Blaise Pascal: An Apologist For Our Times

Rick Wade's article by this title at Leadership University reveals in brief the basic apologetic outlook of this famous mathematician. Wade points out that evangelism is the end goal of Pascal's work, which should be the end goal of all Christian Apologetic endeavors. The first part of the article is particularly effective, as we read Pascal's description of the the human condition as both valuable and fallen at the same time. This quote is from his Pensees.

"What kind of freak is man! What a novelty he is, how absurd he is, how chaotic and what a mass of contradictions, and yet what a prodigy! He is judge of all things, yet a feeble worm. He is repository of truth, and yet sinks into such doubt and error. He is the glory and the scum of the universe!"

This is the difficult place we must begin when we look into the mirror and when we bring the message of the Gospel to the world. It seems that our society cannot imagine that man would be this "mass of contradictions" and certainly they have a difficult time understanding many pastors who warn of the horrors of hell (pointing out the wretchedness of man) while at the same time holding a pro-life position (valuing even the smallest of human life).

I strongly encourage readers to take some time and read Wade's article. Not only is it helpful in understanding the development of apologetics through the centuries, but it also shows us that the purpose of apologetics is always the same - to win souls to Christ.