Posted on 12/10/2004 7:08:12 AM PST by Michael_Michaelangelo
NEW YORK -- A British philosophy professor who has been a leading champion of atheism for more than a half-century has changed his mind. He now believes in God -- more or less -- based on scientific evidence, and says so on a video released Thursday.
At age 81, after decades of insisting belief is a mistake, Antony Flew has concluded that some sort of intelligence or first cause must have created the universe. A super-intelligence is the only good explanation for the origin of life and the complexity of nature, Flew said in a telephone interview from England.
(Excerpt) Read more at nynewsday.com ...
Helooooo... McFly.......
Ping
He has a good argument no doubt. However, it's a big step from his idea of God to the one you go to church to try to talk to.
"At age 81, after decades of insisting belief is a mistake..."
Hmmmm. He's 81, not much time left on the calendar. Could this be a bit of philosophical CYA?
Yeah, it really is.
BTW, what religion has that kind of god? Could you name it?
Dan
Biblical Christianity web site
What Is Biblical Christianity?
Biblical Christianity BLOG
Thank you for contributing such a snide comment; it really adds a lot to the discussion. </sarc>
My first thought was about Madelein Murray O'Hair. I'm sure she's a believer by now.
you took the words right out of my post. CYA time.
I've often wondered what percentage of atheists would pray to God if their airplane was going down.
I'll tell you what: there are only two kinds of people who could indulge in the kinds of remarks I'm seeing in this thread about some poor devil who's trying to make an effort to understand the Almighty after years of pigheaded disbelief. Christians (of course) and atheists.
Hey, Mr. Flew, I got one word for you... DUH!!!
Sometimes I wonder why Jesus Christ is attacked with such viciousness. I don't know the answer. Maybe it is because people know deep inside there maybe something right about it but would rather attack it than think about it or change. Maybe it is because becoming a Christian is so against everything we now believe in our culture (being cool, materialism, it is all about me, PC politics, etc.). Maybe it is because some live their entire lives in a set of beliefs and near the end of it look back and see it all mattered for nothing and are pissed.
Sometimes the concept of hell gets people worked up. The argument on "How can a good God cast people into hell when they have lived a pretty good life" is false logic. Hell is a place where God is absent. This is exactly what the people who rejected God all their lives wanted. The "pit" of hell maybe a very comfortable place where everyone who rejected God their entire lives must now reside knowing they had lived their lives in a lie. That they had wasted it all. That actually may be worse than a guy with pitchfork.
God has given us all the "free will" to chose. God has sent his only son to die for us, to suffer for our sins and to show us the way. God could have easily made a bunch of robots that would do everything he said but instead loved us enough for us to make our own decisions. I tell people to make their own decision after they have reviewed the evidence. After all, Jesus Christ's resurrection is either the supreme fact in the history of mankind or a gigantic hoax. If Christ's resurrection is true -- people ignore its implications at their own peril. If not -- Christianity is the biggest fraud in the history of the world and should be easy enough to disprove. If they believe it is a hoax, then they must take an honest look at the evidence. And the evidence is overwhelming...
Yes, but one must learn to crawl before they can run.
As the saying goes, there's no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.
My thoughts to, but, how many has he influenced to lead a life of secular desperation.
I understand that Arafat is a believer now as well.
Sorry if I offended you with my comment. I was mearly trying to point out that there is a difference here. Between the god that Flew envisions and the Christian one.
Again, sorry if my syntax offended. I have a large amount of respect for the Christian faith, though I am not a follower.
My Mother told me that growing up. As I see men reach the end of life, death brings them so much closer to God. I don't have to wait for death to understand God.
Pingdom!
Popular radio host David Brudnoy was a lifelong agnostic but in an interview on Tuesday, 2 days before he passed, he professed belief in God.
every journey begins with a small step. Remember what the
parable of the mustard seed teaches.first one must have
enough faith to believe in God.Then God can give the increase.when I was dead to sin I had no basis for Truth.
WhenI first believed-- I was not sure what I believed-but
I was fed that spiritual milk -before I grew enough to try
meat.
When a person steps in the right direction, you don't beat him over the head for not stepping far enough. I hope the people on this thread mocking Dr. Flew are not parents.
