re alleged deathbed conversions was asimov stamp in article sheafferc zt brs netcom com sheaffer netcom com robert sheaffer writes it had to happen the old allegation of the deathbed conversion of the noted unbeliever other examples what all of these deathbed conversion claims have in common is that they are utterly unsubstantiated and almost certainly untrue i would not be too quick to say that they are almost certainly untrue even strong minded people may fall back on childhood indoctrination grasp at straws or do other strange things when faced with extreme suffering not to mention physiological problems which may lead to diminished mental capacity at the risk of restarting an old argument and accusations of appeal to authority i remind readers of what i posted a while back as a kind of obituary for the late atheist dr albert sabin in an old interview rebroadcast on public radio just after his death he told about a time a few years before when he was stricken with a very serious illness he admitted to having cried out to god while critically ill and on a respirator as it turned out he recovered and lived several more years after his recovery he attributed this to early indoctrination don t say it couldn t happen to you or that it hasn t happened to others even if you are one of the few people who have experienced things like this people are different i admire dr sabin for admitting his human weakness in that instance i would not think less of asimov for similar weakness nevertheless i agree that these reports are unsubstantiated and may well be untrue in any case they are not evidence for anything besides the power of early indoctrination and human frailty bill mayne
