Evangelism

Dilbert creator Scott Adams, who has been publicly battling a grim prostate cancer diagnosis, recently expressed plans to convert to become a Christian.

The cartoonist indicated that many believers have been sharing the Gospel with him – and the frequency and earnestness of their prayers and pleas have made an impression.

“How would I believe you believe your own religion if you’re not trying to convert me?” he said.

Adams confirms what many evangelists and pastors have long preached – that our faith can be contagious and that our persistence and passion makes a difference.

It’s always been a curious thing when Christians suggest they don’t want to convert someone but instead simply forge and nurture a relationship with them. It’s understandable to not want to drive someone away with an off-putting appeal, but how burdened we feel about someone’s eternal destiny speaks volumes.

Last week, Adams revealed his latest scan indicated he was running out of options for treatment.

“It’s all bad news,” he said. “The odds of me recovering are essentially zero.”

It seems the prospect of reaching the end has left Scott to embrace what’s been called “Pascal’s Wager” – the philosophical argument making the case for believing in Jesus that is named after Blaise Pascal, the 17^th– century philosopher and mathematician.

In short, it’s the belief that you’re better off believing in God because if you’re right you will spend forever with Him, while if you’re wrong, you’ll simply cease to exist. “If you gain, you gain all,” wrote Pascal. “If you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”

Over 20 years ago, Scott Adams had pledged support for “Pantheism” — the belief that God is everything and everyone and that everyone and everything is God.

Bible-believing Christians would be at odds with such belief for numerous reasons, including our objection to any form of idolatry.

In the past, Adams has also expressed support for physician-assisted suicide, calling it a humane method in the face of a difficult illness. He accused opponents of torturing his father, who reportedly died a difficult death and endured a “living hell.”

When Adams disclosed his own illness last year, he said he planned to take advantage of the physician-assisted suicide option in California. Months later, though, he backtracked a bit and said, “It’s not as cool as I thought it was going to be.” 

The Dilbert creator told viewers you’re never too late to convert to Christianity – a true statement, but one that also belies the reality that we never know when we might be too late.

Please join us in praying for Scott Adams’ health condition and conversion and that he will use his voice and platform to share truth about life’s sacredness and use his own testimony to advocate against physician-assisted suicide.

In the meantime, keep sharing the Good News with your unbelieving friends and family. Remember that God can use your interest in their salvation to help assure them of His love and interest in them.

Most people clearly understand free speech as an essential human virtue and fundamental American constitutional right. But far fewer appreciate its theological importance.

That oversight can now be corrected, thanks to a new academic article co-published by Andrew T. Walker, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Public Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Kristen Waggoner, CEO, president, and chief counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom. These two are perfect to address this issue, one as a professor of ethics and the other, a lawyer toiling in the vineyard of protecting the free speech of Christians.

Their important essay, “The Unchained Word: A Public Theology of Free Speech” appeared this week in the on-line theological journal Themelios, published by the good folks at The Gospel Coalition. These important Christian leaders state from the outset their work is a response to “mounting threats of censorship across Western societies.”

This is indeed a very real threat, as the Daily Citizen has documented here, here, here, here and here. Walker and Waggoner explain, “We argue that freedom of speech is not merely a political concession of liberal democracies, but arises from humanity’s nature as rational agents made in the image of God, created to be seekers and speakers of truth.”

They wisely argue, “After examining the biblical purposes of speech, the limits of civil government’s authority, and the moral logic of human rights, we contend that a Christian account of free speech requires a dual affirmation: positively, that individuals have a duty to speak truthfully; and negatively, that governments bear a heavy burden of proof before restricting expression.” More specifically, “While not absolute, free speech must enjoy a presumption of liberty if societies are to order themselves toward truth and resist the perennial temptation of tyranny.”

While detailing many egregious threats to free-speech by government and media itself, Walker and Waggoner address the theological importance of free speech. They remind their readers that while “Christian reflection on free speech as such has been admittedly thin … Christianity offers a rich foundation for grounding a modern concept of free speech.”

They are correct.

Let us look at creation itself. God created all that exists through His speech. God spoke, and it was. Therefore, speech is both divine and creative. It has profound power. Thus, humans uniquely have speech as God’s unique imagers in creation. But our ability to speak has purpose and moral value – as well as, conversely, the ability to deceive. These authors hold, “Human beings, as rational agents made in God’s image, are made to be truth-seekers and truth-speakers.” They add, “These dual realities of man’s nature and purpose ground a Christian theology of free speech.”

This important article, in addressing a robust theology of free speech, is an essential contribution to gaining a fuller theology of culture and public life, something all believers must possess. Afterall, God created each of us to fulfill the cultural mandate of Genesis 1:28 of living in, participating in and helping create a world of culture that honors God and His good design for humans and His creation.

It is worth reading as a family and sharing with your friends and pastoral leadership at your local church.

Related articles and resources:

How Big is Your View of the Gospel?

In Our Troubled World, Take Heart and Remember That Christ is King

Made in God’s Image

The Church’s Lane is the Whole Cosmos

How Reasserting The ‘Imago Dei’ Can Transform Our Culture