It's an impressive mix of intelligence, respect, humor, and honesty. He implicitly concedes that he doesn't really believe, but anticipates instant arrival in a state of true belief if he finds himself waking up in Heaven. He acknowledges that that form of belief might not count as sufficient, but he expresses hope. And he did have that part where he incanted the key phrase: "I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior." That might be what it takes, and it's worth the risk — no risk. It will make some of his friends feel better, and if there are others who don't like it, they can take comfort in his assurance that he's not a believer.
ADDED: In the preceding post, Paul Zrimsek said: "His support for Trump probably means he's been darned to Heck, and that Phil, the Prince of Insufficient Light, is poking him with that big spoon now." That nudged me to find this:
Posts
78 comments:
One of the - if not the most - intelligent humans to have ever existed, John " The Human Computer" Von Neumann, was also a deathbed conversion. Pascal's Wager might go unacknowledged, but it always exists...so compelling even a human computer got it.
Humans claim that God is throwing a party, and we're all invited. Some humans claim that what Scott Adams did is sufficient to accept the party invitation.
I hope they are right
1605 Epitaph for a man killed by falling from his horse:
My friend, judge not me,
Thou seest I judge not thee.
Betwixt the stirrup and the ground
Mercy I asked, and mercy found.
Many are called but few are chosen. Don't accept an invitation to the feast if you're a beggar wearing stinky rags, who won't clean up to attend.
I think the afterlife will be more like a graduation than a retirement.
Even on his deathbed, he's trying to game God...
I can see why he thrived, or not, in the corporate world for as long as he did.
You really are intent on telling on yourseld lately, prof. Shaking off the shackles of the secure tenured life at long last? (or does he just remind you of your father, Adams in playing Pascal's wager as a finale?)
Scott’s Simulation Theory is an egghead knock-off of Christian origin theology,, designed to flatter the egghead over his total self-creation and originality. He’s been circling accepting Christianity for as long as I have followed him..
Wait until he find out there's black people in heaven. Surely he'll decline? No hypocrite he...
It’s not hard. You accept you are a sinner. You believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose again. (The fact that He rose from the dead was witnessed by more than a few people.)
Or you could take a chance.
Boyd: “ I think the afterlife will be more like a graduation than a retirement.”
Yes. The real work will start. Many years ago I heard some televangelist say there will be work to do in heaven - that basically we will join in God’s creative efforts. I always liked that idea. More appealing to me than endless hosannas and alleluias. CC, JSM
"that basically we will join in God’s creative efforts."
So we are all going to become Clarence?
Pascal's Wager has been inverted. Here's the new way of thinking.
We no longer have an angry Jehovah. The current version is warm and loving. He understands that He is responsible for all our quirks and flaws. He could never bring himself to punish us for an unbelief that He caused. So why do you need to believe in Him?
The only way to avoid a "deathbed conversion" is not to buy a deathbed to begin with. -- a rewording Norm joke
If Scott's position is valid, nearly every person, upon arrival to the throne would make the conversion immediately. There may still be a few who think hell has better people and reject God when brought before the judgement seat. I have not delved into this novel theory about salvation, but most mainline traditions would reject that. I think that the point of accepting Christ is the submit yourself to God's plan. To freely acknowledge the truth that you cannot come to God accept by the grace of Jesus and to honestly live according to God's desires (failure to be successful not withstanding). S deathbed confession is in the Bible. The thief on the cross was offered eternal life, but his confession was real. He already believed Christ could save him. he did not hedge his bet: If you really are God, when I get to the judgement, let me know so I can choose then. Pascal's wager is fire insurance. It is not belief, and I think that means you really aren't a follower of Christ "Depart from me, I never knew you." Just a note on the wager, if it is a starting point. Pascal is right. Given the to magnitude of the consequences, it behooves you to make certain of your choice, where I break away is that if you are just hedging your bet, you have not chosen.
“"I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior." That might be what it takes, and it's worth the risk — no risk.”
No, big risk. What if the true God turns out to be Baal, or Odin, or one of the dozens of other gods who regarded Christianity as anathema? Could be trouble. Pascal was careful to be noncommittal as to which God he was betting on.
As I recall one of the thieves who was crucified with Jesus uttered something similar and we were assured he was welcomed in Heaven. I was interested in Scott's circumstances because he does tweet about it and write about it honestly. I thought I read "he became a Christian" roughly a month ago, and that's close enough to his ending to be the deathbed confession it is described as. He said he could hardly move at the time.
So we are all going to become Clarence?
It depends. After you get your picture taken and your ID laminated and clipped on a lanyard, you'll be assigned to your duty by HR based on an aptitude test.
You probably won't be a Clarence. Maybe a drill instructor.
Or you'll go back down and zap asshole drivers with instant karma retaliations that will wind up on internet videos.
