I’m reading Blaise Pascal’s Pensées, long considered a classic of Christian apologetics. Pensées (“Thoughts”) is a collection of fragmentary notes Pascal had been putting together in preparation for a systematic book of apologetics he did not live long enough to write. The notes are themselves so fascinating, so full of subtle and profound insights, one can only wonder what power the finished book would have had.
Pascal (1623-1662) was one of the greatest thinkers of his time, or any time. He was a physicist, mathematician, philosopher, and inventor. His approach to apologetics is not one a theologian would take, but instead, has all the earmarks of a scientist. He is relentlessly systematic and logical, even in his notes crafting arguments with machine-like precision. (Pascal in fact invented the first, or one of the first, calculating machines, so his apologetic style is no surprise.)
The issue I want to explore today is just a handful of his remarks about the obscurity of prophecy and revelation and their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. He poses questions such as, why did Christ appear in the world as a meek and mild nobody, rather than descending from the clouds in his full glory? Why does Christ make it hard to believe?
His answer is not what I was expecting:
“If he [God] had wished to overcome the obstinacy of the most hardened, he could have done so by revealing himself to them so plainly that they could have no doubt the truth of his essence … This is not the way he wished to appear when he came in mildness, because so many men had shown themselves unworthy of his clemency, that he wished to deprive them of the good they did not desire. It was therefore not right that he should appear in a manner manifestly divine and absolutely capable of convincing all men, but neither was it right that his coming should be so hidden that he could not be recognized by those who sincerely sought him. …
“There is enough light for those who desire only to see, and enough darkness for those of a contrary disposition.” (430)
Yes indeed. This is totally consistent with what Christ said: Seek and you shall find. But we have to seek. We have to knock before the door will be opened.
Pascal later observes that lazy skeptics — that is, skeptics who make no effort to seek — argue that there is no proof of God. But, according to Pascal, it is that very argument that proves there is a God, because once we seek God truly and fully, we find him. Pascal says the arguments skeptics use to support the claim of God’s nonexistence are flimsy and superficial, whereas the arguments in favor of God’s existence are strong, varied, and mutually-supportive — and all that despite the obscurity.
For Pascal, one of the strongest arguments in favor of the existence of God is the entire body of Old Testament prophecies, which all point to their fulfillment in Christ. Among all religious leaders, Christ is the only one whose coming was foretold — and in great detail and with great accuracy over the span of many centuries at that.
There is, however, much obscurity and apparent contradictions in the prophecies. Pascal clears matters up considerably by explaining the double meaning that is consistently woven into the prophecies. When the prophets speak of the Messiah, they often speak in terms of military battle and conquest — thus the Jews of Christ’s time fully expected the Messiah to be a great military leader. But the “hidden” meaning of the prophecies was not military victory, but spiritual victory. The Messiah would come to lead a spiritual revolution rather than conquer a temporal military power. There was enough clarity in the prophecies, says Pascal, for people of true faith to grasp — but not enough so that those in the full embrace of concupiscence would understand. And, again according to Pascal, as the Jews were the most carnal among all people, it was inevitable that most of them would misinterpret the prophecies, deny Christ, and put him to death. This outcome was not only inevitable, it was part of God’s design and necessary for the prophecies to be fulfilled.
(Pascal, incidentally, has much more to say about the Jewish people, most of which is positive and respectful.)
Wow, that is a lot to take in.
More to come.
