Taking Pascals Wager

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Taking Pascal's Wager

Author : Michael Rota
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 0830899995
Total Pages : 254 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (38 download)

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Book Synopsis Taking Pascal's Wager by : Michael Rota

Download or read book Taking Pascal's Wager written by Michael Rota and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2016-04-21 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WORLD Magazine’s Best Books of 2016 Short List Christianity Today's 2017 Book of the Year Award of Merit - Apologetics/Evangelism 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?

Pascal's Wager

Author : Jeff Jordan
Publisher : Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN 13 : 0199291322
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (992 download)

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Book Synopsis Pascal's Wager by : Jeff Jordan

Download or read book Pascal's Wager written by Jeff Jordan and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2006-10-26 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What if there is no strong evidence that God exists? Is belief in God when faced with a lack of evidence illegitimate and improper? Evidentialism answers yes. According to Evidentialism, it is impermissible to believe any proposition lacking adequate evidence. And if any thesis enjoys the status of a dogma among philosophers, it is Evidentialism. Presenting a direct challenge to Evidentialism are pragmatic arguments for theism, which are designed to support belief in the absenceof adequate evidence. Pascal's Wager is the most prominent theistic pragmatic argument, and issues in epistemology, the ethics of belief, and decision theory, as well as philosophical theology, all intersect at the Wager. Other prominent theistic pragmatic arguments include William James'scelebrated essay, 'The Will to Believe'; a posthumously published and largely ignored pragmatic argument authored by J.S. Mill, supporting the propriety of hoping that quasi-theism is true; the eighteenth-century Scottish essayist James Beattie's argument that the consoling benefit of theistic belief is so great that theistic belief is permissible even when one thinks that the existence of God is less likely than not; and an argument championed by the nineteenth-century French philosopher JulesLachelier, which based its case for theistic belief on the empirical benefits of believing as a theist, even if theism was very probably false.In Pascal's Wager: Pragmatic Arguments and Belief in God, Jeff Jordan explores various theistic pragmatic arguments, and the objections employed against them. Jordan presents a new version of the Wager, what he calls the 'Jamesian Wager', and argues that the Jamesian Wager survives the objections hurled against theistic pragmatic arguments and provides strong support for theistic belief. In addition to arguing for a sound version of the Wager, Jordan also argues that there is aversion of Evidentialism compatible with a principled use of pragmatic arguments, and that the Argument from Divine Silence fails. Objections found in Voltaire, Hume, and Nietzsche against the Wager are scrutinized, as are objections issued by Richard Swinburne, Richard Gale, and other contemporary philosophers.The ethics of belief, the many-gods objection, the problem of infinite utilities, and the propriety of a hope based acceptance are also examined.

Pascal's Pensees

Author : Blaise Pascal
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1627933646
Total Pages : 230 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (279 download)

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Book Synopsis Pascal's Pensees by : Blaise Pascal

Download or read book Pascal's Pensees written by Blaise Pascal and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-08-20 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection chronicles the fiction and non fiction classics by the greatest writers the world has ever known. The inclusion of both popular as well as overlooked pieces is pivotal to providing a broad and representative collection of classic works.

Pascal's Wager

Author : Paul Bartha
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107181437
Total Pages : 347 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis Pascal's Wager by : Paul Bartha

Download or read book Pascal's Wager written by Paul Bartha and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-10-18 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a comprehensive examination of Pascal's Wager, its underlying theology, philosophical influence, and role in contemporary decision theory.

What Happens After Pascal's Wager

Author : Daniel Garber
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 74 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis What Happens After Pascal's Wager by : Daniel Garber

Download or read book What Happens After Pascal's Wager written by Daniel Garber and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the consequences of French philosopher Blaise Pascal's (1623-62) famous conclusion that believing in a God that did not exist was safer than not believing in one that did. Among the aspects the book ponders are self-deception and deciding to believe, non-cognitivity and contingency, and rationality and history.

Pascal's Wager

Author : Nancy Rue
Publisher : Multnomah
ISBN 13 : 1576738264
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (767 download)

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Book Synopsis Pascal's Wager by : Nancy Rue

Download or read book Pascal's Wager written by Nancy Rue and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2001-08-09 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Confirmed atheist Jill McGavock faces the mental deterioration of her brilliant mother. In a quest to cope with this devastating situation, Jill seeks out philosophy professor Sam Hunt. Savvy Sam challenges Jill to make "Pascal's wager" -- to "bet" that God exists by acting as if he does. The results not only change Jill's mind but transform her life in ways she never could have imagined. An exciting, faith-building thriller!

Gambling on God

Author : Jeff Jordan
Publisher : Rl Innactive Titles
ISBN 13 : 9780847678334
Total Pages : 180 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (783 download)

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Book Synopsis Gambling on God by : Jeff Jordan

Download or read book Gambling on God written by Jeff Jordan and published by Rl Innactive Titles. This book was released on 1994 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gambling on God brings together a superb collection of new and classic essays that provide the first sustained analysis of Pascal's Wager and the idea of an infinite utility as well as the first in-depth look at moral objections to the Wager.

