Imagine if one of the world's leading Christians--say C.S. Lewis a generation ago, or Billy Graham now--were to reject his religious beliefs and become a atheist. It would be big news! The New York Times would be all over it, for sure, and the question would be why a man who has devoted his life to God would now turn against Him? In sum, the focus would be on what were the reasons for the conversion and on what's so bad about Christianity.
Contrast this with the New York Times' approach to the conversion of philosopher Anthony Flew. Flew has been, for the past half-century, the world's leading advocate of atheism. No one has so relentlessly espoused the atheist cause, and no one has been more anthologized and eulogized by the atheist community. Other twentieth-century philosophers, such as Martin Heidegger and Bertrand Russell, were unbelievers but they did not make atheism central to their philosophical work as did Flew. Flew's atheism long precedes that of latecomers like Dawkins, Harris and Hitchens.
Now, in his early eighties, Flew has rejected atheism and said he believes that God exists. He does not espouse the Christian God, but calls himself a Deist. He says he has a lifelong commitment to following the evidence where it leads, and that new advances in the sciences have shown him that materialism and Darwinism simply cannot account for the world as it is and life as it is. Examining the fine-tuning of the universe and the mind-boggling complexity of the cell (a compexity that evolution presumes but cannot explain), Flew now believes that the design of the universe requires a designer. He gives his reasons in a new book There Is a God which is co-authored with Roy Abraham Varghese.
When something like this happens, the New York TImes goes into mafia-style intellectual hit mode. They selected Mark Oppenheimer of Yale, who visited Flew in England and wrote a long piece in the November 4, 2007 New York Times Magazine suggesting that Flew converted because he is, well, senile. The basic idea is that Flew has lost his mind and can't remember anything, and when Christian apologists like Varghese were nice to him Flew basically surrendered to them and let them write his book.
The only evidence that Flew has lost his mind is that he's 84 years old. A man of 84 naturally loses some of his memory, especially for names, but this does not mean he has lost his marbles. Flew's own writings of the past few years are all entirely coherent and employ sophisticated philosophical vocabulary. While Flew seems to have asked his collaborator Varghese to write a draft of his life story, it was Flew who reviewed and approved the final contents. There is nothing in the Times' article that shows Flew to be incapable of a reasoned change of mind and heart.
I realize that atheists--including those at the New York Times--are embarassed at having to surrender one of their most stalwart champions to theism. Maybe they too should consider following the evidence where it leads? Too closed-minded to consider Flew's arguments, these fellows would much rather belittle the intellectual capacity of the man they once revered. Hell hath no fury like an atheist scorned.
Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 84)
16. It's infinitely more courageous to be an atheist. It's far easier to jump in a crowded boat going downstream than it is to swim upstream against the current, alone... while people are throwing rocks at you.
Mary at 8:25AM on Nov 16th 2007
17. In 1970, A stranger came to my door, stating that God sent her to witness to me. In 1977, a newspaper ad placed by me was answered by a woman who had just arrived from Colorado and said God had sent her to witness to me. I moved to Germany and guess what? a woman brought me a message from this so called God.I responded by saying, "If God wants me He had better come himself". He was not intimated by me. He came. If you are in doubt, dare to tell him to show himself to you, and get prepared for the thrill of your life and the best HIGH in the world! I dare you!! Then tell us about it.
Rene Gatson at 2:17AM on Nov 17th 2007
18. Here we go again: another of Dinesh's pathetic attempts to prop up theism. Five years ago, D and all of his followers would have thought Flew was an idiot; now that he is reported to have agreed that a god might exist, he is Exhibit A in their case for god. I invite anyone remotely convinced by his "argument" to read the relevant article in NYT.
More to the point, D continues in this post his ad-hoc, ad hominem style of argumentation: namely, that whether or not any particular individual believes in theism contitutes a truth claim. The REAL issue is: Is Theism true or not? It is NOT: how many died in the Inquisition, whether Hitler was a Christian, whether Flew is now a theist (he's not), or whether Christians have greener lawns than atheists. Atheists just have ONE question: is it true? Is there really a god? If so, we readily lend our intellectual assent, regardless of the convenience of doing so. Obviously, after having examined the evidence, or lack thereof, we have concluded that theism is false.
