Blaise Pascal, the French polymath of the 17th century, is one of the few scientists or philosophers who has his name attached to a theorem, invention, or idea in multiple disciplines. As unapproachable as this genius seems to many, Douglas Groothuis throws his hat in the ring of those willing to bring Pascal’s brilliance to the masses. In Beyond the Wager, Groothuis shares “The Christian Brilliance of Blaise Pascal” by synthesizing and summarizing the Pensees, one of the only published materials we have from Pascal (even then, it was published posthumously) which lays out his proposal for a Christian apologetic. Although the subtitle may suggest an overview of all his works, the overwhelming majority of quotes from Pascal come from Pensees and Pascal’s polemical Provincial Letters since these are the surviving works left available to us.

A perennial difficulty of dissecting Pascal’s Pensees is that it is an incomplete work. Scholars throughout modernity have attempted to understand, codify, and synthesize this collection of fragments, and many have come to diverging conclusions. Groothius skillfully navigates the dual task of commentator and detective by deciphering Pascal’s likely meaning, admitting to alternative understandings, and explaining the resulting conclusions and their importance to the Christian life. Groothuis executes a masterful display of balance as he praises and critiques Pascal in the same breath, not making excuses or explaining away his meaning, but attempting to understand him in light of his flaws and talents.

After a brief introductory chapter on Pascal’s life, Groothuis begins by outlining two helpful descriptors of Pascal: scientific brilliance and theological controversy. Groothuis weaves the biographical details of Pascal into the critique of his arguments well, wasting no time to assess and judge whether Pascal was successful in these respective fields. Although Groothuis inserts his opinions on the matter more than is desired, it is understandable that a philosopher cannot help but comment at length on a fellow philosopher’s beliefs; some of his comments, however, detract from the development of the argument (especially in the theological controversy). Groothuis then proceeds with the remainder of his book: detailing the ideas which were the driving force for Pascal’s life and writing, eventually arriving at his delivery, summary, and critique of Pascal’s famous “Wager.” He ends the book with peripheral theological and social issues Pascal dealt with during his life.

Although Groothuis rightfully and confidently asserts Pascal’s insistence that reason is existentially verifying but ultimately inadequate to bring man to saving faith through Christ, he fills too many pages with varying styles of the same statement. In almost every chapter he reasserts the dogma that Pascal seeks to convince us that we need reason and yet denies it as an ultimate tool to receive salvation. An overall truncation of the book (specifically the latter chapters on social issues that do not seem to be nearly as important or relevant to Pascal’s work) would not hurt Groothuis’ impressive expansion of Pascal’s Christian brilliance. Lastly, Groothuis’ strains at sounding academic at the expense of clarity. There are cases where Pascal’s simple vocabulary and orderly propositions are shrouded by Groothuis’ verbose and high-flying dictation. Perhaps if Groothuis would have set forth a clear intended audience for his book, this difficulty in his writing style would have been adjusted to strict academic analysis on the one hand or popular synthesis on the other (both of which he would excel in).

Groothuis accomplishes what he sets out to do: reveal what history has forgotten to highlight about Blaise Pascal—namely, his brilliant philosophy and theology which rose to the heights of his scientific brilliance. For those who only know about Pascal’s wager, triangle, or calculator, you will be pleasantly surprised at the wealth of knowledge and achievement in the fields of philosophy and theology that come from just two works of Pascal. For the lay theologian or philosopher, you will be pleased to find a simple and piercing explication of Pascal’s Christian apologetics. I recommend this book to anyone who desires to engage with the history of Christian philosophy and the student who would aim to bolster his faith through encountering another great apologist.