Let us now speak according to our natural lights (418).
This is building off of patt-man's post. The above quote is the prelude to the Wager. Here, Pascal seems interested in finding a position without revelation, only using "natural" reason. He does not prove the tenants of the Christian faith, but only the absurdity of choosing disbelief in God, or at least the non-absurdity of belief in God, to counter mockers of believers.
However, the Wager raises a broader problem with popular Christian motivation in general. Pascal here is not concerned with the truth content of belief as much as the imperative motivation to belief. But one who believes in God in the method of the Wager is not altruistic or loving, but only patient. That is, she would post-pone immediate enjoyment (the wagering of life now) for eternal and infinite happiness later. Heaven and hell are her ultimate motivating factors, not truth/untruth or right/wrong. Is this satisfactory? (Clearly, I think this is not satisfactory . . .)
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