A belief in God has to precede a belief in Jesus. Once a man comes to the reality that there is a God, he can then accept that he is a sinner and unacceptable to God. Only then can a man realize he needs help from God and then is heart is open to accept Jesus as his savior. Its a process. For some the process takes seconds, for others years.
Then why did you repost it?
"Sometimes I wonder why Jesus Christ is attacked with such viciousness."
Not sure, but I think a lot has to do with accountability and judgment, combined with denial. If you deny Him, or attack Him, then you can rationalize sinfulness and bad behavior that can be so satisfying on a base level.
Since I doubt the good professor uncovered any additional INFORMATION to lead him to reverse himself on such an important question, it is clear that the fork in the road between theism and atheism is not a matter of education, it is a matter of some earlier premise, often at the sub-cognitive level.
Thanks for the ping!
Indeed. That would be both unreasonable and uncharitable.
On the one hand he is accepting a God that is involved in daily adjustments to create life while on the other hand he is a Deist that rejects the notion that God is involved in day to day affairs. He apparently has not noticed his inconsistency.
Incremental persuasion; how many come to Christ. We can pray for him to trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, and I am.
????????
Christians don't have to "go" anywhere --- they ARE "the church".
Maybe we can all go to your personal website and find out.
Pihg
Ping
The real atheists began later. Also, remember that Darwin's writings occurred before genes and their ramifications were well known. I can not remember him quoted on any "gene" problem.
Militant atheism is a part and parcel of the dominant religion of our times--leftism. Its biggest proponents are Richard Dawkins et al. If you have a chance to review their arguments, you will find they declare their faith on a leap to faith a la Martin Luther. Dawkins portrays Darwin as the secular saint of secular leftism and implies he was an atheist which he was not.
"Find out"... what?
I never met an Atheist on the battlefield.
Semper Fi,
Kelly
Mr. Flew:
I am very glad that at age 81 you have come to the same conclusion billions of people have arrived at already. Welcome!!!
God bless,
Dennis
P.S. Check my tagline!
"It's my way or the highway." The "anointed" on earth simply can't leave all this up to God.
He is in charge of all things on earth, big and small, except of course this, in this matter, he somehow can't handle it and needs these anointed to whip these poor souls into shape even if they are going the right direction on their journey.
Good for him. Glad to see others, however late in life, come around. :)
Sorry, you might be able to convince me that a "god", as we can best describe it, exists. Though, there is no proof that there is only one such "god". You will not be able to convince me that Christianity is the only correct version of that god. Yes, I've read C.S. Lewis.
Perhaps the Greeks were correct? Or maybe the Aztecs. Or more likely, niether. It is much more likely that if Flew is correct, we have no real way of possibly conceiving it, or it's purpose. Also, there is no afterlife, no heaven, no hell and certainly no devil.
"Christians don't have to "go" anywhere --- they ARE "the church"."
Sorry, my mistake. Again, I am not a Christian, so please excuse my ignorance.
Well, he's made a start, anyway.
"I'm thinking of a God very different from the God of the Christian and far and away from the God of Islam, because both are depicted as omnipotent Oriental despots, cosmic Saddam Husseins," he said. "It could be a person in the sense of a being that has intelligence and a purpose, I suppose."
Yes if you take Jefferson out of context rather than look at his Christian life practice he may at time 'appear' to be just another deist....
When he says that The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus Christ are 'depicted as omnipotent Oriental despots...cosmic Saddam Husseins?
By who?....those who promote Christianity and Islam?....He sounds like just another atheist relativist...making moral equivalence statements between Islam and Christianity..surprised he did not take on Judaism while he was at it....must have chickened out on that course...
His new opinion as a deist is nearly as worthless and misleading as his opinion as an atheist
He appears to be anything but some poor devil struggling with finding God
But his conversion and salvation are up to Jesus and the Holy Spirit...if God wills him to be saved he will be....he ain't dead yet so who knows...perhaps by the grace of God he will...(be saved that is).
But when he preaches error or mistakes facts in order to bolster his own opinions.. he needs (as we all do) to be challenged
imo
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