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Response
Pascal’s Wager is named after the 17th-century French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal. One of Pascal’s most famous works was the Pensées (“Thoughts”), which was published posthumously in 1670. It is in this work that we find what is known as Pascal’s Wager.
The essence of the Wager is that, according to Pascal, one cannot arrive at the knowledge of God’s existence through reason alone, so the prudent thing to do is to live your life as if God does exist because such a life has everything to gain and nothing to lose. If we live as though God exists, and He does indeed exist, we have gained heaven. If He doesn’t exist, we have lost nothing. If, on the other hand, we live as though God does not exist and He really does exist, we have gained hell and punishment and have lost heaven and bliss. If one evaluates the options, clearly the rational choice to live as if God exists is the better of the possible choices. Pascal even suggested that some may not, at the time, have the ability to believe in God. In such a case, one should live as if he had faith anyway. Perhaps living as if one had faith may lead one to actually come to faith.
There have been criticisms over the years from various quarters. For instance, there is the argument from inconsistent revelations. This argument criticizes Pascal’s Wager on the basis that there is no reason to confine the choices to the Christian God. Since there have been numerous religions throughout human history, there can be many potential gods. Another critique comes from atheist circles. Richard Dawkins proposed the possibility of a god that might reward honest disbelief and punish blind or feigned faith.
Regardless, what should concern us is whether or not
Pascal’s Wager can be reconciled with Scripture. The Wager falls short on several fronts. First and foremost, it fails to consider the apostle Paul’s argument in Romans 1 that the knowledge of God is clearly seen by all, leaving us without excuse (Romans 1:19-20). Reason alone can lead us to the awareness of God’s existence. This understanding may be limited, but it still constitutes knowledge of God. Moreover, this knowledge is adequate to hold us accountable before God’s judgment. We all face God’s wrath for suppressing the truth of God in unrighteousness.
Secondly, Pascal’s Wager overlooks the commitment required to follow Jesus. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus cautions us twice to consider the sacrifices of being His disciple (Luke 9:57-62;14:25-33). There is a price to pay for following Jesus, and it is not a trivial one. Jesus informed His disciples that they must be willing to give up their lives to save them «He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. », (Matthew 10:39). Following Jesus entails facing the world’s animosity «If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. », (John 15:19). Pascal’s Wager fails to address any of these aspects. Consequently, it reduces faith in Christ to mere gullibility.
Thirdly, it distorts the reality of human depravity. The unregenerate person—one who has not experienced spiritual rebirth through the Holy Spirit «Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. », (John 3:3)—cannot be persuaded to a saving faith in Jesus Christ by a cost-benefit analysis such as Pascal’s Wager. Faith is a result of being born again, and that is a divine work of the Holy Spirit. This is not to say that one cannot assent to the facts of the gospel or even be outwardly obedient to the law of God. One of the points from Jesus’ parable of the soils (Matthew 13) is that false conversions are going to be a fact of life until the time Christ returns. However, the sign of true saving faith is the fruit it produces (Matthew 7:16-20). Paul makes the argument that the natural man cannot understand the things of God «But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. », (1 Corinthians 2:14). Why? Because they are spiritually discerned. Pascal’s Wager makes no mention of the necessary preliminary work of the Spirit to come to the knowledge of saving faith.
Fourth and finally, as an apologetic/evangelistic tool (which is what the Wager was intended to be), it seems focused on a risk/reward outlook, which is not consistent with a true saving faith relationship in Christ. Jesus placed obedience to His commands as evidence of love for Christ «Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. », (John 14:23). According to Pascal’s Wager, one is choosing to believe and obey God on the basis of receiving heaven as a reward. This is not to diminish the fact that heaven is a reward and that it is something we should hope for and desire. But if our obedience is soLely, or primarily, motivated by a desire to enter heaven and avoid hell, faith and obedience become a means of achieving our desires rather than the outcome of a heart that has been reborn in Christ and demonstrates faith and obedience out of love for Christ.
In conclusion, Pascal’s Wager, although an intriguing piece of philosophical contemplation, should not be part of a Christian’s evangelistic and apologetic arsenal. Christians are called to share and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the “power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” «For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. », (Romans 1:16).
