Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Mind on Fire

I came across a book the other day at my local public library (it's a building in a neighborhood where lots of books are kept that are loned to people for free!) called Mind on Fire. Apparently, it is a in a series called Classics of Faith and Devotion. This one in particular is a compilation of Blaise Pascal's writings in his famous Pensees. The sub-title for Mind on Fire: A Faith for the Skeptical and Indifferent...what a great line! For the next two weeks, at least, I want to share some excerpts from this book.


"In what I am writing, let no one think I am saying anything new. It is only the arrangement of my material that may be new. For it is like a game of tennis, where we both play with the same ball, but one of us uses it to better advantage. So I would like it to be said that I am simply using well-worn words in a new framework. For when familiar thoughts are rearranged, they simply present a different way of communicating the truth. So too, we can use our words."

"Before we examine the evidence of the truth of Christianity, I need to point out an inconsistency of those who are careless about the truth. Yet it is vital to them, for it intimately affects their lives. Of all their miscalculations, this is what most blatantly shows up their blind folly. It is this: This present life is momentary, but the state of death is eternal. How terribly important it is, then, to live in the light of the eternal, since it ultimately affects all that we do or think! Since nothing is more obvious than this observation, how absurd it is to behave differently.

Seen from this angle, how absurd it is for people to go through life without regard for their final destiny. Instead, they are led as they feel inclined and as they indulge themselves, unreflective and careless, as though they could wipe out eternity and enjoy some passing happiness merely by represing their thoughts. Yet death is real, for it threatens us at every moment of time, while eternity is also real, and is in fact a threat of ultimate destruction and misery.

This creates the prospect of terrible consequences; indeed, it is the prospect of eternal damnation. Yet people do no even bother to find out if eternity is merely an old wives' tale. Though this stares them in the face, they do not even trouble to find out if the arguments for it are valid. They have no idea whether they should or should not refuse to face up to this question. What an appalling way to behave!"

Blaise Pascal (1623-16662)


How about you?

Pastor Fred