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Foundations of the Christian Religion
In the past few hundred years, some great Christian thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries have penned works of literature that continue to influence Christians today. Rediscover the cornerstone of the Christian faith with this classic work from one of the most influential Christian thought leaders.
144 pages, Paperback
First published May 16, 2006
About the author
Blaise Pascal
1,513 books857 followersEarly work of Blaise Pascal of France included the invention of the adding machine and syringe and the co-development with Pierre de Fermat of the mathematical theory of probability; later, he, a Jansenist, wrote on philosophy and theology, notably as collected in the posthumous
Pensées
(1670).
This contemporary of René Descartes attained ten years of age in 1633, when people forced Galileo Galilei to recant his belief that Earth circled the Sun. He lived in Paris at the same time, when Thomas Hobbes in 1640 published his famous Leviathan (1651). Together, Pascal created the calculus.
A near-fatal carriage accident in November 1654 persuaded him to turn his intellect finally toward religion. The story goes that on the proverbial dark and stormy night, while Pascal rode in a carriage across a bridge in a suburb of Paris, a fright caused the horses to bolt, sending them over the edge. The carriage, bearing Pascal, survived. Pascal took the incident as a sign and devoted. At this time, he began a series, called the Provincial Letters , against the Jesuits in 1657.
Pascal perhaps most famously wagered not as clearly in his language as this summary: "If Jesus does not exist, the non Christian loses little by believing in him and gains little by not believing. If Jesus does exist, the non Christian gains eternal life by believing and loses an infinite good by not believing.”
Sick throughout life, Pascal died in Paris from a combination of tuberculosis and stomach cancer at 39 years of age. At the last, he confessed Catholicism.
This contemporary of René Descartes attained ten years of age in 1633, when people forced Galileo Galilei to recant his belief that Earth circled the Sun. He lived in Paris at the same time, when Thomas Hobbes in 1640 published his famous Leviathan (1651). Together, Pascal created the calculus.
A near-fatal carriage accident in November 1654 persuaded him to turn his intellect finally toward religion. The story goes that on the proverbial dark and stormy night, while Pascal rode in a carriage across a bridge in a suburb of Paris, a fright caused the horses to bolt, sending them over the edge. The carriage, bearing Pascal, survived. Pascal took the incident as a sign and devoted. At this time, he began a series, called the Provincial Letters , against the Jesuits in 1657.
Pascal perhaps most famously wagered not as clearly in his language as this summary: "If Jesus does not exist, the non Christian loses little by believing in him and gains little by not believing. If Jesus does exist, the non Christian gains eternal life by believing and loses an infinite good by not believing.”
Sick throughout life, Pascal died in Paris from a combination of tuberculosis and stomach cancer at 39 years of age. At the last, he confessed Catholicism.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 9, 2008
Um.... hard... to... read...
There are some really great passages in this book, that challenged how I think about God and what He has done. But, it is also really, really, random. He jumps topics like a frog with springs on it's feet. Seriously. Also, sometimes he remains on a topic for all of six or seven words, before changing. Very hard to follow.
But, all in all, it was worth the randomness to get to the meat of it.
There are some really great passages in this book, that challenged how I think about God and what He has done. But, it is also really, really, random. He jumps topics like a frog with springs on it's feet. Seriously. Also, sometimes he remains on a topic for all of six or seven words, before changing. Very hard to follow.
But, all in all, it was worth the randomness to get to the meat of it.
July 21, 2024
“Want wat stelt de mens nu nog voor? We zijn niets vergeleken bij het oneindige. En we zijn alles vergeleken bij het niets. We zitten tussen niets en alles in.”
Mooi boekje! Verkorte versie van Gedachtes dussss in 1 ruk uit!! ;)
Mooi boekje! Verkorte versie van Gedachtes dussss in 1 ruk uit!! ;)
April 15, 2016
This is probably a treasure trove of pull quotes; but I feel like it doesn't work as a cohesive piece. Most of the book is comprised of sentence or paragraph reflections - which have merit - but don't always build on or follow one another, which made it hard to get into. Id keep this around as a resource, but probably wouldn't recommend it.
March 22, 2010
this book is truly a foundation on my thinking.
August 21, 2019
A treasure trove of wisdom for today's world where deep thinking and reflection is so lacking. It's always stunning to see a window into the mind of someone who lived so long ago, so perceptive into the situation of Mankind. A reminder that we stand on the shoulders of giants. Not easy reading - I felt like I was working through the book of Proverbs in the Bible. Very enjoyable and probably will read again.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews