The prospect of confronting one’s mortality has a way of challenging one’s ideological worldview. Or put another way, facing imminent death can focus a person on that most profound existential question of what comes after death.

There is a reason there are no atheists in foxholes. As human beings, we have been created in the image of God, our creator, and the prospect of meeting Him has a way of cutting down a lifetime of denying His existence.

Such appears to be the case with Scott Adams, the creator of the popular Dilbert cartoon. Adams has long held to an agnostic or even atheistic worldview. But following his terminal cancer diagnosis last year, Adams has rethought his opposition to God.

On his podcast, he gave an update on his health status, saying that his visit with his radiologist had resulted in “all bad news.” He noted that he had lost all feeling in his legs and his heart was failing. He soberly estimated “that January will probably be a month of transition, one way or another.” In short, Adams is informing viewers that, given his condition, he has at most weeks to live.

Adams then announced an interesting development:

When I talk about my own impending death, many of my Christian friends and my Christian followers say to me, “Scott, you still have time. You should convert to Christianity.” And I usually just let that sit because that’s not an argument I want to have. I’ve not been a believer. But I also have respect for any Christian who goes out of their way to try to convert me, because how would I believe you believe your own religion if you’re not trying to convert me?

He makes a fair point. What good is a Christian’s religion, their faith, if they are not seeking to convince/convert others? Indeed, Jesus’s last instructions to His disciples upon His ascension were to go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything He had commanded them (Matthew 28:19-20).

This is why Christianity spread, despite great persecution, across the Roman world and beyond. Followers of Christ have been given the only saving message for humanity, the only message offering the true means for entering eternity in Heaven with God, the only valid message of salvation from sin and eternal death.

The eternal is always greater than the temporal because the temporal is passing, but the eternal is forever.

Intuitively, we know this as humans because you could say this knowledge has been implanted in our DNA by the Creator. And here Adams is beginning to acknowledge this:

So, I have great respect for people who care enough that they want me to convert, and go out of their way to try and convince me. So, you’re going to hear for the first time today that it is my plan to convert. So, I still have time, but my understanding is it’s never too late. And on top of that, any skepticism I have about reality would certainly be answered if I wake up in Heaven. I do believe that the dominant Christian theory is that I would wake up in Heaven if I have a good life. I don’t necessarily have to, you know, just state something in advance. And so, to my Christian friends, yes, it’s coming. So, you don’t need to talk me into it. I’m now convinced that the risk-reward is completely smart.

Has Adams actually embraced Christ in faith? It’s not clear, but it sounds like he has embraced the logic of Pascal’s Wager, especially given his statement that “the dominant Christian theory is that I would wake up in Heaven if I have a good life.” That would indeed be the case if Adams had lived a sinless life; however, as Scripture teaches, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This is why we need Jesus — not just as an example for good living, but as a Savior to save us from our sins. This is the heart of the Gospel message: that by faith in Jesus, not by “having a good life,” we are saved to live in Heaven for eternity with God.

Adams then concludes:

If it turns out that there’s nothing there, I’ve lost nothing. But I’ve respected your wishes, and I like doing that. If it turns out there is something there, and the Christian model is the closest to it, I win. So, with your permission, I promise you that … I will convert.

No one but God ultimately knows what’s in a person’s heart, and it’s true that one can come to saving faith in Jesus even on one’s deathbed, as the thief on the cross demonstrates. And that’s because it’s not our “goodness” or “righteousness” that merits us eternity in Heaven, but rather Christ’s righteousness in our stead. Thus, one of the key components to true conversion is the acknowledgement and repentance of our personal sin.

Predictably, Adams’s message garnered a lot of response, including some encouraging him to put his trust in Jesus. Adams responded:

I appreciate the outpouring of suggestions and questions, but what happens next is between me and Jesus. I won’t be responding to your well-intentioned messages on this topic. (There are a lot!)

I hope you understand.

And thank you.

Our prayer and earnest hope is that Adams does indeed come to a saving faith in Jesus.