Tuesday 4 January 2011

The great, the eternal divide is between atheist seekers and non-seekers

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This could be the most momentous blog entry you will ever read.

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From Pascal's Pensees (re-punctuated by me) in the edition titled Christianity for Modern Pagans arranged and commented by Peter Kreeft:

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"There are only three sorts of people:

1. those who have found God and serve him;

2. those who are busy seeking him and have not found him;

3. those who live without seeking or finding him.

"The first are reasonable and happy, the last are foolish and unhappy, those in the middle are unhappy and reasonable."

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Peter Kreeft comments on this passage:

"There is no fourth class, none who find God without ever seeking him.

"Group 1 are 'believers'. They are 'reasonable' or wise or sane because they seek, and happy because they have found.

"Group 2 are unhappy atheists and agnostics. They are 'reasonable' because they seek and unhappy because they have not yet found.

"Group 3 are the happy atheists. They are 'unreasonable', foolish, spiritually insane, because they do not even seek the truth; and they are unhappy (forever!) because they do not find.

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"Thus, paradoxically, unhappy atheists are destined for happiness eternally, and happy atheists are destined for unhappiness eternally (just as Jesus said in Luke +6:21-26).

"The great divide, the eternal divide, is not between theists and atheists, or between happiness and unhappiness, but between seekers (lovers) and nonseekers (nonlovers) of the Truth (because God is Truth).

"Thus it is the heart and not the head which determines our eternal destiny.

"We all instinctively know that this is right."

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+ especially "Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh."

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My comment:

This may be the most important passage in all Christian apologetics.

As Kreeft summarizes: The great divide, the eternal divide, is not between theists and atheists, or between happiness and unhappiness, but between seekers and nonseekers of the Truth.

So if you are an unhappy seeker of Truth, then you are on the same side as the Christians.

And that makes a big difference to everything, does it not?

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1 comment:

Kalim Kassam said...
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