Atheism, Cancer & Christmas

Recently, I received a text from one of my business partners when he told me some startling news about a client of ours. Over the next week, I learned more details about this grievous story which I will share more specifics on shortly. The more I learned about this tragedy, the more I started thinking about it, and I must admit that I thought about it a lot. As I started to reflect on all that I had learned, I realized it was an incredibly sad narrative filled with stories of deceitfulness, ignorance, and absolute denial. Since this tragedy makes my heart ache so much, I figured one of the best ways to cope with my somber feelings was to write a blog post about it. Why? It is my hope that others might learn from this painful story and not make the same mistakes as the person (“Frank”) I am going to feature in the following story.

I am a partner in a commodities brokerage firm which I helped start in 2016. One of the first clients we signed up was owned and represented by a man who I will refer to as “Frank.” Eventually, the relationship expanded when we developed a referral agreement with a professional services firm which he also partially owns. In his professional service firm, Frank has a partner, who I will refer to as “Bob.” The amount of business we have with Frank and Bob’s firm has grown over the years, so my partners and I normally communicate with the two of them multiple times each month. Since they worked together on projects prior to the formation of our company, one of my partners has worked with Frank for over ten years. When you see them interacting with each other in meetings, you can tell they have more than just a business relationship. They care deeply about each other and have become good friends.

When you consider what he has accomplished over the years, Frank has been tremendously successful in his business endeavors. He has started, owned, and managed multiple businesses over his illustrious career, employing hundreds of people in his larger enterprises. He is an engineer by training, and I am certain his IQ is way up there, meaning he is way smarter than me. As you will soon learn, he might be too smart for his own good. He has been so successful in his business ventures that his engineering college recently inducted him into their academy, which is like a hall of fame. His alma mater even has a page on their academy website dedicated to Frank and his noteworthy business accomplishments.

In early September of 2022, we learned that Frank had been hospitalized with what he said was COVID. Our company sent flowers to Frank while he was in the hospital because we care about him. In late September 2022, Frank was out of the hospital, and he told us that he had recovered from COVID. Even though he was out of the hospital, Frank said he was not back working full-time yet as he was still dealing with what he described as “a bad ulcer.” His “ulcer” issues continued for a couple of months and Frank did not communicate with us much in October and early November. Bob talked to Frank on Friday November 18, 2022, and Frank told him his health was improving, and they even made plans to meet at the office the following week. Unfortunately, Frank died that weekend (November 18 or 19) of stage 4 metastasized cancer at the age of 84. Frank’s passing was a complete shock to Bob as he knew nothing about the cancer diagnosis of his business partner. This unexpected news was a complete shock to my partners and me as well.

When Bob talked to Frank’s family after his passing, Bob found out that Frank was diagnosed with stage 4 metastasized cancer while he was in the hospital. The doctors even suggested that he should get his affairs in order. As we now know, he appeared to have ignored their terminal diagnosis as well as their recommendation to get his affairs in order. Frank had been given a terminal cancer diagnosis by his medical team, but he did not even bother to tell his business partner that he had incurable cancer. Instead, Frank continued to tell Bob and others that there was nothing seriously wrong with his health. Why would he lie about such a diagnosis? Frank was either in complete denial about the seriousness of his cancer disease or he did not know how to deal with his terminal diagnosis. Only Frank knew why he responded to his terminal diagnosis in the way that he did, but no plans were made to help Bob with managing the business going forward. Bob is now in the process of picking up the pieces and is also having to deal with Frank’s family as Frank’s shares in his professional services firm are owned by a family trust. I am sure Bob is angry at Frank for his lack of transparency. I also know that Bob feels like Frank lied to him about his health and other issues which I am not going to discuss in this blog post. When I asked him about funeral services, Bob told me Frank was an atheist and did not want any services, calling hours or obituary. He just died and that was it. Frank quietly exited this world on his terms which meant there would be no chance for his friends, business associates and family members to mourn his passing. Just so you do not miss it and since it is the central theme to this blog post, I will repeat that Bob told me Frank was an atheist when I spoke with him shortly after Frank’s passing.

