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Adult Ed.

  • St. Mark's Episcopal Church 1004 11th St. Port Royal United States (map)

In the final adult class, Tom Miller will lead a discussion on "Pascal's Wager," invented by the 17th Century French mathematics prodigy and devout Roman Catholic Blaise Pascal (pictured), that suggests it is only rational and we have nothing to lose by believing in God. We will also visit selected pieces of Pascal's "Pensees," the purpose of which was to convert readers into serious Christians. Next, it's on to the 17th century contemporary of Pascal, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Here we will decide if he is correct that while we see all things in God, "it is also necessary that we have ideas of our own," even if our ideas are always changing.  We conclude with Leibnitz's "On the Ultimate Origin of Things" in which he develops the cosmological argument for the existence of God, which he based on the principle of sufficient reason. Did he get this right?

Earlier Event: February 28
Confirmation/Inquirers' Class
Later Event: March 6
Confirmation/Inquirers' Class