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I found a great quote from Blaise Pascal, who was a 17th Century version of some of us… except a lot smarter… He’s famous for a lot of things, but mostly at this site for Pascal’s Wager. While I don’t agree with PW, it’s interesting from a philosophical standpoint. There’s been a bit of talk of it on another thread ( http://forum.staylds.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7152 http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18269/18269-h/18269-h.htm Pascal wrote:If I saw nothing [in nature] which revealed a Divinity, I would come to a negative conclusion; if I saw everywhere the signs of a Creator, I would remain peacefully in faith. But, seeing too much to deny and too little to be sure, I am in a state to be pitied; wherefore I have a hundred times wished that if a God maintains nature, she [nature] should testify to Him unequivocally, and that, if the signs she gives are deceptive, she should suppress them altogether; that she should say everything or nothing, that I might see which cause I ought to follow. Whereas in my present state, ignorant of what I am or of what I ought to do, I know neither my condition nor my duty. My heart inclines wholly to know where is the true good, in order to follow it; nothing would be too dear to me for eternity.
I envy those whom I see living in the faith with such carelessness, and who make such a bad use of a gift of which it seems to me I would make such a different use.
On Own Now wrote:I envy those whom I see living in the faith with such carelessness, and who make such a bad use of a gift of which it seems to me I would make such a different use.
They say that youth is wasted on the young. Perhaps from a certain perspective faith is likewise wasted on the “faithful”.
I came back tonight just to express how gorgeous this quote is. I’ve let it ramble in my head all day and I love it. Thank you for the quote. What I know about Pascal fits on the head of a pin, so here’s the first of possibly several silly questions: He had a conversion experience, and these are his thoughts after that? Good quote. He essentially takes the perspective of Mother Nature [God] and indicates what he would do if in that position. Taking the perspective of God, he doesn’t feel God has given enough evidence of his existence and therefore, he is lost about what his duty is on earth. He envies people who have faith, but at the same time, thinks they enact that faith badly. I tend to agree with him.
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