In chapter 2, William Wood argues that Pascal’s Wager was originally intended not as a stand-alone argument but as one manoeuver in Pascal’s long apology for Christianity: the Pensées. Pascal’s Jansenist theology at once provides context for this apology (and the Wager in particular) and a deep puzzle about Pascal’s motivation. As a Jansenist, Pascal was convinced that humanity was sunk in sinful habits and desires, with redemption possible only through divine grace. The Wager ingeniously appeals to those very habits (calculating self-interest as exemplified by gambling) to bring the reader to a state receptive of grace. The deep puzzle, however, is why Pascal would bother to write an apology when, as a Jansenist, he believed that God had predestined the elect for salvation. Specifically: if humans can do nothing to draw themselves closer to God without a special infusion of grace, which is only offered to the elect and cannot be resisted, what is the point of the Wager argument? Wood suggests that Pascal’s theological principles allow for a number of solutions, including the idea that the Wager itself could be an instrument that plays a part in individual redemption.