Re: apologetics
Murphy (gmurphy@imperium.net)
Mon, 23 Sep 1996 12:10:14 -0400Paul Arveson wrote:
>
> In message <3246B021.54A9@imperium.net> Murphy writes:
>
> > Just adding one point: I think that anybody who wants to be
> > involved in apologetics ought to read Pascal's _Pensees_ - which isn't
> > to say that he got it all right! His dubious attitude toward natural
> > theology should especially be noted.
> > George Murphy
>
> I greatly admire Pascal for his fresh creativity. I wish I had more time to
> ponder the Pensees.
>
> Marylin Vos Savant, in last Sunday's Parade, did a critique of Pascal's wager,
> by the way. She pointed out that if you benefit from belief in God because of
> the possibility of eternal life, then you should believe in the religion that
> promises the most. The more promises, the more desirable it is to believe. If
> the wager is argued separately from other arguments, this appears to devastate
> the wager approach.
>
> Paul Arveson, Research Physicist
> Code 724, NSWC, Bethesda, MD 20084
> 73367.1236@compuserve.com arveson@oasys.dt.navy.mil
> (301) 227-3831 (W) (301) 227-1914 (FAX) (301) 816-9459 (H)
Yeah, I thought she did OK with the wager, but it's unfortunate
if people are given the impression that that was the whole of Pascal's
approach.
George