More Thoughts on Deathbed Conversions

Last week I discussed deathbed conversions. Jesus made it very clear that if someone sincerely turns to God in faith at the moment before death, even after living a sinful and faithless life, the Lord will embrace him or her with open arms. That’s how merciful and loving our Creator is.

After I wrote that essay, I was reminded of some stories I’ve heard over the years about famous atheists who allegedly sought God on their deathbeds. In some cases, after the person died, family members went public to fiercely deny it ever happened. Carl Sagan’s widow is one such person. To me, it seemed her main motivation was to assure fellow atheists that Carl had not wavered and had not renounced “the faith” at the end. Because, after all, atheism is without a doubt a belief system that has to be taken on faith. It’s impossible to scientifically prove that there is no God (just as it is, by the way, scientifically impossible to prove that there IS a God. Both worldviews are at heart really faith-based religions).

Another person who comes to mind is Mickey Mantle. On his deathbed, the hall-of-fame baseball star was visited by a former teammate, Bobby Richardson, who was a devout Christian. After Mickey passed away, Richardson claimed that “The Mick” put his faith in Jesus during his final days. If I remember correctly, many sports commentators were upset that Richardson shoved religion into the story. The disdain toward people of faith was palpable. “How dare these Bible-thumpers use the death of a superstar to promote their wacky beliefs!” was the general sentiment.

There really is no good reason why atheists should be so upset if a person has a “deathbed conversion.” After all, if atheism is true, the person in question has ceased to exist. His once living flesh is now decomposing in the grave. And since there is no such thing as the spirit or soul, according to atheists, there is no part of the deceased person that lives on. So, what does it matter to the dead man if he cried out to a non-existent God before he died? He’s gone. Why are atheists so quick to deny the alleged deathbed plea to the Almighty ever happened? I really don’t know.

I recently read about a man who was regularly badgered by his co-workers, who pleaded with him to accept their point of view regarding politics, social issues, and religion. Finally, the man asked his co-workers a simple question: “Why is it so important to you that I see things exactly the way you do?”

The co-workers were taken aback and fumbled for a coherent reply. Finally, their answer was something along the lines of, “Because our views are right – um, in our opinion.”

If someone challenged a Christian evangelist with that question, the answer should be simple. The evangelist should say, “It’s important that you see things the way I do – that is, put your faith in Christ – because I sincerely believe if you don’t, your soul will spend eternity in torment. And I don’t want that to happen to you.”

Thinking back to the days when I was an atheist, if someone had asked me why it’s so important that they see things the way I do, I would’ve quickly replied, “It’s not important. I don’t care. Believe whatever you want.”

As a devout atheist, I had put my faith in Nothingness. No God. No soul. No life after death. No transcendent meaning to life. Nothing.

So, I didn’t care what other people believed. It didn’t matter to me. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? In the end, we’re all gone.

It strikes me as odd that atheists get upset when it’s reported that a “fellow believer” cried out to God on their deathbed. If atheism is true, who cares? In the end, we’re all gone.

But for those of us who believe in God and in life after death, the story of a deathbed conversion is a reason to rejoice. It’s another precious soul who avoided the anguish of eternal darkness.

Jesus made it quite clear in the gospels that deathbed conversions are real. As long as a person still has breath, he or she still has an opportunity to turn to God in faith. The Lord does not wish to see anyone lost, so much so that He keeps the door open right up until the end. That’s how loving and merciful our Creator truly is.