We are all sinners and prodigal sons. None of us are worthy. I know God is merciful, to the very end.
While it's not a biblical or liturgical notion, I also have to hope God also has a sense of humor. In one of my favorite Dilbert cartoons, Dilbert asks Wally if he has an extra napkin. Wally replies "I won't really know until I'm done." I am hopeful Scott Adams gets that extra napkin. RIP.
'You will have eternal life' how is it that we have come to a point where they dont even believe the concept
As james reminds us 'we are all guilty, no not one'
Adams has a point. I've long believed in the words of the shape note hymn "A Beautiful Life". The key line goes that when you die, you go to meet the deeds you've done. Well now, for various reasons I gave up on organized civilian religion a long time ago. But I try to lead my life in accordance with Christian moral precepts. There may or may not be an afterlife--but I'm a cautious fellow and I hedge my bets. If there is an afterlife, I want to have lived a life that would earn entrance. And if there isn't--well I led a good and moral life anyway.
I don’t think you can fool God, but it was worth a try. Right?
"Paris is well worth a mass" - Henri IV
I am hopeful Scott Adams gets that extra napkin. RIP.
God knows our hearts, we don't know anyone else's, and I wouldn't take bets on knowing our own. I anticipate that God has a very loose grading scale in that he knows what you meant, despite what showed up on paper. Maybe few of us ever know, but what do we hope for?
God is no captious sophister, eager to trip us up whenever we say amiss, but a courteous tutor, ready to amend what, in our weakness or our ignorance, we say ill, and to make the most of what we say aright.” - Richard Hooker, foundational Anglican theologian. CC, JSM
If there is an afterlife, I want to have lived a life that would earn entrance. And if there isn't--well I led a good and moral life anyway.
As Narcisso effectively referenced from the book of James. No one earns it.
I remember a good quote (possibly paraphrased) God goes by grace, not by merit. If He went by merit your dog would go and you would not.
There is nothing wrong with living as moral life as you can. God's desire is for us to do just that. After all if we are all His children, he would want us to treat each other well. However, that is not the basis for admittance.
You don't go to the gates of Wonka's factory and say "let me in, I deserve it." There is only one way. Have the golden ticket. God is not limiting his golden tickets. He tells you exactly how to get one. Did you accept the golden ticket or did you say "I will get in my own way?" That is the crux of the Christian theology.
On the day Scott Adams discussed his plan to convert to Christianity, he seemed to want to comfort two main groups of people:
1. Christians (as mentioned)
2. The second group consisted of people who disagreed with his longstanding view that we live in a simulation. To them, he offered the reassuring thought that, even if this is a simulation, we have the capacity (or have already done so) to grow smarter and more capable than our creators. This would make our experience meaningful and ‘real’ in its own right.
Jaq: Yes. Specifically, Clarence Thomas. CC, JSM
we will join in God’s creative efforts.
In the best church I ever attended (it isn't the same now), there were so many opportunities to join in God's creative efforts: wonderful polyphonic choral music, lay writings during the seasons of Advent and Lent, a theater group, an annual icon-painting workshop, sixteen acres of grounds to care for, a small flock of sheep to be tended in the historic portion of the churchyard, a preschool, a children's library, a church library, beehives, a butterfly garden, a knitting guild (using wool from the sheep), the guild that baked our eucaristic bread (using honey from the hives), a beer-brewing guild, an outreach effort to an inner-city school in Philadelphia, an outreach group to the almost entirely foreign sailors - many of them essentially living in slavery - on the ships that came into port, a prison ministry... All with a congregation of only a few hundred, aged zero to 90. The experience was so fulfilling that it made me go into discernment, thinking I might have a vocation.
It turned out that calling I felt was to that place, not to the ordained ministry. Sigh.
Romans 10:9 "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and Savior and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" Only God knows all else is conjecture. At least he wont continue to be deified up in here as I have seen so many start their comments with " Well Scott Adams says. But you never know. I personally found his show boring and leading toward conspiracies and a donald trump striker. To each their own. Hopefully he attained the FREE GIFT of salvation , not as some parts of "Christianity" say you have to do to get in. your not an addict in recovery if you "use" a little bit. There is only 1 true judge, and every knee will bow in the end.
If this world is all there is, it would be a pitiful place,
What does it take to prove you really believe?
RIP; I admire the way he persevered right up to his last day. I hope he found his salvation.
It seems a kind of presumptive bias to assume he doesn't believe. I'm sure many believers have the same thing in their direction. One thing seems clear to me - he wanted to believe. Don't we all? I don't want to just hang around on clouds with doo-gooders, but I assume that heaven would be either really great for everyone or customized for each individual taste, just as some assume Hell is.
"If this world is all there is, it would be a pitiful place."