Greg at 8:39AM on Nov 16th 2007
19. hey double d: is religion about prophet for you??
or profit.
IMHO, and that is all anyone's religion is about, opinion and belief.....IMO, if Jesus returns to us, he will hate you. (and you would probably agree that being a Jew, Jesus could indeed hate).
stuart joshua at 9:14AM on Nov 16th 2007
20. I'm actually something of an atheist-turned-deist myself, but I am NOT part of your cause. You admitted he doesn't believe in the Christian God, and I think he still holds up his walls against religion. Your excitement is over an empty victory.
Exactly how complex does something have to be before you throw up your hands and say "Too complex, a creator must have done it"?
Mokele Mbembe at 9:05AM on Nov 16th 2007
21. big deal. so a guy suddenly believes there is a god. this guy didnt convert to Christianity or any other religion, he just believes there is a god. according to Christian scripture unless this guy accepts Christ as the Son of God and rejects all other religions he will still spend an eternity in hell. fundies/evangelicals love preaching that athiests, gays, and what not are eternally damned but never dare say those who reject Christ are. why is it fundies never get serious about scripture? what r they afraid of? go on tell someone who is of nonchristian faith theyre gonna burn. and also tell someone who has been divorced and remarried that he is guilty of committing adultery, and therefore going to hell-afterall Jesus said he is.
Jay at 9:08AM on Nov 16th 2007
22. Funny - if Flew is /was such a poster child for atheism, why is his name only now comming up? I don't recall DD ever mentioning him before!
Robert E. Quillen at 9:19AM on Nov 16th 2007
23. I think that testimonials are the weakest way to espouse one's position. The fact that airline pilots or astranauts believe in flying saucers or even physicists like Stanton Friedman doesn't mean I will now believe in flying saucers. I am sure that personal stories cut both ways and no one can really know what is in the mind of any individual. i am an atheist because that is where the evidence leads as ignorance gives way to enlightenment. I don't expect you to come over to the "atheist cause" because of what I believ eor don't. I have no cause and don't want you to conform to my belief. You are an independent agent free to come to your own conclusions. As long as neither of us advocates the compulsory intrusion of our beliefs on the other we will be alright. If you advocate the inclusion of religion in the public sphere in a coercive manner we have a problem. Otherwise, delude yourself all you want with virgin births and poes in a pizza.
eric at 9:22AM on Nov 16th 2007
24. Actually, there are quite a few people who used to be believers and now reject religion. I'm one of them. There are several people who post on here that are. How many people of one religion convert to another? Many. You here regularly in the news about Christians who converted to Islam. Get a clue, people! Just because one person changes his or her mind, just because a thousand people change their minds, has absolutely nothing to do with the rightness or wrongness of their views. Enough people thought Bush was the right person to become president for him to be elected and now most people don't think he's doing a good job.
Aaron at 9:28AM on Nov 16th 2007
25. So the Porshe, which I'd never seen before, and had assumed to be created by a God, is really just the product of dumb luck, and things that are useful...
Sounds alot like evolution, doesn't it?
Ken at 6:45AM on Nov 16th 2007
the porsch was not created by a god. The steel, glass, leather, etc., was not created by any mortal man, but mortal man takes what God has created and pro-creates something from those materials and elements. God creates, man procreates.
8. God is dead or he would not allow Dafur, Ruwanda,the war in Iraq to go on. If this God sits there and allows us to destroy his planet, he doesn't really care about his creation very much. We are God. Every one of us has a different vision of what God is and mold him to our liking. Yes even with the Bible and the Koran and other religious works we can always tweek it to fit our personal beliefs. There is no God. We all create our own God and it is ourselves.
