There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind



British philosopher Flew has long been something of an evangelist for atheism, debating theologians and pastors in front of enormous crowds. In 2004, breathless news reports announced that the nonagenarian had changed his mind. This book tells why. Ironically, his arguments about the absurdity of God-talk launched a revival of philosophical theists, some of whom, like Alvin Plantinga and Richard Swinburne, were important in Flew's recent conversion to theism. Breakthroughs in science, especially cosmology, also played a part: if the speed or mass of the electron were off just a little, no life could have evolved on this planet. Perhaps the arrogance of the New Atheists also emboldened him, as Flew taunts them for failing to live up to the greatness of atheists of yore. The book concludes with an appendix by New Testament scholar and Anglican bishop N.T. Wright, arguing for the coherence of Christian belief in the resurrection. Flew praises Wright, though he maintains some distance still from orthodox Christianity. The book will be most avidly embraced by traditional theists seeking argumentative ammunition. It sometimes disappoints: quoting other authorities at length, citing religion-friendly scientists for pages at a time and belaboring side issues, like the claim that Einstein was really a religious believer of sorts.

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Call me old-fashioned, but I thought the POINT of reviewing books--even books on Amazon--was to review the actual book that one has actually READ. It seems now that it has become a place to "spike" books that you haven't read, and don't want others to read.

Unlike other pseudo-reviewers, I've actually read Flew's There is a God (and interviewed Flew as well). Anyone who has actually read it--and I wonder if Mark Oppenheimer did, given the inattention to the substance of the book in his infamous NYT piece--understands that it is a terse description of Flew's long, drawn out intellectual journey toward God--a journey of two decades. Twenty years; not twenty minutes or twenty days. Flew wasn't struck by God on his way to Damascus like St. Paul; he was slowly, ever so slowly brought to intellectual assent to a Deism (about the thinnest belief in God one can have).

Thus, the entire focus of a reader of Flew's There is a God SHOULD be on the list of books Flew cites as definitive in the slow changing of his mind, not on niggling debates about the slowness of Flew's mind at this precise point.

Roy Varghese (his co-author) has been with him for a good part of that journey (as have other believers), and was instrumental in helping Flew gather together his twenty year sojourn to God. IF there were some kind of a Christian conspiracy to use Flew as a mouthpiece, certainly Varghese et al would have made Flew's "conversion" far more exciting, and even more, would have him become a card-carrying Christian rather than, as he adamantly maintains, a Deist (not even a Theist!--Flew corrected me on this point in an interview with him).

One certainly should read the books s/he reviews!

THERE IS A GOD
How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind.
By Antony Flew with Roy Abraham Varghese.
222 pp. HarperOne/HarperCollins Publishers. $24.95.


I didn't see Mark Oppenheimer's review in the Times, but ANTHONY GOTTLIEB's Published: December 23, 2007 can be read here:
Gottlieb's review in NYTimes

It contains the witty remark, "Far from strengthening the case for the existence of God, it rather weakens the case for the existence of Antony Flew." Not having read the book myself I have no idea if it is justified, but the book seems to be lacking a certain seriousness, mainly in Mr. Flews lack of commitment to the book.

Perhaps Mr. Flew has decided he wants to believe in God. That is a different matter, one of faith, not science. Perhaps the two are not sufficiently understood to be joined. Yet.

A snippet: "The book has five main parts: a preface and an appendix by Varghese; an intellectual autobiography and an account of his case for God, attributed to Flew; and another appendix, on the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, by N. T. Wright, the Anglican bishop of Durham. Varghese is an Indian-born business consultant who founded the Institute for MetaScientific Research in Texas, and writes and edits books on the interplay between science, religion and philosophy. He helped organize the conference at which Flew announced his conversion and is the author of a book, “The Wonder of the World,” that Flew recommends. Varghese has also written “God-Sent: A History of the Accredited Apparitions of Mary,” which argues that more than 50 such apparitions cannot be explained away as hallucinations and that there is better evidence for them than there is for any ostensible U.F.O. sighting."

And another snippet from Gottlieb's review:
In fact, Flew told The New York Times Magazine last month that the book “is really Roy’s doing.”

Perhaps Mr. Flew should have gotten more involved in the book. Is seems that Mr. Varghese was using him. So maybe Mr. Flew deserves the review he has gotten by putting his name on a book that he has not actually written.

I'm not an atheist. This is too meaningful a subject to lightly issue statements and books about.

In order to give equal time to the publishers here is their review/blurb from http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061335297/There_Is_a_God/index.aspx

In one of the biggest religion news stories of the new millennium, the Associated Press announced that Professor Antony Flew, the world's leading atheist, now believes in God.

Flew is a pioneer for modern atheism. His famous paper, Theology and Falsification, was first presented at a meeting of the Oxford Socratic Club chaired by C. S. Lewis and went on to become the most widely reprinted philosophical publication of the last five decades. Flew earned his fame by arguing that one should presuppose atheism until evidence of a God surfaces. He now believes that such evidence exists, and There Is a God chronicles his journey from staunch atheism to believer.

For the first time, this book will present a detailed and fascinating account of Flew's riveting decision to revoke his previous beliefs and argue for the existence of God. Ever since Flew's announcement, there has been great debate among atheists and believers alike about what exactly this "conversion" means. There Is a God will finally put this debate to rest.

This is a story of a brilliant mind and reasoned thinker, and where his lifelong intellectual pursuit eventually led him: belief in God as designer.

