Pascal's Wager Today: Belief and the Gift of Existence

Journal article

Hodge, Joel. (2014). Pascal's Wager Today: Belief and the Gift of Existence. New Blackfriars. 95(1060), pp. 698 - 710. https://doi.org/10.1111/nbfr.12058

Authors	Hodge, Joel
Abstract	The enduring value of the Pascal's Wager is that, bypassing intractable debates over God's existence, it brings the question of God into a practical, existential focus. This essay seeks to re-examine this famous Wager for its possible application to the current context of widespread agnosticism and increasingly assertive atheism. The essay argues that if rightly contextualised the Wager reminds people to seriously address their need for meaningful commitments and to confront their mortality. Rather than focusing on winning and losing in the afterlife, the Wager in our modern context can serve to highlight how human life is structured according to meaning, giftedness and relationality. Revealing the gifted and finite nature of existence provides grounds for a discussion of ultimate meaning and God.
Year	2014
Journal	New Blackfriars
Journal citation	95 (1060), pp. 698 - 710
ISSN	0028-4289
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)	https://doi.org/10.1111/nbfr.12058
Page range	698 - 710
Research Group	School of Theology
Publisher's version	File Access Level Controlled

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