Pascal's Wager

Author : Nicholas Rescher
Publisher : University of Notre Dame Press
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Pascal's Wager by : Nicholas Rescher

Download or read book Pascal's Wager written by Nicholas Rescher and published by University of Notre Dame Press. This book was released on 1985 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Christianity for Modern Pagans

Author : Peter Kreeft
Publisher : Ignatius Press
ISBN 13 : 1681496534
Total Pages : 350 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (814 download)

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Book Synopsis Christianity for Modern Pagans by : Peter Kreeft

Download or read book Christianity for Modern Pagans written by Peter Kreeft and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2015-03-20 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peter Kreeft believes that Blaise Pascal is the first post-medieval apologist. No writer in history, claims Kreeft, is a more effective Christian apologist and evangelist to today's uprooted, confused, secularized pagans (inside and outside the Church) than Pascal. He was a brilliant man--a great scientist who did major work in physics and mathematics, as well as an inventor--whom Kreeft thinks was three centuries ahead of his time. His apologetics found in his Pens褳 are ideal for the modern, sophisticated skeptic. Kreeft has selected the parts of Pascal's Pens褳 which best respond to the needs of modern man, and offers his own comments on applying Pascal's wisdom to today's problems. Addressed to modern skeptics and unbelievers, as well as to modern Christians for apologetics and self-examination, Pascal and Kreeft combine to provide a powerful witness to Christian truth.

Pens閑s

Author : Blaise Pascal
Publisher : Penguin UK
ISBN 13 : 0140446451
Total Pages : 716 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (44 download)

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Book Synopsis Pens閑s by : Blaise Pascal

Download or read book Pens閑s written by Blaise Pascal and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 1995-12 with total page 716 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Blaise Pascal, the precociously brilliant contemporary of Descartes, was a gifted mathematician and physicist, but it is his unfinished apologia for the Christian religion upon which his reputation now rests. The Penseés is a collection of philosohical fragments, notes and essays in which Pascal explores the contradictions of human nature in pscyhological, social, metaphysical and - above all - theological terms. Mankind emerges from Pascal's analysis as a wretched and desolate creature within an impersonal universe, but who can be transformed through faith in God's grace. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Arguing about Gods

Author : Graham Oppy
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1139458892
Total Pages : 427 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (394 download)

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Book Synopsis Arguing about Gods by : Graham Oppy

Download or read book Arguing about Gods written by Graham Oppy and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2006-09-04 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Graham Oppy examines arguments for and against the existence of God. He shows that none of these arguments is powerful enough to change the minds of reasonable participants in debates on the question of the existence of God. His conclusion is supported by detailed analyses of the arguments as well as by the development of a theory about the purpose of arguments and the criteria that should be used in judging whether or not arguments are successful. Oppy discusses the work of a wide array of philosophers, including Anselm, Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Leibniz, Kant, Hume and, more recently, Plantinga, Dembski, White, Dawkins, Bergman, Gale and Pruss.

The Rejection of Pascal's Wager

Author : Paul Tobin
Publisher : New Generation Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9780755204618
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (46 download)

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Book Synopsis The Rejection of Pascal's Wager by : Paul Tobin

Download or read book The Rejection of Pascal's Wager written by Paul Tobin and published by New Generation Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Armed with the results of critical historical research and a mind free from the shackles of dogma, Paul Tobin dissects the Bible and the historical Jesus in a way only a sceptic can. Tobin shows the bible, with its numerous contradictions, historical errors and scientific inaccuracies, cannot be considered inerrant. He guides us through the intricacies of modern archaeology and comparative mythology, showing us that the much told stories in the Bible - Adam and Eve, Noah and Moses - are myths, invented by the ancient Hebrews under the influence of Babylonian beliefs. He demonstrates that the gospels, far from being eye-witness accounts, were written by authors unknown to us and were composed many decades after Jesus' death. He reveals that the stories regarding Jesus in the gospels are a combination of historical memory, legendary development and mythical fabrication. With the field of biblical scholarship increasingly packed with evangelicals - where the results of "research" are always in line with traditional church teachings - this book fills an important gap in the literature on Christianity and the Bible.

