“Dilbert” Cartoonist Scott Adams' Strange Deathbed Letter

John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

According to CBN News from January 14, 2026...

"Dilbert" cartoonist Scott Adams has died at the age of 68, issuing a posthumous statement (I made a backup of Scott's latter from X, just in case it vanishes or you don't have an X account) declaring his decision to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

In a livestream following his death on Tuesday, Adams' ex-wife Shelly Miles shared the statement he prepared before passing away. 

“I had an amazing life,” the statement said in part. “I gave it everything I had.”

"Next, many of my Christian friends have asked me to find Jesus before I go. I'm not a believer, but I have to admit the risk-reward calculation for doing so looks so attractive to me. So here I go: I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and look forward to spending an eternity with him. The part about me not being a believer should be quickly resolved if I wake up in heaven. I won't need any more convincing than that. I hope I'm still qualified for entry..."

Adams revealed in May that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of metastatic prostate cancer.

WATCH: 'I Accept Jesus': 'Dilbert' Cartoonist's Final Message Before His Death

This is weird. “Dilbert” cartoonist Scott Adams (1957-2026) wrote a letter as he was dying, in which he said that although he is “not a believer” [i.e., in salvation through faith in Jesus Christ] he made a superficial superstitious type declaration of accepting Jesus as his “Lord and Savior” on his deathbed, hoping if the Bible is true God will allow him into Heaven. But he plainly said he does NOT BELIEVE. Scott plainly said that unless he wakes up in Heaven after he dies, he won't believe. Dear reader, that is NOT how faith and salvation work. You are not allowed to believe after you receive proof. You must trust in Jesus Christ when there is no proof. That is what faith is according to Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

In Luke 16:19-31 we find the true story of an unbelieving rich man and a believing poor man, Lazarus, who ate from the rich man's food scraps in his garbage. They both died on night. The Bible tells us that the rich man woke up burning in the fires of Hell, while Lazarus was escorted by angels to Abraham's Bosom (i.e., Paradise). Although there is debate among Bible preachers concerning where people went before Jesus died on the cross, I humbly ascribe to the belief that Hell (Greek: Hades) was compartmentalized, with the place of TORMENT on one side and the place of PARADISE on the other side. If you take this Scripture passage as literal in Luke 16:19-31, then you see biblical confirmation of this truth.

In sharp contrast, godly Bible preachers like Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) believed that Old Testament saints went directly to Heaven when they died, not a temporary place of Paradise. I respect the right of others to disagree with me. To clarify, Paradise is NOT Purgatory (a fabricated false doctrine of the heathen Roman Catholic church).

The inspired Scripture tells us that Lazarus experience peace, but the formerly rich man (now poorer than Lazarus) is suffering in fiery flames, torment and an unquenchable thirst for water. Although he earnestly begged Abraham for just one drop of water, he was denied (and so will you dear reader if you choose to go to Hell by rejecting Jesus as your personal Savior, that is, if you refuse to put your trust in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ). He did that for you dear sinner, and for me too, and for all humanity (John 3:16-18; 1st John 2:2). Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt of sin we could not pay (2nd Corinthians 5:20-21).

In John 6:47, Jesus promises eternal life only to those who BELIEVE ON HIM, not to those who merely say they believe on him while openly admitting that they DON'T BELIEVE. What a bizarre thing to write! I humbly do not think Scott Adams died in the Lord (Revelation 14:13), simply because he plainly stated that he DOES NOT BELIEVE in Jesus. I sadly think Scott died in his sins, because he refused to believe who Jesus claimed to be (John 8:24).

God Will Save Doubters, If You Believe Despite Doubt

In Mark 9:24 a distraught father of a demon possessed child cried out to Jesus, “𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱, 𝗜 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲; 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳.” If the father had instead said: “Sir, I don't believe, help me to believe,” Christ wouldn't have healed his son. Jesus plainly said in verse 23, “𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲, 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘁𝗵.” The promise is to them that CANST BELIEVE, not to those who CANNOT BELIEVE. The miraculous new birth is not obtained by declaring some optimistic religious words from a heart of unbelief.

I can only hope that Scott Adams poorly chose his words, and what he really meant was that despite his lack of faith in Christ, he was choosing to trust Him anyway as his personal Savior. God will save any doubter who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's okay to have doubt, just so long as you act upon what little faith you have. We see this truth confirmed in Mark 9:24, when Jesus healed the son of the man who had doubts. Jesus healed the boy because the man TRUSTED Jesus despite his doubts.

