Pensées

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Update: Recommend just listening to Sections 3 & 4. If you have time, maybe Section 7. I didn’t find much usefulness in the rest. Below are some good quotes:

There is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t. — Blaise Pascal

There are only three types of people; those who have found God and serve him; those who have not found God and seek him, and those who live not seeking, or finding him. The first are rational and happy; the second unhappy and rational, and the third foolish and unhappy. — Blaise Pascal

Reason’s final step is to realize that there are an infinite number of things which lie beyond it. It is simply feeble if it does not get as far as realizing that. — Blaise Pascal

There are two kinds of people one can call reasonable; those who serve God with all their heart because they know Him, and those who seek Him with all their heart because they do not know Him. — Blaise Pascal, SECTION III: OF THE NECESSITY OF THE WAGER

For it is indubitable that this life is but an instant of time, that the state of death is eternal, whatever its nature may be, and thus that all our actions and thoughts must follow such different paths according to the state of this eternity, that the only possible way of acting with sense and judgement is to decide our course in the light of this point, which ought to be our ultimate objective. — Blaise Pascal, Pensées (427)

Men despise religion; they hate it and fear it is true. To remedy this, we must begin by showing that religion is not contrary to reason; that it is venerable, to inspire respect for it; then we must make it lovable, to make good men hope it is true; finally, we must prove it is true. Venerable, because it has perfect knowledge of man; lovable because it promises the true good. — Blaise Pascal, Pensées (187)

What can be seen on earth indicates neither the total absence, nor the manifest presence of divinity, but the presence of a hidden God. Everything bears this stamp. — Blaise Pascal, Pensées (449) / 142

We know truth not only through our reason but also through our heart. It is through the latter that we know first principles, and reason, which has nothing to do with it, tries in vain to refute them. — Blaise Pascal, Pensées (110) / 28

I should be much more afraid of being mistaken and then finding out that Christianity is true than of being mistaken in believing it to be true. — Blaise Pascal, Pensées (386 /241)

Truth is so obscured nowadays and lies [are] so well established that unless we love the truth we shall never recognize it. — Blaise Pascal

Prophecies. If a single man had written a book foretelling the time and manner of Jesus’ coming and Jesus had come in conformity with these prophecies, this would carry infinite weight. But there is much more here. There is a succession of men over a period of 4,000 years, coming consistently and invariably one after the other, to foretell the same coming; there is an entire people proclaiming it, existing for 4,000 years to testify in a body to the certainty they feel about it, from which they cannot be deflected by whatever threats and persecutions they may suffer. This is of a quite different order of importance. — Blaise Pascal, Pensees, 332

We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart. — Blaise Pascal

A couple things to keep in mind is that it is a podcast, so you can’t hold them to the same rigor as a published book. Podcasts have more freedom and spontaneity, so arguments are not always fully developed, straw men are sometimes presented, and mistakes can happen. But its a podcast. It’s supposed to be entertaining and informative, both of which they do an excellent job. Some of the podcasts are very one sided and come off as a podcast of  angry atheists, but these have been few (as far as I have listened to). I have liked when they have had on the show someone of the faith, where both sides are presented. I also enjoy the more scholarly segments: “God thinks like you” and “Skeptics Sunday School”.  The three fellas that put the podcast on are all professors, so they bring a scholarly eire to the program. But seldom does the podcast get too think in theological discussions. The three amigos keep it entertaining and have kept me tuning in to their podcast.