Christianity for Modern Pagans: Pascal's Pensees

Rating:
Summary: Excellent cure for atheism/agnosticism/skepticism
Review: Dr. Peter Kreeft (Philosopher at Boston College) has created another masterpiece to add to his exstensive list of orthodox Christian philosophy, theology, and apologetics books. Kreeft, along with Richard Swinburne, William Lane Craig, John Polkinghorne, N. T. Wright, and others, are defending the Christian faith with great intellectual rigour following in the traditions of Paul, Augustine, Aquinas, Newman, Chesterton, and Lewis.

In this particular work, Kreeft takes Pascal's Pensees (which he deems as the greatest work in apologetics), edits, outlines, and explains them with much focus on the modern world that was just beginning in Pascal's day (17th century) and has culminated in our "late modern" world of atheism, nihilism, existentialism, postmodernism, poststructuralism, neo-Marxism, and, in general, confussion.

I thought it would be helpful to give a rather random example of how Kreeft takes one of the Pensees and expounds on it:

Pascal: Nothing presented to the soul is simple, and the soul never applies itself simply to any subject. That is why the same thing makes us laugh and cry.
Kreeft: This is why life is neither a tragedy nor a comedy but a tragicomedy. If we do not both laugh and cry at life, we do not understand it. ...People are never simple. They are good-and-evil, happy-and-wretched. We are also flesh-and-spirit. God is not simply either. He is one-and-three, person-and-nature, just-and-merciful, eternal-and-dynamic, transcendent-and-immanent. Only abstractions are simple. The only language with no ambiguity, no analogy and no poetry is mathematics. That's why it's the only language computers can "understand": it doesn't require understanding at all.

That shouldn't be thought to represent the whole of the book (that also deals with more analytical arguments), which covers a wide variety of issues dealing with the validity of the Christian faith.

As Kreeft said, the Pensees should be required reading for all students of Western Philosophy/Theology and particularly the Christian. Also, check-out his other works, especially the surprisingly good Handbook of Christian Apologetics, a sort-of summa apologetica. If you want a good foundation in Christianity, Lewis' Mere Christianity and Chesterton's Orthodoxy are essential even to the life-long Christian.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent & essential elucidation of Pascal's Pensees
Review: In this book, Kreeft has organized Pascal's Pensees into a structured and coherent whole, anticipating the likely structure which Pascal would likely have arranged his work if he had lived to complete it. Kreeft's ordering of the originally disordered Pensees is most enlightening, and opens up an additional depth of meaning to Pascal's frequently profound thoughts. Kreeft also surrounds Pascal's original text with his own commentary, which further elucidates the meaning and direction of Pascal's arguement. As a result, Kreeft makes Pascal's thought come alive and meaningful for the average reader. Reading this book gave me a much deeper appreciation for Pascal. I would highly recommend it as essential reading for anyone studying Pascal's works in a philosophy or literature class. I also recommend this book for anyone seeking to familiarize themselves with the classic literature of the Christian faith.

Rating:
Summary: A Compelling and Powerful Case for Christianity
Review: In this marvelous book, Peter Kreeft edits and explicates Pascal's surprisingly modern insights on contemporary life and powerful arguments for Christianity. Kreeft's organization of Pascal's Pensees allows a reader to begin with the problem of the human condition -- that we know we are capable of greatness, but find ourselves in a condition of wretchedness -- and to progress through Pascal's logical and compelling case that only Christ can save us from this state. Kreeft presents the essential Pascal, and adds his own explanation and commentary after each Pensee, to great effect. The book is like an intimate seminar on Pascal, with Professor Kreeft's illuminating lecture notes after each passage from Pascal. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Rating:
Summary: No Better Place to Start
Review: On the one hand, the text of the Pensees can be hard for beginners, even smart ones. On the other hand, textbooks where people tell you what other people thought suck. So Kreeft gives you the main dish, the text of the Pensees itself (nicely categorized topically, rather than the normal rather random fashion), but with his lucid notes interspersed along with helpful illustrations. Pascal is utterly fascinating, you've never read anything like it. It's so mind-blowing at times, it's nice to be accompanied by Kreeft.

Rating:
Summary: Well worth the read!
Review: Pascal's Pensees are a must read for anyone who cares about himself or others.

Kreeft's commentary varies between very helpful (giving context to some of Pascal's references) to obstructive (Sometimes his commentaries seem to be about what Kreeft wanted to say, not about what Pascal was saying.)

The commentary is easy to skip over or to read if you want, so it your like/dislike for it shouldn't be a noteworthy hinderance to your enjoyment of the book.