The Helpful Chair Illustration

To help you dear reader understand how faith works, I like to use the illustration of a chair. Let's say for the sake of argument that you don't have a ladder. A ceiling lightbulb burned out and you need to replace it. You need something to stand upon to reach the lightbulb. So you use an old chair that looks shaky. You are not sure if the chair will support your weight if you stand upon it. In fact, you are very concerned. Yet, since that's the only thing you have at hand to stand on, you put your trust in that wobbly old chair.

Now, even though you had much distrust and lack of faith in that shaky old chair, you placed no less than 100% of your trust in it the moment you rested all your body's weight upon it. That is exactly how saving faith works! It doesn't matter how much you doubt God's Word, just so long as you sincerely trust in the Gospel (the 'GOOD NEWS' of Jesus Christ crucified for our sins, buried and physically resurrected three days later). This is the GOSPEL (1st Corinthians 15:1-6), by which all who BELIEVE IT are saved (Romans 1:16). There is no other path to Heaven according to Acts 4:10-12, than faith alone in the precious name of Jesus.

Faith is not the absence of any doubt; but rather, it is the presence of trust despite the doubt. Nor is faith optimism, having a positive attitude and outlook. If I tell you that I trust you with my money to go somewhere, but then I follow you to make sure you don't steal it, my behavior clearly contradicts my words. I obviously don't trust you, which is why I followed you.

In Scott's case, it is clear that he truly did not believe Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, the Christ (John 20:31). Scott simply agreed with his friends to appease them. There is absolutely nothing wrong with coming to Jesus by faith for fear of going to Hell forever. In fact, that is exactly why everyone should get saved (Romans 5:9). But to merely succumb to peer pressure from friends to declare “I believe in Jesus” while you simultaneously admit “I am not a believer” is alarmingly contradictory. It's no different than me telling you that I trust you with my money, while I am following behind to watch where you go and what you do.

Where Did Scott Adams Go In The Afterlife?

Sadly, I do not think Scott Adams went to Heaven. Scott plainly said, despite his insincere statement of faith, that he still did not believe in Christ. Scott said: “I am not a believer.” Did Scott go to Heaven or is he burning in Hell? I think he went to Hell forever.

Before he died, Scott mentioned in his letter having great concern over the potential eternal risk if the Holy Bible is actually true concerning Hell, fire and damnation...

"Next, many of my Christian friends have asked me to find Jesus before I go. I'm not a believer, but I have to admit the risk-reward calculation for doing so looks so attractive to me. So here I go: I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and look forward to spending an eternity with him. The part about me not being a believer should be quickly resolved if I wake up in heaven. I won't need any more convincing than that. I hope I'm still qualified for entry..."

Pastor J. Vernon McGee (1904-1988) once wrote a problematic religious tract titled: “Missing Heaven By 18 Inches.” In his tract, Pastor McGee foolishly suggested that a person could believe the Gospel in their mind, but not in their heart; and consequently, still be unsaved. I completely disagree with that nonsense. If you believe on Christ in your mind, then you also believe in your heart (i.e., your subconscience). You cannot separate one's mind from your subconscience.

Furthermore, if we were to take Dr. McGee's title literally, “Missing Heaven By 18 Inches,” the “heart” is a muscle about twice the size of your fist which pumps blood 100,000 times each day. That makes no sense theologically! This is why I hate the unbiblical rubbish of “inviting Jesus into your heart” to get to Heaven. How do you invite Jesus into a muscle that pumps blood? By using such unbiblical poppycock, balderdash and tommyrot, children become utterly confused and will miss the simplicity that is in Christ. Inviting Jesus into one's heart (or life) may sound appealing to religious people, but such nonsense is theologically dangerous. Children should be taught to put their trust in Jesus; who died on a cross to pay for their sins, was buried, and three days later He resurrected from the dead. This is THE GOSPEL.

Like I said earlier, we can only hope that Scott Adams poorly chose his words in his last letter, and what he really meant was that despite his lack of faith in Christ, he chose to trust Him anyway as his personal Savior; but unfortunately (and no one can say otherwise) that is not what he wrote. Scott plainly wrote: “I am not a believer.”

God promises in Romans 10:13 to save whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord from a heart of faith (Romans 10:14). But without faith there can be no regeneration (i.e., no miracle of the new birth). I cannot say for certain if Mr. Adams was saved or lost, but from his written statement alone, I do not think he went to Heaven, because he plainly said that he DOES NOT BELIEVE in Christ. Salvation is not a prayer, it is faith in the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen. 𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝟰:𝟭𝟰, “𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝗺.”