If someone is dying and they’ve been an atheist up until now, are there gradual degrees of conversion to Christianity? This is not an academic question.
On his podcast on Sunday, Scott Adams, who has terminal cancer and has said he doesn’t have much time left, said that he now plans to convert to Christianity. Just hearing that may make you feel warm inside, but once you hear what he actually said, he raised some very thought-provoking issues for Christians.
🚨NEW: @ScottAdamsSays announces he’ll convert to Christianity in his final days🙏✝️@DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/1uprnQJDxa
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) January 4, 2026
"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 (that) you believe your own religion if you’re not trying to convert me?
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.
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…I will convert," Scott said.
Just based on Adams’ words here, I can already see the divide between those who are happy for Scott and who are praying for him, and those who feel this is not enough — that Scott’s approach to conversion is not consistent with what truth faith in God is.
Before we go there, it’s important to be reminded of the context for Scott’s words. This is someone who knows he’s going to die very soon. He’s made no bones about his agnosticism — or even atheism (I’m not sure which)— to this point.
He’s never been critical of Christians or Christianity and has always been respectful, and so as a result, he’s never been one of those non-believers who’s out to prove that we Christians are wrong or misguided. In short, he’s not trying to make a point, start a debate, win anything, or prove anything in saying what he said. He gains nothing from any of that.
Based on my own time listening to him over the years, I sense that in spite of a lack of faith in God, he has a moral core, and since I am a Christian, I don’t know where that comes from in him or non-believers like him. What drives a person to want to stick to pretty much the same moral code that we Christians do even though he’s missing the God part? I can’t even speculate, but I do respect it.
Still, when Scott talks about his approach to his conversion, which is a deeply personal matter, it becomes a public matter only because he brought it up on his podcast for all of his followers. Like it or not, he’s opened the door to critics who will say this approach to faith isn’t a conversion at all. It’s just someone hedging their bets in their final days, taking a completely mortal approach to a spiritual journey.
We don’t decide to convert to Christianity simply because it’s smart, or because it improves the odds in the afterlife, if for most of our life we had the wrong notion of God. Faith is not transactional with God. It’s not “risk-reward.”
True faith has to involve recognition that God is the creator and that we exist for Him, not Him for us. We don’t set the terms. The Bible makes this clear time and again.
Does this mean that given how Scott has described his approach to conversion he’s not really converting? Let’s get back to that context thing.
This is a man who knows he’s dying, and, as he noted, we do say, “It’s never too late.” It really isn’t. Anyone can be a non-believer right up until death, and if at that moment someone like Scott truly comes to terms with God in his life, that’s something that’s between God and him. Who are we to say?
In the New Testament (GNT), James: 4:8, it says, “Come near to God, and he will come near to you.”
Is that not what Scott is doing right now? He may not be all the way there, but he took a step in the right direction. As a Christian myself, I also believe that Scott is not doing this all on his own. Just by saying what he said, he’s already begun the process of surrendering control to God. If we believe in God, we know that God Himself has a say in how this will quickly evolve and turn out.
I read a nice little book recently that I will likely read many times again. It’s called The Practice of the Presence of God, written by “Brother Lawrence,” and it dates back to 1666. Its contents are the letters and maxims of a 17th-century French monk. The fact that this brief and easy-to-read book is available today on Amazon is a testament to how it has stood the test of time.
Something that Brother Lawrence wrote centuries ago comes to mind when I hear Scott Adams’ words from today.
“I wish you could convince yourself that God is often (in some sense) nearer to us, and more effectually present with us, in sickness than in health,” Brother Lawerence wrote.
Indeed, I do believe it’s very encouraging that Scott Adams made such a surprising and unprompted declaration today. That in itself merits continued prayer for him. Even at this late date, Scott’s faith is still a work in progress. Really, it’s just beginning. I do believe that God can do great things in a short period of time. Listening to Scott today reminded me that God is always at work and that anything is possible.
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