unregistered_user_1

Anyone know of the supposed xian stories about the deathbed expericences of freethingkers?

I found this site which talks about Thomas Paine and Hume.

I may do some looking of my own, but I'm wondering if anyone already knows if these are true stories, or more xian urban legends like the college professor and the chalk.

Space Chef

If Paine had been brought up in an Islamic society he would have been crying "Allah! Forgive me!"

Most Christian stories about infidels on their deathbeds are bullshit.

There's a good page somewhere about this. I can't remember where, though.

DMB

These stories do not accord with other contemporary accounts and look like pious fraud. I nursed my atheist father through his terminal illness and he never wavered in his unbelief.

Barcode

Even allowing that some stories are true, then conversion motivated by one's fear of death is a very poor reason in my view.

Besides, don't most Christian's proclaim that God-belief should not be used as a get-out-clause to avoid hell? Which I imagine is what somebody who converts on their deathbed is doing.

The Evil One

http://www.infidels.org/library/hist...deathbeds.html

I got to use this link in E/C just two minutes ago as well.... woot.

Worldtraveller

The question is, how to verify any of those quotes? Not that it really matters, we have theists here (heathen dawn comes to mind) who admittedly beleive in a divine being solely out of fear of death.
Both sites have various quotes and references, and without digging into the sources of those, there is no way to discern anything.
For instance, the site linked to in the OP has as a reference two letters from John Wesley to Charles Wesley, London, October 1753. How are we to know whether this John Wesley fellow simply made up that information? Lying for Jeebus has happened in the past, and will no doubt continue to hapen in the future.
Not that non-theists are above twisting the truth on occasion too, but it seems they have less reason to.
I believe Buffman might have a thing or two to say about this...
Cheers,
Lane

Biff the unclean

Too bad it leaves out the first one, Constantine the Great

The Evil One

Why, what about him?

Biff the unclean

Dispite Eusebius' "In this sign shall you conquer" miracle, making Christianity an approved religion and presiding over the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea he was a life long Mithrain that the Church Fathers claimed converted seconds before he died

The Evil One

If he was a lifelong Mithraian, he's probably not a terribly good example of a religious freethinker, whihc is what the page lists.