PASCAL'S GOD

THE GOD OF COMFORT

The God of Christians is not a God who is simply the author of mathematical truths, or of the order of the elements; that is the view of heathens and Epicureans.
He is not merely a God who exercises His providence over the life and fortunes of men, to bestow on those who worship Him a long and happy life. That was the portion of the Jews.
But the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of Christians, is a God of love and of comfort, a God who fills the soul and heart of those whom He possesses, a God who makes them conscious of their inward wretchedness, and His infinite mercy, who unites Himself to their inmost soul, who fills it with humility and joy, with confidence and love, who renders them incapable of any other end than Himself.

Blaise Pascal

Pascal was a child prodigy, educated by his father. He was a mathematician of distinction, writing the Essai pour les coniques at age 16 and inventing a calculating machine 2 years later to assist his father who was a Royal Tax Commissioner. Pascal did work on Torricelli’s experiments with Barometers and the theory of air pressure and subsequently gave one of the clearest statements of the scientific method in the 17 th Century. Later in his career he devoted himself to philosophical and religious questions producing a large volume of written works addressing these subjects. Pascal had a faith crises from 1652 to 1654 turning away from his religious interests and pursuing a life of wanton self indulgence. However, on the night of November 23rd 1654 Pascal had a conversion experience, experiencing an ecstatic vision that lasted for 2 hours. It is said he kept an account of that vision in the lining of his coat right up to his death on August 17th 1662