A Fundamentalist pastor: A surprising discovery

In the days when I was attending a Fundamentalist church, I found that I couldn’t stand the pastor’s and members’ rigid convictions that only a person who believed certain specified doctrines could go to Heaven. In particular, I couldn’t stand this in reference to my mother.

She was an atheist ethnic Jew. When I became a Christian, this was hard for her, but she did let me tell her what God was doing for me.

In the course of these conversations, she told me a story about a singular incident in her life. It begins with Wyoming winters, which are so harsh that highway travel can become dangerous. In addition, there are long stretches between towns—50 miles or more—with few or no houses. You might encounter another car, and you might not.

Between Casper and Laramie is a good example. Ground blizzards and white-outs are common, as are slippery patches and snowdrifts, although the highway department plows.

“As you know,” Mom began, “I hate driving, and I don’t trust cars. I’m especially nervous driving alone. But for some reason I can’t recall, I was driving to Laramie by myself, in the winter.”

I waited.

“I hit a slippery patch and skidded into the ditch. Of course I couldn’t drive out. At first I panicked, but then suddenly I was calm.” Here she started crying. “I just sat there and waited, or maybe I got out of the car to look at the situation. Shortly thereafter, a man driving a large pickup truck came along and pulled me out. I remained calm for the rest of the drive—and it wasn’t because the road was good.”

Though I knew God had comforted her, I didn’t ask what she thought about the incident. She apparently remained an atheist for the rest of her life.

Years later, she was dying of cancer at 56. Actually she was dying from cancer treatment: Chemotherapy had damaged her kidneys, and they had failed. She declined dialysis.

During the two weeks it took her to die, I spent many hours at her bedside. One evening, God poured out his comfort on me, assuring me that all was well. Did this mean my atheist mother was going to Heaven?

I made an appointment with the Fundamentalist pastor to talk to him about their rigid doctrines, and to determine whether he really believed God had left my mother out. I mentioned her prevailing beliefs, and related the account of the visitation she’d received after sliding into the ditch.

Then I said, “So do you people actually dismiss someone like my mother who, regardless of what she believes, obviously received a visitation from God? To me that doesn’t feel like he’s leaving her out.”

The pastor thought a minute. “We don’t know what happens between the soul and God in the hours before death. Therefore, I can’t rule out the possibility that your mother is in Heaven.”

Surprised, I was also glad to discover that beneath his apparent rigidity, his attitude was reasonable.