For me at least, Frank’s story is heartbreaking for a variety of reasons including his deceitfulness, his ignorance about how God wants us to respond to a terminal diagnosis, and his absolute denial of God, our creator. Yes, his atheism is what really makes his story so heartbreaking. Frank had a brilliant mind, but do you think he really understood the eternal implications of being an Atheist? I have no idea if he did or not so I am writing this blog post so that others may learn from Frank’s story and learn the implications of being an atheist. My hope is that someone may read this blog post and not make some of the same mistakes which Frank appeared to have made.

Since Atheist or atheism is not a term you hear often in daily conversations, below is how dictionary.com defines atheism: "The doctrine or belief that there is no God”

To be fair to them, here is how atheists.org, which is published by American atheists, defines atheism: “Atheism is not an affirmative belief that there is no god nor does it answer any other question about what a person believes. It is simply a rejection of the assertion that there are gods. Atheism is too often defined incorrectly as a belief system. To be clear: Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods.” Please note they do not capitalize gods in their definition.

Agnostic is another term which is used when discussing atheism. Here is how dictionary.com defines agnostic: “A person who holds that the existence of the ultimate cause, as God, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable, or that human knowledge is limited to experience”

From a biblical perspective, it does not matter if someone is an atheist or if they are agnostic, as both types of individuals do not believe the scriptures. These are the same scriptures which God tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work”. In other words, God tells us to believe His scriptures as they teach us what He wants us to know. I should point out that there are people who do not know what they believe as it relates to God and faith, and they need to figure it all out. While such a response sounds less confrontational than a word like atheism which exudes a defiant attitude, these individuals, like atheists, do not believe the scriptures either and fall into the same category of denying the sovereignty of God. It is up to everyone to determine if they want to believe the scriptures or not, but the Bible tells us there are consequences for unbelief which I will discuss next. Psalm 14:1 tells us:

“The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.” They are corrupt; they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good”

The preceding verse tells us that if you are an atheist and do not believe God exists or if you are agnostic and believe human knowledge is limited to experiences, then the preceding verse in the Bible says you are a fool. Yikes. Dictionary.com defines a fool as “a silly or stupid person; a person who lacks judgment or sense.” These are harsh verses which many people will find to be offensive or unbelievable. Why? We all naturally want to be champions of our own destiny and captains of our own ships and these verses clearly contradict those aspirations. However, when dealing with topics such as atheism, terminal cancer, and death, it is important for me to not beat around the bush but clearly explain what God tells us about these important topics in His scriptures. There are many scriptures in the Bible which tell us that we are NOT champions of our own destiny and we are NOT captains of our own ships. For example, Proverbs 19:21 tells us:

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

What happens to people who are agnostic or atheist? Alistair Begg, from the Bible teaching ministry called Truth for Life (https://www.truthforlife.org/), recently preached on Romans 1 and below are two helpful translations he quoted for Romans 1:25-32. Why would he cite both translations? Romans 1:25-32 is a difficult section of scripture to understand so the hope is that a more contemporary translation, which does not alter the meaning of the primary scriptures, will be easier for many people to understand. I am including both translations in this post because these eight verses are foundational to understanding God’s views on Atheism. I also believe including both translations will help the reader better understand these eight verses. Please note these eight verses will be exceedingly offensive to many people to read so please be forewarned before you read any further. Regardless of how you view or perceive Romans 1, it is still God’s holy and unchanging word. This is the same word of God where he also says in the Psalms “You have exalted about all things your name and your word.” The first Romans 1:25-32 translation Alistair referenced is by J.B. Phillips which says:

