are things we are unable to know – since it is comforting. In the same sentence, the author also mentions we men are “incapable of all knowledge,” (Pascal 9) and with such incapability it is ignorance and cockiness to be sure of one’s knowledge, especially of unexplainable spiritual matters.
All in all, Pascal supports his position towards Christian philosophy and religion by various means, and appeal to our limited intellectual knowledge is one of them. He states Christianity is distant from both sides of spiritual spectrum, which are atheism and deism. He includes such notions as “mystery” in his arguments, implying some issues are beyond our ability to resolve. Pascal also makes it clear that in this realm, we are to account our emotions and belief, which are not to be objectively characterized. Moreover, his appeal is highly positive in terms of religion, as it gives us the sensation of being safe and guided through the world that would be so lonely and dark without religion’s (or at least agnostic) light of hope.
Works cited
Pascal, Blaise. Pascal's Pensées. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1958. Web. 4 May 2016.