"This is a remarkable book in many ways."
— Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions

"This is a fascinating and very readable account …"
— Professor John Hick, Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Research in Arts and Social Sciences, University of Birmingham

"A stellar philosophical mind ponders the latest scientific results. The conclusion: a God stands behind the rationality of nature."
— Michael Behe, author of Darwin's Black Box and The Edge of Evolution

"Antony Flew not only has the philosophical virtues; he has the virtues of the philosopher. Civil in argument, relentlessly reasonable…."
— Ralph McInerny, Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame

"A fascinating record …it will come as a most uncomfortable jolt to those who were once his fellow atheists."
— Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology, Yale University

"Flew’s exposition will be a source for reflective inquiry for many, many years..."
— Daniel N. Robinson, Philosophy Department, Oxford University

"Towering and courageous... Flew’s colleagues in the church of fundamentalist atheism will be scandalized."
— Francis S. Collins, New York Times bestselling author of The Language of God

"Flew couldn’t be more engaging and remain an analytic philosopher..."
— Booklist

I wonder what would happen if Adventists publicly explored how one can simultaneously believe that evolution is true and also be a Christian.

Book Review: There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind

There has been some controversy about the nature of Flew's "conversion" and role in the writing of There Is a God, especially in light of his advanced age. However, in subsequent interviews, Flew has maintained that the book accurately represents his current thinking on the existence of God. According to a press release from Harper Collins (the publisher):

"My name is on the book and it represents exactly my opinions. I would not have a book issued in my name that I do not 100 percent agree with. I needed someone to do the actual writing because I'm 84 and that was Roy Varghese's role. The idea that someone manipulated me because I'm old is exactly wrong. I may be old but it is hard to manipulate me. This is my book and it represents my thinking."

The book, There Is a God is an interesting examination of how a long-time atheist could change his mind about the existence of God. The book seems to be an honest examination of what Flew has changed his mind about and where he is still convinced that God could not be personally involved in human lives. Will Antony Flew become a Christian? In the book, he indicates that he is still open to Christianity, although there are many issues to resolve before that becomes a possibility. The book is quite readable without being overly technical, so it is recommended for all readers of this site.

The issue isn't if a person can believe in evolution and still be a Christian. The issue is if one can believe in Sola Scriptura and believe in evolution. I see no way that one could claim to believe in Sola Scriptura and and also believe in evolution. Could they be a Christian? Yes, of course. Millions of Catholics do not accept Sola Scriptura and are considered Christians.

Let's try not to unnecessarily insult the Adventist church - especially when such comments are completely unrelated to the topic of a thread. Anthony Flew is not an Adventist or even a Christian that believes in evolution. Nor have I seen any comment of his about people claiming to be Christian that believe in evolution. So let's stay focused on the topic, please.

Then I'm hard-pressed to understand why a thread about a converted atheist ended up in the Origins forum.

My comment is not intended as in insult to the Adventist church, but I am serious about it. There are other ways of thinking about Genesis than strictly literal ones, and it would be great if the SDA church was a safe place to discuss them.

Keep posting and asking..don't let others control issues get in your way!!

"However, Antony Flew does not believe in the existence of a good God who is involved in the lives of human beings, because of the problem of evil." - Rich Deem

"FLEW: Well, I don’t believe in the God of any revelatory system, although I am open to that. But it seems to me that the case for an Aristotelian God who has the characteristics of power and also intelligence, is now much stronger than it ever was before." - interview by Habermas


BBC interview, 2005
"Q But there's also, Professor Flew, a great yearning to have someone of your previously held scepticism on board for a Christian God, a participating God, a God of goodness, and so on. Now can you tell me what your reaction is to that?
A Well I don't think I have offered the slightest reason for believing in a good God. You know, if that's what they want - a good God in any ordinary sense of the word 'good' - it seems to me it is inconsistent with what they believe this good God is going to do. I mean to torture anyone eternally is a violation of the most fundamental principles of merely human justice.
Q So this is the tortures of Hell, which you would reject entirely?
A Well this appalling nightmare, you know. If it was proved that I was wrong in this book 'The Logic of Mortality' I would myself get worried because it seems to me entirely possible that the universe around us was created by an evil figure who would do this sort of thing.

Q So you reject the Christian concept of God?
A I follow what has become the universally accepted definition by Richard Swinburne of the entire English-speaking philosophical world which includes a very large part of the philosophical world.

Q So you don't believe in life after death?
A Certainly not, no. If I believed in life er... I would get very worried indeed, because...
Q Because you'd be...
A ...the facts of the universe suggest that it's run by this, you know, this sort of " -BBC interview, 2005

► Flew was a naturalist that believed all observable phenomenon had a natural (rather than a supernatural) explanation.
► The complexity of life convinced Flew that life could not have evolved on its own by chance.
► Flew is not a Christian that had an emotional conversion. His beliefs are based on logic.
► Flew does not believe in an afterlife so he is not somehow trying to make peace with God before he dies.
► Origins is about where we come from. According to Flew, a former, outspoken atheist, logic leads us to some sort of god.



It comes off as an insult. Especially when it is so off-topic. It comes off as saying that instead of talking about the origins of life within a Biblical context, Adventists should be pitching a bigger tent which would include those that reject Sola Scriptura.



There are several ways to think about the entire Bible, not just Genesis. The SDA church does talk about them. Are we a safe place to discuss them? Well, is the Catholic church a safe place to discuss the pope being the anti-christ? Adventists point out why those that use extra-Biblical evidence to interpret the Bible are wrong. That is not to say a person cannot be a Catholic, Orthodox or Anglican believer and still be a Christian. Of course a person can reject Sola Scriptura and still be a Christian. However the Adventist church embraces Sola Scriptura as our only rule for faith. It is how we view the entire Bible - not just Genesis. To tell an Adventist to think about Genesis outside of Sola Scriptura is to tell him or her to throw away the entire basis for their belief structure.