Evangelism

Larry Sanger, who co-founded Wikipedia in 2001, and who for decades has declared himself an agnostic and skeptic philosopher, recently announced his conversion to Christianity.

Writing on his blog, the 56-year-old said, “I spent over 35 years as a nonbeliever, I will not try to portray myself as a converted ‘enemy of the faith.’ I never was; I was merely a skeptic. I especially hope to reach those who are as I once was: rational thinkers who are perhaps open to the idea, but simply not convinced.”

Sanger once described Wikipedia, the user-edit online encyclopedia, as “part anarchy, part mob rule.” He acknowledged, “The people with the most influence in the community are the ones who have the most time on their hands – not necessarily the most knowledgeable – and who manipulate Wikipedia’s eminently gameable system.”

The internet project developer stepped away from the site way back in 2002 over conflicting philosophies, specifically his desire for a fair and open forum that wouldn’t engage in viewpoint discrimination.

Over the years, Sanger has suggested the site primarily consists of “establishment mouthpieces” and deliberately blocks alternative viewpoints.

“There’s a lot of Nobel prize winners and distinguished doctors whose views are not only not welcome on Wikipedia — they’re literally censored on YouTube and sometimes Facebook and Twitter [X} because they contradict the narrative,” he told the New York Post.

“There’s a global enforcement of a certain point of view on issues like COVID,” he insisted, calling it “amazing to me as a libertarian, or a liberty-loving conservative.”

Writing last week about his evolution from skeptic to believer, Larry shared details about his upbringing, details that can be instructive for mothers and fathers.

“I was confirmed at age 12 in the Lutheran Church, but soon after, my family stopped going to church,” he said. Sanger’s father began dabbling in New Age religions and invited skeptics of the faith and philosophers to engage Larry in conversation. By the time he was 14 or 15, he said his belief began slipping away.

Fiercely curious and inquisitive, Larry said he had all kinds of questions but was discouraged from asking them. He even called a pastor, an individual he suggested was less than helpful and even dismissive of his skepticism. In short, he wasn’t taken seriously – so he began chasing after groups and individuals who would give him attention and make him feel like his agnosticism was well placed.

He chose Reed College, a liberal arts school in Portland, Oregon, that he said “was full of liberal unbelievers.” At the time Sanger was a student there, he said their unofficial motto was “Communism, Atheism, Free Love.”

After separating from Wikipedia, Sanger taught philosophy at Ohio State for a few years, priding himself on his ability to conceal his true beliefs from students. “I wanted them, too, to seek the truth for themselves,” he wrote.

It’s clear he was on a spiritual journey, impressed with the many brilliant people who believed the Bible to be God’s Word – but still considering it to be “not much more than primitive Bronze Age myth and wisdom literature, with the miraculous bits probably based on rich imagination, misunderstood emotions, and other natural psychological experiences.”

Interestingly, around 2011, Sanger found his sympathies inching towards Christians whenever he saw believers attacked for having the temerity to publicly share their faith. He spoke out against what he considered bullying. He also began speaking out against the New Atheist arguments being popularized and propagandized online.

“I scanned books produced by New Atheists such as Dawkins and Harris and could never bring myself to actually buy one: they were just so transparently mediocre.”

For Larry Sanger, the penny has seemed to drop slowly, but he’s at last felt the freedom to acknowledge that he believes the Bible is true, there is one God in three persons, and Jesus is the Savior of the world.

For the past five years, Sanger has been writing a book that he’s titled, God Exists: A Philosophical Case for the Christian God. Perhaps it’s the philosopher in him, but at 203,484 words (and counting!) he has a penchant for being quite wordy.

While Sanger might not be expecting people to read his book, he is clear and direct when he states, “Everybody should read the Bible daily.”

Larry’s long and winding road demonstrates the power and influence of good and bad parenting, the importance of welcoming questions from skeptics, the need for humility and patience when encountering nonbelievers, and the long-suffering and merciful patience of a Heavenly Father who will never stop pursuing us even when we might stop chasing after Him.

It’s a captivating image, a young man carrying a 12-foot high and 6-foot wide, 110-pound cross up Fifth Avenue in New York City, pausing just in front of Hallmark’s Gotham office.

As he makes his way, he’s handing out Bible tracts.

His name was Arthur Owen Blessitt (his real name) and he held the distinction, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, of taking the “longest walk” of anyone in recorded history.

Arthur Blessit died earlier this month at the age of 84.

A Southern Baptist street preacher and pastor, Arthur began walking from his church in Hollywood, California across America on Christmas Day in 1969. He didn’t stop walking for two years, arriving in New York City in 1970.

Pastor Blessitt wasn’t walking for the publicity, wasn’t trying to glorify his own ego or garner notoriety to land a book and movie contract.

Simply put, he began walking because he heard (not audibly) God tell him to “Go!” – and so that’s what he did.

Only Arthur Blessitt didn’t stop walking when he reached New York. All told, Arthur covered 43,340 miles across all seven continents. He was arrested 24 times. Weather never deterred him. He carried the cross when it was 20 degrees below zero in Nova Scotia and 135 degrees in Yemen and Iraq. Arthur even carried the cross up Bronzal Pass on the Pakistan and Afghanistan border (18,200 feet) and down into Carlsbad Cavern in New Mexico (850 feet below sea level).

But Arthur didn’t just carry the cross on his many journeys. Instead, he talked about the cross and the significance of Jesus’ sacrifice on it.

“The most important thing you will ever do is whatever Jesus tells you to do next,” he often said.

Coming of age in the late 1960s, Blessitt resisted the drug culture and instead mocked it by talk up the benefits of having Christ in your life.

“If you want to get high, you don’t have to drop acid,” he wrote. “Just pray and you go all the way to Heaven. You don’t have to pop pills to get loaded. Just drop a little Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.”

On his numerous worldwide treks, Arthur crossed paths with everyone from Dr. Billy Graham to Yasir Arafat and Bob Dylan, to name just a few celebrity encounters.

But once again, Blessitt didn’t see it as a time to glad hand or gawk, but instead, leverage any and every encounter to tell people about Jesus.

“I’ve climbed to the top of the long winding road,” he wrote. “Looked beyond and saw the Glory. The sweat and tears, the joys and the pains. All seem to blend in the amazing love of Jesus. 

He continued:

“The cross is my road companion and we grow old together walking in the Shadow of the Presence of God. The cross needs some repairs with chips gone and bangs from the roads. My body has endured the longest walk in history and cries out for eternal rest. But we press on together with a smile.”

In classic Arthur Blessitt fashion, his obituary was written in the first person. Here is how it begins:

Arthur asked that rather than a memorial service, “The greatest thing you could do would be to go out and lead one more soul to be saved. The second thing would be that you would support this ministry of the cross in sharing the message of Jesus with the world.”

Well done, Arthur Owen Blessitt.

Image from AP.