"If [God] had wished to overcome the obstinacy of the most hardened, he could have done so by revealing himself to them so plainly that they could not doubt the truth of His essence, as he will appear on the last day...This is not the way he wished to appear when he came in mildness, because so many men had shown themselves unworthy of his clemency, that he wished to deprive them of the good they did not desire. It was therefore not right that he should appear in a manner divine and absolutely capable of convincing all men, but neither was it right that his coming should be so hidden that he could not be recognized by those who sincerely sought him. He wished to make himself perfectly recognizable to them. Thus wishing to appear openly to those who seek him with all their heart and hidden from those who shun him with all their heart, he has qualified our knowledge of him by giving signs which can be seen by those who seek him and not by those who do not.
There is enough light for those who desire only to see, and enough darkness for those of a contrary disposition."1
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad
Footnote:
1. Blaise Pascal, Pensees (149/430), p. 50 as quoted by Doug Groothuis in Beyond the Wager: The Christian Brilliance of Blaise Pascal.
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