Cartoonist Scott Adams is taking Pascal’s Wager in the face of terminal prostate cancer. 

“You’re going to hear for the first time today that it is my plan to convert,” the cartoonist and author said on his daily livestream, Real Coffee with Scott Adams on Jan 4.

“So I still have time, but my understanding is you’re never too late. And on top of that any skepticism I have about reality would certainly be instantly answered if I wake up in heaven.”

The 68-year-old creator of the celebrated Dilbert comic strip previously described himself as agnostic. He said many of his Christian followers and friends have tried to convert him since he was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer in May 2025.

“I usually just let that sit because that’s not an argument I want to have,” Adams said. “I have not been a believer. But I also have respect for any Christian who goes out of their way to try to convert me. Because how would I believe you believe your own religion if you’re not trying to convert me? So I have great respect for people who care enough that they want me to convert and then go out of their way to try to convince me.”

Adams’ syndicated comic strip about corporate life, appeared in thousands of newspapers, ran for 34 years and ended in 2023. He revealed Jan. 2 that he has “essentially zero” chance of recovering from his illness.

An outspoken proponent of so-called medical assistance in dying, Adams said he took steps toward assisted suicide last year but did not go through with it after finding a new treatment option. He now says he will follow Christ in what he sees as his final days.

“You don’t need to talk me into it,” he said. “I am now convinced that the risk-reward is completely smart. If it turns out that there’s nothing there, I’ve lost nothing. But I’ve respected your wishes, and I like doing that. If it turns out there is something there, and the Christian model is the closest to it, I win. So with your permission, I promise you that I will convert. But I probably won’t spend that much time in that phase, so don’t expect it to happen today, okay? But argument made, argument accepted.”

Adams’ rationale for conversion echoes the logic of 17th-century philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal. The argument referred to as “Pascal’s Wager” appears in the philosopher’s primary work, Pensées.

In the wager, Pascal assumes the probability of God’s existence is 50% and that wagering for God costs one life but results in infinite utility if God exists.

“There is an eternity of life and happiness,” he writes. “And this being so, if there were an infinity of chances, of which one only would be for you, you would still be right in wagering one to win two, and you would act stupidly, being obliged to play, by refusing to stake one life against three at a game in which out of an infinite of chances there is one for you, if there were an infinity of infinitely happy life to gain.”

Adams has made the same “risk-reward” analysis and decided to give all.

Since his announcement, social media has lit up with suggestions and inquiries from Christian followers and influencers, both commenting publicly on his conversion and sending direct messages to Adams. He asked his followers to refrain from offering any more medical or religious advice.

“I appreciate the outpouring of suggestions and questions, but what happens next is between me and Jesus,” Adams said on X Jan. 4. “I won’t be responding to your well-intentioned messages on this topic. (There are a lot!). I hope you understand. And thank you.”

He later added that receiving complaints from followers about how he chose to approach his conversion had almost talked him out of the decision.

“It’s a private relationship between me and Jesus, and I’d like to keep it that way,” Adams said. “But I totally appreciate the good intentions.”