PASCAL'S WAGER

We are at school and I will be meeting new students and parents here at CAK during Open House. School starts tomorrow for us here at the Christian Academy of Knoxville!

Have you heard of Blaise Pascal? If you haven't, you'll find a man that is a powerful figure in Christian history as well as in the field of math and philosophy....

Pascal was born in Clermont-Ferrand on June 19, 1623 and those who knew this young man knew that there was something special about him, and that he was detined for great things. Pascal formulated a basic theorem of projective geometry at age 16 ,and invented a calculating device that was actually the ancestor of modern computers, and he invented this at the tender age of 19. At 23, he was establsihing himself as a giant in the world of physics. Pascal proved the existence of the vacuum, opening the door to the creation of hydraulic devices in all walks of life, including hypodermic syringes, pistons and barometers. Pascal also came up with the mathematical theory of probability and helped shape the field of calculus.


All was not easy for Pascal. In his youth, he developed an ailment that gave him severe pain in his legs, leading to him becoming artially crippled. Yet even in this time of stress he stood high. Unable to sleep due to the pain ojne night, he simply grabbed some paper and wrote down the solution to a difficult area of mathematics.

In 1654 Blaise Pascal trusted Christ and began a series of writings that challenged the intellectuals who would not consider Jesus Christ as Savior. Like CS Lewis and Francis Schaeffer, Pascal raised many powerful challenges to the unbeliver.

One of mny favorite quotes of Pascal is, "There is a God-shaped vacuum in every heart."

He also constructed a wager having to do with Christianity. it is widely known as Pascal's Wager:

"Either Christianity is true or it's false. If you bet that it's true, and you believe in God and submit to Him, then if it IS true, you've gained God, heaven, and everything else. If it's false, you've lost nothing, but you've had a good life marked by peace and the illusion that ultimately, everything makes sense. If you bet that Christianity is not true, and it's false, you've lost nothing. But if you bet that it's false, and it turns out to be true, you've lost everything and you get to spend eternity in hell."