On Charles Darwin...

There are rumours that Charles Darwin, the famed evolutionary theorist, endured a death-bed conversion to Christianity. I don’t intend to find out whether or not that’s true (in this writing), but rather to entertain the thought.

The man is considered pure evil by most adherents to any religion, a robber of faith (and thus salvation), a minion of hell, carrying out its anti-God purposes and lust for power. However colourful this language, I suppose it is somewhat true that he helped keep people from faith, and he also took faith from those who had it, however unconscious he was of its consequences.

Christians are often challenged with the question: “What if so-and-so makes it into heaven?” [feel free to insert your despot or hellion of choice]. What if Darwin was successfully forgiven of all his trespasses just before dying? Is it possible that he is in heaven right now? For this "conversation", let’s say he is.

The first point I want to make is that a death-bed conversion of someone so massively-effective in counter-God activity is an ultimate victory and a huge upset to the enemies of God. This is a phenomenal “war” tactic. That he converted to the thing he was known for fighting is a complete slam against evolution. That the "founder" of this world-view eventually decided that it wasn't true is an enormous discredit to the theory. No wonder the thought of him converting to Christianity has been so fiercely disputed!

At any point in Darwin’s life there could have been the perfect scenario that would have convinced him of God’s presence, and specifically of God’s presence as Jesus, and “saved his soul”. At any point he could’ve converted and all loss of faith in the earth would never have happened. God chose the last 10 or 15 minutes of his life. Why? Why let all those millions (and billions in his legacy) lose faith? The second part of this “war” tactic is that Darwin and his legacy now become a tool of heaven, a sickle if you will, separating wheat from chaff, the real from the imposter. I imagine a white and shining devil roaring with anger at the thought – it’s quite amusing!

My second point involves imagining Charles in heaven, the least of the least, having lived in no way for faith, having been forgiven of so much [unconscious] wrong. (Side note: I think most of our wrongs are unconscious, or are done thinking we are doing right). How humble, then, this squeaker-by! How great an addition to heaven’s bowed! How eternally faithful! I sometimes think about the finality of heaven; how the Bible never mentions anything about anyone being kicked out of, or defecting from, heaven after all is said and done. Is it because we lose the ability to be evil? It’s impossible; we’d cease to be free beings! It’s that we’ve been forgiven of so much that to defect would be unthinkable. The worst sinners forgiven are the most faithful eternal servants.

What if Charles Darwin is there? How many others can we possibly imagine being there? Our thoughts of it have to be so backwards to accept it; seems that way with most things of His world. Wow, I love God.

To make another point, what does it mean for us, as Christians in the earth now, that Charles Darwin could be a brother of ours? Should we speak better of him now? Even if he remained an atheist passing into death, should we still "hate" him? I mean, the bottom line of our faith is forgiveness; not only our own forgiveness by God, but a reciprocation of that forgiveness to everyone else. Some thoughts to chew on I guess!