“The fearful consequence of deliberate atheism

25-27 These men deliberately forfeited the truth of God and accepted a lie, paying homage and giving service to the creature instead of to the Creator, who alone is worthy to be worshipped for ever and ever, amen. God therefore handed them over to disgraceful passions. Their women exchanged the normal practices of sexual intercourse for something which is abnormal and unnatural. Similarly, the men, turning from natural intercourse with women, were swept into lustful passions for one another. Men with men performed these shameful horrors, receiving, of course, in their own personalities the consequences of sexual perversity. 28-32 Moreover, since they considered themselves too high and mighty to acknowledge God, He allowed them to become the slaves of their degenerate minds, and to perform unmentionable deeds. They became filled with wickedness, rottenness, greed, and malice; their minds became steeped in envy, murder, quarrelsomeness, deceitfulness, and spite. They became whisperers-behind-doors, stabbers-in-the-back, God-haters; they overflowed with insolent pride and boastfulness, and their minds teemed with diabolical invention. They scoffed at duty to parents, they mocked at learning, recognized no obligations of honor, lost all-natural affection, and had no use for mercy. More than this—being well aware of God’s pronouncement that all who do these things deserve to die, they not only continued their own practices, but did not hesitate to give their thorough approval to others who did the same.”

If you review the ESV or English Standard Version translation, the heading for Romans 1:25 to 32 in the ESV says, “God's Wrath on Unrighteousness”. If you review the NIV or New International Version, the heading for Romans 1:25 to 32 in the NIV says, “God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity”. However, if you look at the heading in the preceding text in J.B. Phillips’ translation, it says “The fearful consequence of deliberate atheism.” In other words, these verses describe the frightening effect or outcome of intentional atheism. Shameful horrors, wickedness, deceitfulness, spite, and insolent pride are just a few of the words which stood out to me when I read the preceding text describing intentional atheists. It is interesting that I wrote the section about Frank being deceitful before I read the same word in the preceding translation.

The second translation which Alistair referenced is Peterson’s “para-translation” of the Bible, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Below is how Peterson translates these same verses in Romans:

25 And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them - the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes! 26 Worse followed. Refusing to know God, they soon didn't know how to be human either - women didn't know how to be women, men didn't know how to be men. 27 Sexually confused, they abused and defiled one another, women with women, men with men - all lust, no love. And then they paid for it, oh, how they paid for it - emptied of God and love, godless and loveless wretches. 28 Since they didn't bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. 29 And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, 30 fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. 31 Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. 32 And it's not as if they don't know better. They know perfectly well they're spitting in God's face. And they don't care - worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!

Verse 28 does an excellent job of summarizing the preceding Peterson translation: “Since they did not bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose”. When he preached on these verses, Alistair said “that which you call freedom will become a prison to you.” Synonyms for freedom include privilege, power, and immunity, but these perceived benefits of atheism will eventually lead to death, which the Bible says is the ultimate prison. How do we know that being an atheist will lead to eternal death? As we learned in verse 32 of the preceding J.B. Phillips’ translation, “that all who do these things deserve to die”, meaning there is no place for the atheist in heaven.

Hollywood actress Kirstie Alley died of Colon cancer on December 5, 2022. It was surprise to her fans and the media as she did not reveal her cancer diagnosis publicly prior to her death. Kirstie, who was raised as a Methodist, was a spokesperson for the Church of Scientology, which Wikipedia says “is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement”. Wikipedia also says “the movement has been the subject of a number of controversies, and the Church of Scientology has been described by government inquiries, international parliamentary bodies, scholars, law lords, and numerous superior court judgements as both a dangerous cult and a manipulative profit-making business”. Wikipedia goes on to say, “The Church of Scientology promotes and teaches Scientology, a body of beliefs and related practices created by L. Ron Hubbard, starting in 1952 as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics. Scientology teaches that people are immortal spiritual beings who have forgotten their true nature.” Seriously, do people believe that self-help garbage?

