Sunday, December 2, 2012

Blaise Pascal Quotes

I just found a quotation of Pascal that's similar to other quotes I've cited in the past. So, I'm gathering them them all here on this blog post. Here's the new quote:

Willing to appear openly to those who seek him with all their heart, and to be hidden from those who flee from him with all their heart, God so regulates the knowledge of himself that he has given indications of himself which are visible to those who seek him and not to those who do not seek him. There is enough light for those to see who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who have a contrary disposition.

I found this quotation from an article by William Lane Craig HERE

It seems to be a quotation from Pascal's Pensées. Here's an alternative translation from www.ccel.org:

"...willing to appear openly to those who seek Him with all their heart, and to be hidden from those who flee from Him with all their heart, He so regulates the knowledge of Himself that He has given signs of Himself, visible to those who seek Him, and not to those who seek Him not. There is enough light for those who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who have a contrary disposition."

Here are the other quotations from Pascal's Pensées that I've posted in the past.

563 The prophecies, the very miracles and proofs of our religion, are not of such a nature that they can be said to be absolutely convincing. But they are also of such a kind that it cannot be said that it is unreasonable to believe them. Thus there is both evidence and obscurity to enlighten some and confuse others. But the evidence is such that it surpasses, or at least equals, the evidence to the contrary; so that it is not reason which can determine men not to follow it, and thus it can only be lust or malice of heart. And by this means there is sufficient evidence to condemn, and insufficient to convince; so that it appears in those who follow it, that it is grace, and not reason, which makes them follow it; and in those who shun it, that it is lust, not reason, which makes them shun it. 

577 There is sufficient clearness to enlighten the elect, and sufficient obscurity to humble them. There is sufficient obscurity to blind the reprobate, and sufficient clearness to condemn them, and make them inexcusable.—Saint Augustine, Montaigne, Sébond.

574 All things work together for good to the elect, even the obscurities of Scripture; for they honour them because of what is divinely clear. And all things work together for evil to the rest of the world, even what is clear; for they revile such, because of the obscurities which they do not understand.


562 It will be one of the confusions of the damned to see that they are condemned by their own reason, by which they claimed to condemn the Christian religion.

576 God has made the blindness of this people subservient to the good of the elect.

Pascal was a Catholic who opposed what was considered by Catholicism as the heresy of Jansenism. This was a Catholic movement that has been considered by some a "Catholic Calvinism" because they took the teachings of St. Augustine so seriously and worked it out to its logical conclusions that it mirrored the Calvinism of Protestantism. Despite his opposition, Pascal seems to have been influenced by it (or by Augustine's teaching) enough that he seems to have had a high view of providence and predestination.

Being a Calvinist myself, I appreciate Pascal's desire to affirm both the Sovereignty of God in the salvation of human beings as well as as the moral responsibility that each person has before God to respond to him. The above quotes are compatible with many versions of Calvinism (though not all).

See also my blogposts:
 

"Unveiling" The Hiddenness of God

Detecting and Finding God


The following are links to where I've alluded to or posted these quotations in the comments of other blogs.



The irrelevance of evidence to atheism
[I highly recommend reading my comments at this link]










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