Rick at 7:05AM on Nov 16th 2007
Rick, if you have a child and that child grows up to be a murderer, a nasty punk of a human being, would you be responsible for your child's actions? Why should God have to ALWAYS INTERVENE when things don't go our way? We have choices. The whole point in God wanting us to resist the temptations of satan and follow and live according to His word is so that we may have His spirit in us to discern what is right or wrong. If satan never existed, and there were only Adam and Eve on the planet, they would still be the only people on the planet. But when satan tempted Eve, then Eve tempted Adam, their eyes opened up and realized that they were naked. God knew there would be lust after this, because God's spirit left Adam and Adam would now live after the flesh, rather than Gods spirit.
God threw them out of the garden for disobeying Him.
You say God is dead, but He would've had to've existed for that to be. God is alive and wants unconditional love.
dena at 9:35AM on Nov 16th 2007
26. "He (Flew) says he has a lifelong commitment to following the evidence where it leads, and that new advances in the sciences have shown him that materialism and Darwinism simply cannot account for the world as it is and life as it is."
And there's the big difference between an atheist and a theist, atheists accept that they don't have all the answers yet, but they keep looking (scientifically and methodically). Theists give up looking and just accredit that which they cannot explain to a 'higher power'.
Perhaps an understandable step when one reaches one's twilight years and realises there may not be time left to find those answers, but still not a rational one.
steve Williams at 9:36AM on Nov 19th 2007
27. Obviously he's unfamiliar with C. S. Lewis as well, because C. S. Lewis did actually become an atheist for a while, but was brought back to Christianity by J.R.R. Tolkein and G.K. Chesterson, whom he taught with at Oxford. Thank God for these guys.
"Not all who wander are lost"--Tolkein
Jennifer at 9:42AM on Nov 16th 2007
28. I have a question for all of you wonderful Christians out there.
Let’s say there are two people. One everyone agrees is the nicest guy they’ve ever met. He is always willing to give of himself to help others out. He spend most of his free time volunteering with the homeless and handicapped and other good causes. He lives very modestly because he spends most of his extra money to help others. He doesn’t cuss or drink or smoke. But he absolutely does not believe in God.
Then we have another guy who uses drugs and drinks. Is abusive in relationships. He’s forced himself on a few women against their will, stolen money, burned down a couple of houses just for kicks. Finally, he breaks into a house, ties the family up, rapes and tortures the mom and daughters and then kills the entire family including the dog. While he’s sitting on death row, he talks to a priest, confesses his sins, and accepts Jesus into his heart.
Which one or either of those two men are going to heaven?
Let’s up the ante.
What if Hitler and Stalin had turned to Jesus just before they died. Would they be in heaven?
If you believe the answer is “yes” to that last question and say that the first guy is going to hell and the second one above is going to heaven, what does that say about your God? It says he’s a self-centered bastard that only cares about his own glorification.
Aaron at 9:50AM on Nov 16th 2007
29. IMHO, and that is all anyone's religion is about, opinion and belief.....IMO, if Jesus returns to us, he will hate you. (and you would probably agree that being a Jew, Jesus could indeed hate).
stuart joshua at 9:14AM on Nov 16th 2007
Stuart, Jesus Himself was a Jew. So why would He hate Jews. He loves everyone. God made Abraham the first Jew because of Abraham's love and obedience to Him. A jew is a direct descendent of Abraham. God promised Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob that He had reserved a special place just for them called Israel. There are many Christian Jews today and , in fact, it was the Jews who took the gospel of Jesus to the gentiles, as God instructed them to.
dena at 9:56AM on Nov 16th 2007
30. Dena,
You missed the point that Ken was making. He was saying that just because you see a Porsche in all its glory in its final form and you can't explain how it was done, doesn't mean it was poofed into existence just the way you see it. While his point was valid, he didn't explain it in enough detail.
5000 years ago they didn't have sports cars, did they? So how did we get from there to here? Evolution. First they put logs under big, heavy things to move them. Then they got the idea to make wheels. Next came small carts and then larger ones. Carts became wagons and they got more complex and varied. Then they put a small engine on the wagon and had a car. Then they kept refining the design, coming up with new ideas, and the next thing you know -- a Porsche!
Aaron at 10:03AM on Nov 16th 2007