Four hundred years of Blaise Pascal, whose words ring today as true as ever vs. spiritual doubt, skepticism and atheism . . .,His birthday months away, it’s time to review his famous bet . . .

Jim Bowman covered religion 1968-78 for the Chicago Daily News, since then has written books, articles, etc., mostly on corporate history but also on religion (Company Man: My Jesuit Life, 1950-1968), and more recently on politics (Illinois Blues: How the Ruling Party Talks to Voters -- Lulu.com, Kindle). Longtime Oak Park, Illinois, resident, he lives now on Chicago's North Side, where four of his and Winnie's six children live close by. View all posts by Jim Bowman