Pascal on Human Greatness and Wretchedness

It was the Genevan reformer John Calvin who pointed out the close link between the knowledge of God and the knowledge of man. One cannot truly know God without truly knowing oneself and one cannot truly know oneself without first knowing God. The great French mathematician Blaise Pascal argued along similar lines when he said that unless one is in touch with the knowledge of God and the knowledge of one’s sin, it was impossible to really makes sense out of the human experience. Listen to Pascal for yourself:

“Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance because he shows us both God and our own wretchedness.”

Pascal is eloquent in showing that the key to making sense out of human existence is Christ. In Christ we have both the epitome of human greatness, namely that Christ as a human being is the very image of God, and the reality of God’s judgement against human sin, namely the cross of Christ.

Something to think about from “The Kingdom Perspective”.