Taking Pascal’s Wager: Faith, Evidence and the Abundant Life
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Since we can’t know with absolute certainty that God exists, each of us in a sense makes a bet. If we believe in God and are right, the benefits include eternal life. If we are wrong, the downside is limited.
On the other hand, we might not believe in God. If we are right, then we will have lived in line with reality. If we are wrong, however, the consequences could be eternally disastrous.
This was the challenge posed by the French philosopher Blaise Pascal over three hundred years ago. But Michael Rota contends that Pascal's argument is still compelling today. Since there is much to gain (for ourselves as well as for others) and relatively little to lose, the wise decision is to seek a relationship with God and live a Christian life.
Rota considers Pascal’s wager and the roles of uncertainty, evidence, and faith in making a commitment to God. By engaging with themes such as decision theory, the fine-tuning of the universe, divine hiddenness, the problem of evil, the historicity of the resurrection and the nature of miracles, he probes the many dynamics at work in embracing the Christian faith.
In addition, Rota takes a turn not found in many books of philosophy. He looks at the actual effects of such a commitment in three recent, vivid, gripping examples—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jean Vanier and Immaculée Ilibagiza.
Like Pascal, Rota leaves us with a question: What wager will we make?
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- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I: Uncertainty and Commitment
- Chapter 1 - A Curious Offer
- Chapter 2 - Pascal’s Wager: The Basic Argument
- Chapter 3 - Objections to the Wager: Moral Reservations and the Cost of Commitment
- Chapter 4 - Objections to the Wager: Other Religions and Christianity
- Part II: Evidence
- Chapter 5 - Where Did Physical Things Come From?
- Chapter 6 - Why Is the Universe Just Right for Life?
- Chapter 7 - A Primer on Probability
- Chapter 8 - God and the Multiverse
- Chapter 9 - The Beauty and Existential Resonance of Christianity
- Chapter 10 - Counterevidence: Divine Hiddenness and Evil
- Chapter 11 - Historical Evidence for Christianity: The Resurrection
- Chapter 12 - Miracle or Myth?
- Part III: Saying Yes to God
- Chapter 13 - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- Chapter 14 - Jean Vanier
- Chapter 15 - Immaculée Ilibagiza
- Conclusion: Taking the Wager
- Notes
- Author Index
- Subject Index
- Scripture Index
Michael Rota’s book is an ingenious, readable expansion of Pascal’s hint in Pensées that commitment to God is worth making even if we can’t be sure God exists. This is the rare book that both makes a profoundly serious argument and does so in a wonderfully joyful way. Those who haven’t yet taken the wager of Christian commitment will be challenged by this book. But so will others who haven’t yet taken the wager of philosophy itself—to see how fun and even life-changing philosophical reasoning can be.
Andy Crouch, executive editor, Christianity Today, author of Culture Making, Playing God and Strong and Weak
As a Pascal enthusiast, I am enthusiastic about Taking Pascal’s Wager. Professor Rota presents a careful and cogent understanding of the wager and places it within a robust apologetic program. Bravo!
Douglas Groothuis, author of Christian Apologetics
Taking Pascal’s Wager is a novel combination of Pascalian wagering with natural theology and Christian evidences. Rigorous but readable, this unusual book challenges the mind while appealing to the heart. Believers and unbelievers alike will find much in this book to challenge and inspire them. Truly a gem!
William Lane Craig, Talbot School of Theology, Houston Baptist University
- Title: Taking Pascal’s Wager: Faith, Evidence and the Abundant Life
- Author: Michael Rota
- Publisher: IVP Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2016
- Logos Release Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
- ISBNs: 9780830899999, 0830899995
- Resource ID: LLS:9780830899999
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-06T20:57:52Z