Daniel Dennett now knows

Daniel Dennett died on April 19 at age 82. There were obituaries in both Nature and Science for this prolific neuroscientist. His insights on consciousness, cognition and philosophy fill books that have been read by many. I have a few in my bookcase, and they are well worth reading. The fact that he received an obituary in both top science journals suggests he has had a major impact on neuroscience broadly defined. Yet, for many Christians, these positive contributions are irrelevant because Dennett was an aggressive atheist who attacked Christian beliefs.

The four horsemen

Dennett, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris have been called the four horsemen of the new atheism. All four have attacked Christian beliefs as untenable in this modern age of science. According to them, evolution explains our existence and we need no recourse to God.

Acceptance of science’s findings does not necessitate belief in the theology of scientism. My bookcase also holds many volumes on how scientific advances do not justify such attacks on Christian belief, as scientific discoveries expose the richness of how God created the cosmos and everything in it.

Now that Dennett has died, I believe he stands before a loving God. He now knows that he was misguided in denying God. May our Lord be merciful to him.

We don’t yet know

While this is what I believe, I also know that exactly what happens when we die is shrouded in mystery. Our Lord, on the cross, said to the criminal who simply asked to be remembered that “today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42), suggesting that at death, we will immediately be united with our Lord in heaven. However, other passages in scripture indicate that “the dead will be raised imperishable” (1 Cor. 15:52), which seems to imply a period of “nonexistence” between death and when we join our Lord.

I am comfortable living with this uncertainty, as I know I will be united with my Lord at some point. So even if it is unclear to me that Dennett knows “now,” I am sure he will eventually know.

Finally, it is possible that Dennett was right, and there is no God. While I believe with my whole heart, soul and mind that this is not the case, I know intellectually that it is possible. In that case, both Dennett and I at death will be no more. But I will not regret having lived, to the best of my ability, in the service of my Lord.

I know, as Dennett did not while alive, that my only comfort is that I am not my own but belong body and soul in life and in death to my faithful Saviour, Jesus Christ, and that Christ assures me of eternal life. I do not predict how our Lord will deal with Daniel Dennett, but I know that God’s love is so great that he died for us while we were yet sinners.