I do not know if scientologists are atheists, agnostics, or both, but they certainly do not believe the scriptures and they certainly do not believe in or fear God. When she was given her terminal diagnosis for colon cancer, I wonder if Kirstie Allie still believed she was an immortal spiritual being who had forgotten her true nature? Only Kristie and those closest to her knew the answer to that question, but I must wonder why she was so private about her cancer diagnosis? Remember, she was a spokesperson for Scientology. Therefore, if she truly trusted in Scientology’s teaching and beliefs, wouldn’t her cancer diagnosis and resulting cancer trial have been a perfect time for her to speak boldly about holding firm in her Scientology beliefs? Or was her silence an indication that she was starting to have her own doubts about these beliefs now that she had been given a terminal cancer diagnosis? How are you going to help yourself, as Scientology wants you to respond, when the doctors are telling you that you are terminal and there is nothing you can do to help yourself? Furthermore, will you still believe that you are already an immortal, which is a foundational belief for all Scientologists? I believe Kirstie’s complete silence during her cancer trial, when her life was on the line, speaks volumes to her commitment to Scientology.

In our cancer support group, we talk often about how a cancer diagnosis can be a platform for sharing the gospel. Why? When life is going well and you are winning super bowls or when you are conquering the business world, telling people about your faith in Christ is often met with deaf ears. However, when your life is on the line in the form of a cancer diagnosis, you somehow become more credible when speaking about what you believe should you not survive your cancer trial. Suddenly that aunt, uncle, co-worker, golfing partner or that person you serve with on the PTA committee at your kid’s school, people who would never give you the time of day before when you tried to talk to them about your Christian faith, are now willing to listen to what you have to say about your faith in Christ when they realize you might not be around forever. They are also secretly wondering how they would respond if they were given a similar cancer diagnosis. Yes, a cancer platform, which is one of the many blessings of a cancer trial, is a powerful platform to share your faith in Christ and the promises he makes to all who believe in Him. However, you must persevere in your faith, and, unlike Kirstie Alle, you must be willing to use your platform. When people observe and witness you persevering in your faith in the midst of horrible cancer circumstances, it is POWERFUL testimony.

In 15 years of ministering to people with cancer, I have seen over and over again how a terminal cancer diagnosis will cause most people to reconsider what they deem as important and true in this world. When you are given such a diagnosis, do you really care who is in the White House or how your stock portfolio is doing? A terminal cancer diagnosis has a unique way of making you realize that most things in this world are meaningless if you are not around to enjoy them. So where does that leave the terminal cancer patient? 100% of all terminal cancer patients will start to think about what will happen to them if they do not survive their cancer trial. How do I know that EVERYONE thinks about eternity? Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us God set eternity in the human heart. It is how He designed us. This biblical truth about eternity being ingrained in our hearts is why we cannot stop thinking about dying when we are given a terminal diagnosis. God designed us to contemplate our eternal destiny, and this is especially true when we are told we are terminally ill with cancer.

If contemplating our eternal destiny is how He designed us to respond to a terminal diagnosis, how do people typically respond to a terminal cancer diagnosis? I have observed multiple responses to a terminal diagnosis over the years, but I will summarize three common responses in the balance of this paragraph. The first response I have often observed is a common Christian response. For the Christian, I have observed how they will begin to focus on their faith in Christ more than they ever have before to bring themselves comfort and hope in their final days. The second response is a common “worldly” response. We have all observed this second type of response many times where the terminal cancer patient will run around the world looking for someone or something to save themselves from their terminal condition. All they can think about is finding the right doctor, treatment (medical or alternative) or clinical trial as finding a cure becomes their primary and only goal or desire. They ignore God and how He designed us with eternity ingrained in our hearts. Instead, they utilize their search for a cure to dominate their thought life and focus. The third type of response is where I have seen or heard about people who come to faith in Christ during their cancer trial. After reading or hearing the gospel, they realize their sin makes them hopeless. However, it is their cancer trial circumstances which cause them to realize that they may die in their hopeless, sinful condition, so they turn to Jesus for the hope He promises all who believe and trust in Him.