If it is, God really screwed up. Then again, most of us would go for another round if that was an option.
"We will join in God's creative efforts."
Uhh, J.S. Bach and F.J. Haydn would like a word.
“You don't go to the gates of Wonka's factory and say "let me in, I deserve it." There is only one way. Have the golden ticket. God is not limiting his golden tickets. He tells you exactly how to get one. Did you accept the golden ticket or did you say "I will get in my own way?" That is the crux of the Christian theology.”
There are many Christian theologies. Calvin thought God definitely did limit those golden tickets.
“Calvinists believe that, at the beginning of time, God selected a limited number of souls to grant salvation and there's nothing any individual person can do during their mortal life to alter their eternal fate. Either you were chosen or you were not chosen, and that's all there is to it.”
Wouldn’t it be a bummer to live a virtuous life and then find out Calvin was right? Think of all the fun you could have had!
Reframe - Mark 9:24
"All-powerful, judgmental, vengeful deities hate this one weird trick!"
God created the system and processes. Evolution (e.g. conception, death, etc) is part of the proving ground.
At least he wont continue to be deified up in here as I have seen so many start their comments with " Well Scott Adams says.
Quoting someone = deification?
Narr: "Uhh, J.S. Bach and F.J. Haydn would like a word"
That's the thing. In our resurrected state, we will all have the intelligence of Einstein, the musical facility of Bach, the agility of Nureyev, the literary powers of Shakespeare, etc, etc, etc. CC, JSM
“. . . I have seen so many start their comments with " Well Scott Adams says.”
I plan to keep on keeping on quoting him, in his memory. In your honor QUOTES WILL BE IN ALL CAPS.
"but anticipates instant arrival in a state of true belief if he finds himself waking up in Heaven."
I'm thinking he'd also become an instant believer if he found himself waking up in the other place.
"If this world is all there is, it would be a pitiful place"
I've no quarrel with believers, but this seems like a terribly limited sort of worldview. If anything, the world without a belief in the supernatural is a much more amazing and humbling place that would be if it can all be explained by a belief in God.
It seems a kind of presumptive bias to assume he doesn't believe.
Only God knows and only God judges. I have zero say in it. However, for those still waiting to get it, it is vitally important to not risk being wrong, and the "hedging your bet" approach seems highly risky.
“That's the thing. In our resurrected state, we will all have the intelligence of Einstein, the musical facility of Bach, the agility of Nureyev, the literary powers of Shakespeare, etc, etc, etc. CC, JSM”
Speak for yourself. Not all of us are going to Hell. Some of us are going where we get those 800 virgins or whatever.
“Calvinists believe that, at the beginning of time, God selected a limited number of souls to grant salvation and there's nothing any individual person can do during their mortal life to alter their eternal fate. Either you were chosen or you were not chosen, and that's all there is to it.”
Trying not to get into a religious war, but it seems to me that Calvin never read the gospels. In those you see time and time again the parables and other teachings imply that our decisions on whether to accept are rather key. To accept Calvinist theology one must conclude that Jesus was either ignorant or purposefully misleading about our role. Had Jesus been a Calvinist, he would have told the rich young ruler when asked how he inherits the kingdom of God: "you can do nothing, God had ordained who goes and who does not." Quite deceptive of Jesus to say anything other than that.
The catechism of the Catholic Church may be useful here. It identifies three forms of baptism:
Baptism of Water (Sacramental Baptism): This is the most common form, involving the pouring or immersion in water with the Trinitarian formula ("I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit").
Baptism of Blood: This applies to martyrs who die for Christ without having received sacramental Baptism, as their death serves as a substitute for the water
Baptism of Desire: For those who seek Baptism sincerely but die before receiving it, or for catechumens (those preparing for Baptism) who die with a strong, explicit or implicit desire for the sacrament.
Scott Adams seems to me a good candidate for Baptism of Desire, but that was between him and God. We shall not know the answer until we join them, if then (maybe "Mind your own beeswax!" applies in Heaven, too!).
In any case, as an IT worker whose experiences sometimes seem to model all too closely a Dilbert comic, I say Requiescat in pace and sees yah on dah udder side, bro!
"That might be what it takes, and it's worth the risk — no risk."
So transactional. Was his statement notarized?
That seems a peculiar reading of the gospels ot the epistles for that matter
“Speak for yourself. Not all of us are going to Hell. Some of us are going where we get those 800 virgins or whatever.”
🙋♂️ Reporting for duty!
https://x.com/thebabylonbee/status/2011182088104358085?s=12
"Trying not to get into a religious war, but it seems to me that Calvin never read the gospels". Or maybe he understood the "gospel" about which the gospels speak. That salvation of a man is a gift(from man's vantage) from God by God for God(totally unconditional) to those who do not deserve that wich God pays for and of which man has no interest(total depravity) and man cannot sustain(total weakness).