"Infini Rien"

Author : Leslie Armour
Publisher : Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press : Published for the Journal of the History of Philosophy
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 144 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis "Infini Rien" by : Leslie Armour

Download or read book "Infini Rien" written by Leslie Armour and published by Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press : Published for the Journal of the History of Philosophy. This book was released on 1993 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The wager fragment in Blaise Pascal's Penseés opens with the phrase "infini rien"--"infinite nothing"--which is meant to describe the human condition. Pascal was responding to what was, even in the seventeenth century, becoming a pressing human problem: we seem to be able to know much about the world but less about ourselves. The traditional European view of human beings as creatures made in the image of God and potentially capable of a mystical union with God was increasingly confounded by the difficulty of finding God in nature. Despite his own scientific work, however, Pascal argued that if one does not know whether or not God exists, one should bet that he does: if one is right the rewards are infinitely good and, if one is wrong, what one has lost is, by comparison, utterly trivial. The argument behind this wager is one of the most celebrated--and disputed--in the history of philosophy. It has been seen in terms of the calculus of probabilities, as a piece of religious apologetic, as an event in the religious and psychological life of Pascal himself, and as an event in the life of the Jansenist movement and its various expressions at Port-Royal. In this book, Leslie Armour explores the underlying logic of ideas brought to the surface by the intersection of two philosophical lines of thought. He shows that Pascal had come to philosophy by way of two particular strands of Platonism, one strongly mystical, associated with the founder of the French Oratorian order, Pierre de Bérulle, and the other the Augustinian Platonism associated with Duvergier de Hauranne and Cornelius Jansen. At the same time Pascal was engaged in an internal struggle with skepticism. While he agreed that it is difficult to find God in physical nature, he disagreed with the claim that we know nothing of nature. The problem is that the human being is both infinite and nothing. Thus, Armour locates Pascal's wager within the confluence of a vital neo-Platonism and an intellectually powerful skepticism. He concludes that even today, "If we must act and cannot know enough, we must bet."

The Provincial Letters of Blaise Pascal

Author : Blaise Pascal
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 356 pages
Book Rating : 4.M/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Provincial Letters of Blaise Pascal by : Blaise Pascal

Download or read book The Provincial Letters of Blaise Pascal written by Blaise Pascal and published by . This book was released on 1851 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Wagering on an Ironic God

Author : Thomas S. Hibbs
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781481306386
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (63 download)

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Book Synopsis Wagering on an Ironic God by : Thomas S. Hibbs

Download or read book Wagering on an Ironic God written by Thomas S. Hibbs and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pascal thus wagers all on the irony of a God who both startles and astonishes wisdom's true lovers.

Pascal: Reasoning and Belief

Author : Michael Moriarty
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0192588990
Total Pages : 426 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (925 download)

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Book Synopsis Pascal: Reasoning and Belief by : Michael Moriarty

Download or read book Pascal: Reasoning and Belief written by Michael Moriarty and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-13 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a study of Blaise Pascal's defence of Christian belief in the Pensées. Michael Moriarty aims to expound—and in places to criticize—what he argues is a coherent and original apologetic strategy. Setting out the basic philosophical and theological presuppositions of Pascal's project, the present volume draws the distinction between convictions attained by reason and those inspired by God-given faith. It also presents Pascal's view of the contradictions within human nature, between the 'wretchedness' (our inability to live the life of reason, to attain secure and durable happiness) and the 'greatness' (the power of thought, manifested in the very awareness of our wretchedness). His mind-body dualism and his mechanistic conception of non-human animals are discussed. Pascal invokes the biblical story of the Fall and the doctrine of original sin as the only credible explanation of these contradictions. His analysis of human occupations as powered by the twin desire to escape from painful thoughts and to gratify one's vanity is subjected to critical examination, as is his conception of the self and self-love. Pascal argues that just as Christianity propounds the only explanation for the human condition, so it offers the only kind of happiness that would satisfy our deepest longings. He thus reasons that we have an interest in investigating its truth-claims as rooted in the Bible and in history. The closing chapters of this book discuss Pascal's view of Christian morality and the famous 'wager' argument for opting in favour of Christian belief.

The Vision for You

Author : David Clayton
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781980665236
Total Pages : 356 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (652 download)

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Book Synopsis The Vision for You by : David Clayton

Download or read book The Vision for You written by David Clayton and published by . This book was released on 2018-05-25 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Vision for You is the name of a process by which we, who have been through it, discovered our true calling in life - what we call our 'personal vocation.' Through this process we discovered the Great Fact - that we have a choice in life. We can choose to be happy or to be miserable.The goal is to be happy and to become, more and more, the people we were meant to be. We aim to lead a life that is a good, true, and beautiful path to a better life. We call this path the Way of Beauty. I believe that anyone who has a sense that their lives ought to be more fulfilled can benefit from this book if they are prepared to follow its directions as best they can. This book is a description of the transformation of life through a set of spiritual exercises called the Vision for You - it is a structured 'process,' or 'program,' of prayer, reflection, and good works.You don't have to be Catholic, or even Christian for this process to work - you just need to be open-minded enough to do what is suggested. The principles in this book come from the ancient tradition of Western spirituality going right back to the Church Fathers. You don't need to accept the Christian understanding of why it works in order for it to work. You just need to take the actions it describes and be willing to believe that there is a God. In other words, act as though he exists regardless of whether you believe it.