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Pascal's Wager Today: Belief and the Gift of Existence
Hodge, Joel
Hodge, Joel
Author
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.
Keywords
Date
2014
Type
Journal article
Journal
New Blackfriars
Book
Volume
95
Issue
1060
Page Range
698-710
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Theology
Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
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Open Access Status
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