800 virgins would be Hell. 800 repetitions of "oh, I want it to be really special - can you find this wine?", "I mean, we have eternity - why do it right now?", "You love me more than those other 799 girls, right?", &c. CC, JSM
You guys always exaggerate. It’s 80 virgins ok? Right away you want 800. Jesus Christ, what is it with you guys!
Mohammed it is said, was a warlord so he thought of women in that way, as war prizes
I prefer Valhalla over heaven. You people enjoy your eternity in some Middle Eastern shithole. Cultural appropriation is a mortal sin.
Sorry heimdall howard
You can have a Hubble telescope or you can have Heaven, but you can't have both. At least not a Heaven like the ones envisaged by previous generations......It's possible that the cosmos is the work of God, but there's not much evidence that Divine Providence has much of an impact in the affairs of man. Our lives are governed by random events. Random events seem to be the arbiters of our existence and perhaps even the cause of our existence..... Adams flunked his stochastic aptitude test, and didn't get his full measure of existence.. Well by Victorian standards, he had a life full of blessings and pleasures.......Maybe it makes more sense to believe in the Greek gods on Olympus. It all seems so random and unfair. "Some are born to sweet delight, some are born to endless night." It's more reasonable to assume that the gods act from malice or favoritism than from some reasoned appraisal of our worth........Well, anyway, by the standards of our primate species, Adams was a decent sort and a fair minded God would grant him a cushy berth in the afterlife.
Eva Marie said, "You guys always exaggerate. It’s 80 virgins ok? Right away you want 800. Jesus Christ, what is it with you guys!"
"Art Of The Deal"...everything's a negotiation.
lol
Pascal's wager was a serious statement. Scott Adams seems to be making jokes right up to the end, his acceptance of Christ, in the way it was done, being his last joke. Humor was his gift and he used his gift - to the end. So to me, the Lord who made him will accept him for being the man he was intended to be, right to the end.
Or maybe he understood the "gospel" about which the gospels speak. That salvation of a man is a gift(from man's vantage) from God by God for God(totally unconditional) to those who do not deserve that wich God pays for and of which man has no interest(total depravity) and man cannot sustain(total weakness).
That comports with most mainline Christian beliefs and not the point of my post.
A conditional belief, provided that a) b) c) d) occurs. If not, no dice.
I guess a non-believing death bed conversion might work. And it might not. Only God knows. And Scott Adams.
Most people who say they don't believe have a strange idea of what "to believe" means. They think it's about assenting to historical trivia. So I don't always put much stock in their statements about not believing.
“I prefer Valhalla over heaven. You people enjoy your eternity in some Middle Eastern shithole.”
A 20 year old video… I’m picturing Howie as one of those cute Viking kittens on the bow of the ship with Led Zeppelin’s The Immigrant Song playing in all its full glory. It’s a beautiful thing.
https://youtu.be/ApxnAr6pRt0
A death bed conversion seems like a setup. You are cheating God by not amortizing his investment in heaven over sufficient years because you only signed on for the last few minutes. But then, God’s marginal cost for one more saint is probably low.
God’s profit comes from kids that convert young.
God’s profit comes from kids that convert young.
All our righteousness is like filthy rags. So converted or not, we aren't adding to His portfolio. You have to think eternally. Our 3 score and 10 on this earth are a blink of an eye eternally. God's return comes when you join him in Heaven and the IRR is infinite.
A couple of people around the world die every second. If he goes with a black person will he think he's in Heaven?
A couple of people around the world die every second. If he goes with a black person will he think he's in Heaven?
Oh, Readering you sweet summer child. Everyone knows that only whites got to heaven. If he was with a black person he knows his hedge didn't work.
Hopefully he quickly encounters Brigitte Bardot, who famously danced with a black man at the end of her first big film, and she sets him straight.
Our lives are governed by random events.
That is so unscientific.
You think gravity is random?
You think DNA is random?
Why study science if there is nothing to learn, no rules, no laws to the universe?
“Above all, do not attempt to use science (I mean, the real sciences) as a defence against Christianity. They will positively encourage him to think about realities he can’t touch and see.”
C.S. Lewis The Screwtape Letters
William @ 5:20
Embrace the power of and. What you decry isn't gods lack of interest in his creation but the role free will plays in it. The creator isn't indifferent. 95% of the shit we go through is the shit we did to ourselves. If the creator hoped in and out of our timeline every time we got our nuts in a wringer we wouldn't have free will, would we?
Hence the faith and doubt.
I quit reading Dilbert not because of its author's social blunder, but somewhat earlier, because it was far too close to the reality of my workplace, even though not quite as depressing.
st-peter-shows-scott-adams-to-his-glorious-heavenly-cubicle
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