the Salmon of Doubt

One of my favorite authors was Douglas Adams. I remember my first exposure to his work in elementary school while riding in a friend's car, an audio adaption of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy playing on the car cassette deck. I remember laughing quite hard.

Years later, I would read all 5 books in the Hitchhiker trilogy, and again found the plot sublimely odd. The adventures of Zaphod, Ford, Trillian and Dent Arthur Dent - not to mention Marvin the depressed robot - kept me glued to the page and often laughing out loud.

I saw the BBC television adaption of H2G2 (as it is fondly referred to) and the recent big screen adaption. But neither captured the magic I found whilst holding the written word.

I was surprised to later learn that Adams died of a sudden heart attack at age 49 in May of 2001.

I have yet to read his Dirk Gently novels, The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul, or Last Chance to See, but recently while in our public library I ran across The Salmon of Doubt - a collection of files found on his Mac (Adams was a Mac evangelist.) The book contains both published and unpublished articles, the assemblage of the novel he was working on (called the Salmon of Doubt), reflections on his life and the order of service at his memorial.

I learned through the book that Adams (in large measure through the writings of Richard Dawkins) had become a "radical atheist" enamored with the theory of evolution. That last link is worth the read. In fact, Dawkins dedicated his book The God Delusion to Adams. In an interview, Adams once said that while not believing in God he did hold a fascination for religion. This fascination he ascribed to the fact that so many "otherwise rational... intelligent people... nevertheless take [the existence of God] seriously".

I was saddened to learn Adams held this view, but I found it totally ironic that the book concludes with the order of service for his memorial service held at St. Martin-in-the-Fields. He did have a funeral in Santa Barbara, CA whose details I do not know. But the memorial service included hymns, prayers, a poem assuring the departed that he does not suffer in hell but that he rests in comfort, great works by J.S. Bach, as well as some non-church music (and was coincidentally the first church service of any kind broadcast live on the web by the BBC). Perhaps these were the wishes of his family? Otherwise it is completely out of character. A man who compares anyone with religious beliefs to a "sentient puddle" would surely not want to have anything to do with a church, right? I am amused that Dawkins showed up.
I mean, if you're an atheist - what's the point? I find the same irony perplexing for those who want nothing to do with a church except be married in one. What's the point? Why make vows to, and ask the blessing of a void? Same with a funeral for a high profile atheist. There is no comfort in atheism. There is no hope. And for the atheistic evolutionist, as in the case of Dawkins, why perpetuate what you believe to be a delusion or a lie?

The proverbial icing on this "irony" cake? Adams in his love for J.S. Bach's music once wrote, "I am convinced that Bach is the greatest genius who ever walked among us, and the Brandenburgs are what he wrote when he was happy."
Why is this ironic? Bach was a man of deep, deep faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, most of his works included dedications of the music to God or the letters "SDG" on them, standing for the Latin "Soli Deo Gloria" - to God alone be the glory.

So Adams dies an atheist (as far as we know), claiming that the greatest genius to ever have lived was Bach - who believed firmly and whole-heartedly in Christ.

I say, "as far as we know" because no man knows the internal wrestlings another man goes through at death - even a sudden heart attack. I can only hope that for Adams he was able to move past his "salmon".