I was doing research trying to find the source of oft quoted “God shaped vacuum” line by Blaise Pascal.
I’ve used it for years, because I was always told he wrote it.
Here is the closest thing I have found to it.
What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace?
This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself. [Pascal, Pensees #425]
Doug Groothuis looked into the matter and that was the closest Pascal quote he could find.
What Pascal really said is much more eloquent than what the urban legend says he said.
In other words, the phrase “God shaped vacuum” doesn’t exist, but seems to be an interpretation of what Pascal actually wrote.
It’s a great word picture, just not one he actually used.
Has anyone translated this into Spanish?
A Fearless Evangelism Class
Pascal wrote Pensees in French so “God-shaped vacuum” is obviously one English rendering. “Infinite abyss…(that) can only be filled by God Himself” is another. Technically, neither is an exact quote of what he wrote since no language can be perfectly accurately translated into another.
True. . . The phrase doesn’t exist, but the concept does. I wanted to find the original source one day and couldn’t. That’s when I found out the phrase “God Shaped Vacuum” is our NLT version of what he actually said.
Chris,
You are correct that Pascal didn’t use the phrase “God-shaped hole.” But the gist is the same. Call it the “New Living Translation” version of Pascal’s quote.
I wound up here because I read someone claiming that Bono of U2 was referencing Salman Rushdie in this line from “Mofo” (don’t ask) on the 1997 “Pop” album: “Lookin’ for to fill that God-shaped hole.” I was aware that they knew each other (long story), but I was sure that C. S. Lewis was the originator of the phrase. Which would make sense, since Bono based his MacPhisto character from the Zoo TV Tour on Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. But Rushdie did use the quote in a kind of negative way: “I used to say: ‘there is a God-shaped hole in me.’ For a long time I stressed the absence, the hole. Now I find it is the shape which has become more important.” I can’t find a proper citation for that. In any event he clearly didn’t originate it. Perhaps Bono was referring to the Rushdie quote. But as for its origin, the Pascal quote is good enough for me, I guess.
Blase:
I got a good chuckle out of your observation, once I figured it out. 🙂
I think it is correct to correct an incorrection even if the incorrection has been incorrectly quoted correctly.
Max,
The title is intentionally provacative. The article and comment threads indicate what I really think.
I don’t take issue with the existence of the “God shaped vaccum” as an idea. That’s clear in the comments and in the article itself.
Rather, the phrase is a misquote of what Pascal said. The point of the article, once again, is that the phrase itself doesn’t exist in Pascal’s writings.
Shouldn’t this article’s title be “Blaise Pascal Didn’t Conceive Metaphor of God-Shaped Vacuum?” Others have mistakenly attributed this quote concerning the God-shaped vacuum to Pascal, but that doesn’t mean the vacuum doesn’t exist. This concept has resounded with many believers’ experience of God. That, plus Pascal’s thoughts on the subject of the inner part of man prompted someone at some point to use the term ‘God-shaped vacuum.” I will be the first to say that yes, without God, there is a huge, devouring emptiness within me that isn’t satisfied intil I take in something of Him (His word, enjoyment of Him with other believers, etc.). I wish they had a word for that…oh yeah, VACUUM! Perhaps you, the author of this article, didn’t mean to deny the experience of God in this way, but that title seems pretty skeptic and downright pompous to me.
Bryan is incorrect that the conclusion of this article is incorrect. The conclusion of this article is valid. It’s important, because mis-attributing a quote is unethical.
Bryan said this:
“No, he didn’t use the word ‘vacuum’ but the point is the same…it is (in my opinion) the image of God (Genesis 1:27).”
When quoting someone, their actual words matter. You can’t paraphrase them and then claim you’re quoting them.
@Teci You are right, the title is intentionally provocative. It creates a lot of search traffic around the phrase “God shaped vacuum” and I can only guess the readers come and get the correct quote.
As an interpretation of what Pascal said, I totally agree with the phrase “God shaped vacuum.” It does exist. Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless until they fine their rest in thee.” I saw the longing in my own heart, and continue to see it in the spiritually restless people who talk with me.
Thanks for dropping by!
Chris
Hello there,
This sums it up: “What Pascal really said is much more eloquent than what the urban legend says he said.”
However, I agree with Bryan that the title “The God Shaped Vacuum doesn’t exist” is very misleading and sends the wrong message. (I saw your title on Google Search and automatically thought it linked to an atheist website.) Ironically this article is about correcting a misquote that gives the same message anyway.
However, the title does grab one’s attention, whether one is a believer or not. And the article speaks for itself 🙂 I do hope that people don’t stop at the title and read the entire article 🙂 More of God in your life and work!
I do believe in the infinite abyss in the human heart. I see how the Teacher in Ecclesiastes tried to fill it with so many things.
I’ve seen it in my own life, and of many who are seeking after God. The ones I talk with know that vacuum exists or feel it, or sense it and want help trying to find the solution.
The phrase itself — “God Shaped Vacuum” is one of those urban legends, where Pascal is often quoted in saying something he didn’t say.
The idea behind the phrase — I agree with you — his point is the same. I searched for the phrase to make sure I was quoting Pascal correctly, only to discover that I had been misquoting him all these years.
Chris
Dear EvangelismCoach,
I would propose that your conclusion, “In other words, ‘God shaped vacuum’ doesn’t exist, but seems to be an interpretation of what Pascal actually wrote.” is invalid.
It is clear from the quote above (Pensees #425) that Pascal wrote that only God can fill the “infinite abyss” in man…that we try to fill it with anything and everything else.
No, he didn’t use the word “vacuum” but the point is the same…it is (in my opinion) the image of God (Genesis 1:27).