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Famous Atheist Now Believes in God
NY Newsday ^ | 12/9/04 | RICHARD N. OSTLING

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 ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: antonyflew; atheism; atheist; atheists; convert; evolution; god; intelligentdesign; ssdd
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To: pnome
That is not so. If he were to appear before me, show his stigmata and then rise into heaven. I would be an instant convert

Schizophrenia would explain this. A vision would not convince you.

221 posted on 12/10/2004 12:07:04 PM PST by Raycpa (Alias, VRWC_minion,)
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To: Semper Paratus
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.

Thank God.

222 posted on 12/10/2004 12:07:42 PM PST by Aquinasfan (Isaiah 22:22, Rev 3:7, Mat 16:19)
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To: Protagoras

"if only God himself will descend and show your worthless butt the "proof"!"

There are many who would like to convince me that they are divine, I promise to hold them to the same level of scrutiny.

Sorry for the insult.


223 posted on 12/10/2004 12:11:36 PM PST by pnome
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To: Raycpa

But these gods can act indepentantly from one another.


224 posted on 12/10/2004 12:16:09 PM PST by pnome
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To: pnome
I think that the Christian faith is a shining beacon for humanity

You believe we are wrong about Christ, and believe that we are shining beacons of faith ? Do yo realize how crazy this is ? We actually believe a man was born from a virgin. We actually believe this man was dead for 3 entire days and then raised himself from the dead. If that isn't enough insanity, we go so far to believe that this man was actually God, God the Creator of the universe, the one is is greater than all that we can see or imagine is within a human being. What's more is we believe he came here to die for our sins because he loves each of us. Us who are nothing more than a passing breeze in time was so important to God that he went to hell so that we wouldn't have to.

Now, I question your sanity if you think folks who hold these insane, demented, divorced from reality views as being folks who are a "a shining beacon for humanity".

Personally, If I were you I wouldn't trust my kids alone in a room with Christians. Who knows what they are capable of doing.

225 posted on 12/10/2004 12:16:17 PM PST by Raycpa (Alias, VRWC_minion,)
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To: pnome
But these gods can act indepentantly from one another.

But they cannot contradict or act in any way to harm the other. This is no different that our bodies. My eye acts independent of my stomach. Unless they can interfere with one another, they are one. As you described them, they are equal and assigned different duties.

226 posted on 12/10/2004 12:20:09 PM PST by Raycpa (Alias, VRWC_minion,)
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To: pnome
Sorry for the insult

Rather you should be sorry for not admitting the truth. It gets you off to a poor start here.

Like I said, I'm bulletproof.

227 posted on 12/10/2004 12:22:05 PM PST by Protagoras (Christmas is not a secular holiday)
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To: pnome
Though, there is no proof that there is only one such "god".

There can only be one perfect and all-powerful Being.

228 posted on 12/10/2004 12:23:17 PM PST by Aquinasfan (Isaiah 22:22, Rev 3:7, Mat 16:19)
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To: Raycpa

"Schizophrenia would explain this. A vision would not convince you."


But if I was Schizo, I'd beleive lots of things that might not be true.


229 posted on 12/10/2004 12:25:21 PM PST by pnome
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To: ColoCdn

Both my parents were born in Saskatchewan.

My mother's parents were Scandinavian
(Norwegian and Swede)
who moved from North Dakota
to homestead in Saskatchewan
near Leader.

Later moved further North to Wadena.

What part of Saskatchewan are you from?


230 posted on 12/10/2004 12:25:35 PM PST by Allan
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To: pnome
But if I was Schizo, I'd beleive lots of things that might not be true.

If you got the proof you required of a vision of Christ, then how would you know it wasn't from mental disease, drug flashback or lack of oxygen from a minor stroke ? For that matter, how do we know whether Thomas himself wasn't victim of a sort of mass hysteria ?

231 posted on 12/10/2004 12:27:59 PM PST by Raycpa (Alias, VRWC_minion,)
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To: Raycpa

I was speaking more to the morals and ethics. "The Love thy nieghbor" stuff. The 10 commandments. That sort of thing. The rest of the beliefs are as harmless as Santa Clause.


232 posted on 12/10/2004 12:29:03 PM PST by pnome
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To: Raycpa

"If you got the proof you required of a vision of Christ, then how would you know it wasn't from mental disease, drug flashback or lack of oxygen from a minor stroke ? For that matter, how do we know whether Thomas himself wasn't victim of a sort of mass hysteria ?"

If it was from metal disease or some other such thing it wouldn't matter, because I wouldn't know that.

Your Thomas theory is plausable.


233 posted on 12/10/2004 12:31:43 PM PST by pnome
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To: Raycpa

I like your proof for one god. I'm going to have to think about it some more.


234 posted on 12/10/2004 12:33:06 PM PST by pnome
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To: pnome
The rest of the beliefs are as harmless as Santa Clause.

Really ? Would you trust your children with any demented person so long as their dementia was about "harmless" things ? If someone believed they were Santa claus would you hire them to babysit your children ? How about managing your affairs ?

In any case, you yourself don't believe Chirstians are harmless. You believe many Christians trying to take away your freedom.

You hold contradictory views. Interesting.

235 posted on 12/10/2004 12:35:08 PM PST by Raycpa (Alias, VRWC_minion,)
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To: abishai
My first thought was about Madelein Murray O'Hair. I'm sure she's a believer by now.

You are correct. She's dead, so you may know she's a FIRM believer about now.

MM

236 posted on 12/10/2004 12:35:41 PM PST by MississippiMan (Americans should not be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness.)
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To: pnome
If it was from metal disease or some other such thing it wouldn't matter, because I wouldn't know that

In other words, you agree. There is no level of proof you would accept.

237 posted on 12/10/2004 12:36:09 PM PST by Raycpa (Alias, VRWC_minion,)
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To: pnome
I like your proof for one god. I'm going to have to think about it some more.

Good, now how do you know who your mother is ?

238 posted on 12/10/2004 12:37:19 PM PST by Raycpa (Alias, VRWC_minion,)
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To: brownsfan

I wrote a novelle about this ... TURNABOUT. The main character of the story was an atheist, Carl Sagan type physicist who had a near death experience. When he awoke, after meeting God on 'the other side', he was no longer an atheist, but being an honest man, his revelation was met with a schism of believers and 'semi-believers', one sides reviling him for changing his tune, the other desiring a closer relationship with the one whom he had met and began freely talking about.


239 posted on 12/10/2004 12:43:19 PM PST by MHGinTN (If you can read this, you've had life support from someone. Promote life support for others.)
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To: Raycpa
"In any case, you yourself don't believe Christians are harmless. You believe many Christians trying to take away your freedom. "

Incorrect. There ARE Christian groups who are trying to take away my freedoms. This is not something I "believe". This is verifiable fact. It is also not an extraordinary claim.

Why is it illegal for me to purchase beer at the supermarket on Sunday where I live?

The Santa analogy was a poor one. I apologize. Would you trust your children with a Hindu? They hold wildly different beliefs then you do. But they are not dangerous ones. Activist Christians harm me, for certain, but it is not their belief in a virgin birth that does it. It is their desire to CONTROL me that does.
240 posted on 12/10/2004 12:44:19 PM PST by pnome
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