Kirstie Alley is no different than the rest of us. God designed her with eternity set in her heart. As a spokesperson for Scientology, I will ask again – why was she so silent after she was diagnosed with cancer? She spent a good part of her life being a spokesperson for Scientology and then she becomes a hermit publicly when she finds out the seriousness of her cancer disease. Her response to her terminal cancer diagnosis just doesn’t add up to me. Why would she advertise the benefits of Scientology over a good portion of her lifetime, then, when it mattered the most and her life is on the line, she has nothing to say. Crickets chirping. If you were a scientologist and you find out after her death that one of your biggest spokespersons goes completely silent after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, wouldn’t you start to second guess your supposed beliefs? Isn’t facing the prospect of death in the form of a terminal cancer diagnosis the point in our lives when we need religion the most?

Thankfully, there is true hope for the atheist, the agnostic, and the terminal cancer patient. I spent considerable time in this blog post discussing Romans 1: 25-32. Earlier in that same chapter in Romans, verse 1:16 tells us:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes”

In other words, if you believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God promises eternal salvation for all who believe. However, you must believe there is a God, and you must put your faith and trust in His son. Even though those eight verses in Romans are offensive to so many, we must not be ashamed of God’s word, and we must not be ashamed of telling people His gospel which is good news.

Before I close with some comments about Christmas, I should say that this was an extremely hard blog post for me to write for a variety of reasons. First, it is not up to me to judge Frank or Kirstie as God is the only one who can judge any of us. Secondly, Frank’s story is still a very emotional story for me to tell. When I finally talked to Bob a week after Frank passed away and learned more about Frank’s story and his beliefs, I had a tear running down my face. Why? It was heartbreaking news for me to hear that he was an atheist. Thirdly, Frank was good to me and good to our company and I am extremely grateful for all he did to support our company while he was alive. When writing about someone who you care about and has been good to you over the years, it is difficult for me to point out his mistaken beliefs, even if such observations are clearly supported by the scriptures. If one person can learn from Frank’s end-of-life actions and reassess their own atheistic beliefs, it will make writing this blog post worthwhile. Only God knows what happened to the souls of both Frank and Kristie, but it is my hope and primary reason for writing this blog post that others will learn that there are fearful consequences of deliberate atheism and reconsider their beliefs. We are all sinners, and we all fall short of God’s standards. Remember, Jesus did not to come to this world to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). However, deliberately saying you do not believe in God will lead to death as it is THE unforgivable sin. 2 Timothy 2:12 tells us:

“if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us”

This is the Christmas season. It is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. For most Christians, Christmas is celebrated with friends and family, enjoying the presents, parties, Christmas concerts and church services. While these are all great ways to celebrate during the Christmas season, Christmas is really about the birth of a savior, Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can provide true hope for the atheist, the agnostic, the terminal cancer patient, and anyone who believes in Him. Galatians 4:4-5 tells us:

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons."

Christ was born into this world so that all who believe in Him might have true, eternal hope. It is great if you celebrate Christmas, but do you really believe all that the Bible has to say? The Bible is either absolutely and completely correct or is it is the biggest lie to ever hit this earth. However, as we learned from 2 Timothy 3:16-17 referenced earlier where it says ALL scripture is breathed out by God, the Bible is not partially correct, and we cannot select which parts or sections of it we choose to believe and to not believe. As I mentioned earlier in this blog post when discussing Romans Chapter 1 and other scriptures, many people will find all or parts of the Bible to be offensive, objectional, irritating and unbelievable because we naturally want to be champions of our own destiny and captains of our own ships. We do not like being told we are not in control of our eternal destiny, but God is. However, if we are willing to give up control of our own lives and put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, God promises that we might receive adoption as sons. Therefore, during this Christmas season, do not be ashamed of the gospel as it is the power of God for salvation for all who believe, including atheists, agnostics, and those with terminal cancer.

I would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and may your relationship with Christ begin or grow this Christmas season.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16 ESV)

Jim Risk, a two-time cancer survivor, is the volunteer Ministry Coordinator for the Cancer Support Group (CSG) at a non-denominational church in NE Ohio. Jim and his wife, Kristina, have participated and served in CSG, a Christian ministry, since 2007.