Blaise Pascal (d.1662): Biblical prophecies are evidence

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the birth of the mathematician, scientist, inventor, and Christian apologist Blaise Pascal ((1623 –1662) who, at a very young age, rediscovered on his own Euclid’s first thirty-two geometric propositions, and came up with a dozen revolutionary inventions, including the calculator and the first public transportation system. Pascal endeavored to demonstrate the rationality of Christian revelation, while at the same time admitting the limits of reason. His notes on apologetics which he intended to organize into a book were published after his death as the Pensees, (“thoughts” in French). In this posthumous work Pascal argues that the Old Testament prophecies announcing the coming of Christ are convincing arguments lending credence to Christianity: "In proof of Jesus Christ we have the prophecies, which are solid and palpable proofs. And these prophecies, being accomplished and proved true by the event, mark the certainty of these truths and, therefore, the divinity of Christ. " (Pensées 547, Section VII, translated by W. F. Trotter, Christian Classics Ethereal Library).

Blaise Pascal, marble by Augustin Pajou, 1785, Musée du Louvre ©CC0/wikimedia

Reasons to believe:

Pascal is a logical, mathematical and rational mind, accustomed to seeking proofs and terms of demonstration.

The prophecies announcing Christ are not the work of a single man, but "a succession of men over four thousand years" which gives them "infinite" cogency (Thoughts n. 710).

More than the prophets themselves, an entire nation believed in them and was ready to die for them.

The time of the Messiah's coming was accurately foretold, particularly by Daniel.

The Jewish people were scattered beforehand, in order to spread the messianic prophecy throughout the world.

What Jesus did - convert humanity to goodness - no philosopher had managed to do before him.

Finally, in Christ, the prophecies were all fulfilled at the same time.

Summary:

For Blaise Pascal, who spent part of his adult life in a worldly environment and was well-acquainted with 17th-century "libertines", i.e strong-minded agnostics and even atheists, the idea of becoming a Christian apologist emerged as something urgent: loving and making loved "the god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not of philosophers and scholars" (Memorial, 1664) was the primary task he set to do. His angle was this paradox, which is not a contradiction in itself: that "the infinite distance between body and mind is a symbol of the infinitely more infinite distance between mind and charity; for charity is supernatural" (Pensées 793). This being said, his aim was still to "demonstrate" the truth of Christ's revelation by rational and scientific means - as some people can only hear this language - hoping that God would then grant them the grace to touch their hearts.

Among the evidences Pascal cites, the prophetic announcements of the Old Testament rank first. Firstly, because it is Scripture, which must be revered as the Word of God, and whose function must therefore take precedence. Secondly, because beyond the history of the people chosen by God, the Old Testament contains the words and deeds of all those prophets who according to the Creed spoke on behalf of the Holy Spirit, and whose role was to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. This coming was obviously mysterious and not fully grasped, but it can now be seen plainly in hindsight: "He alone had to create a great people, elect, holy, and chosen; to lead, nourish, and bring it into the place of rest and holiness; to make it holy to God; to make it the temple of God; to reconcile it to, and, save it from, the wrath of God; to free it from the slavery of sin, which visibly reigns in man; to give laws to this people, and engrave these laws on their heart; to offer Himself to God for them, and sacrifice Himself for them; to be a victim without blemish, and Himself the sacrificer, having to offer Himself, His body, and His blood, and yet to offer bread and wine to God... And all this is done by the power which had foretold it" (Pensées 766).

Pascal gives in detail all the prophetic utterances and their fulfilment, noting each time the reference to the Old Testament text. In a dizzying accumulation, he lists all that was said about the Messiah,

..."That he would have a Forerunner; that he would be born as a child; that he would be born in the town of Bethlehem; that he would come from the family of Judah and David; that he would appear mainly in Jerusalem; that he would blind the wise and the learned and preach the gospel to the poor and lowly; that he would open the eyes of the blind and restore health to the sick and bring to the light those who languish in darkness; that he would teach about the way of perfection, and be the teacher of the Gentiles; that he would be made the victim for the sins of the world; that he must be the precious stone and bedrock; that he must be the stone of stumbling and scandal; that Jerusalem must strike against this stone; that the builders will reject this stone; that God must make this stone the cornerstone; and that this stone must grow into an immense mountain, and fill the whole earth; that he would be rejected, scorned, betrayed, sold, struck on the cheek, mocked, afflicted in countless ways, and made to drink gall; that his feet and hands would be pierced, that he would be spat on, that he would be killed, and his clothes gambled away; that he would rise again on the third day; that he would ascend into heaven and sit at the right hand of God; that kings would take up arms against him; that being at the right hand of the Father, he would be victorious over his enemies; that the kings of the earth and all peoples would worship him; that the Jews would survive as a nation; that they would be wanderers, without kings, without sacrifices, without altars, etc., without prophets; waiting for salvation, and not finding it "(Pensées 727).

But above all, the greatest proof for Pascal is that Jesus succeeded in changing the hearts of countless simple, uneducated, oppressed people, whereas no philosopher had succeeded in changing the hearts of their learned disciples: "Simple, powerless people, like the apostles and the first Christians, resist all the powers of the earth; they subdue kings, scholars and wise men; and destroy the idolatry that is so entrenched. And all this is done by the power of this word alone, which foretold it " (Pensées 729-732).

In the words of Rick Wade, "In the end, and it may sounds like a paradox, Pascal says that God often uses proofs as the instrument of faith. He also says in one place, "The way of God, who disposes all things with gentleness, is to instil [sic] religion into our minds with reasoned arguments and into our hearts with grace." The explanation for this tension can perhaps be seen in the types of proofs Pascal uses. Pascal won’t argue from nature. Rather he’ll point to evidences such as the marks of divinity within man, and those which affirm Christ’s claims, such as prophecies and miracles, the most important being prophecies. Nonetheless, even evidences such as these do not produce saving faith....our reason has weaknesses (...) Reason is not the key."

Jacques de Guillebon is an essayist and journalist. He is a contributor to the Catholic magazine La Nef.

Going further:

Peter Kreeft, Christianity for Modern Pagans: Pascal’s Pensees Edited, Outlined and Explained (San
Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993), 13, 189.

More information:

The Mind on Fire: Faith for the Skeptical And Indifferent by Blaise Pascal, edited by James M. Houston, ‎ Chariot Victor Pub; 1st edition (Feb. 11 2006)
Blaise Pascal by Hugh M. Davidson, (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1983),